Back-Ache and Chinese Medicine

Last month I wrote an article on Sciatica and got so many phone calls that I have decided to do a few more articles on back problems. The statistics on back pain are staggering. It is estimated that over 50% of people in Western countries will suffer from back pain at some time in their life. Chinese medicine and in particular acupuncture, gives excellent results in the treatment of this complaint. This article will focus on pain in the sacral area, which is below the kidneys on the back and is right above the buttocks and forms a “v” shape. It is still considered part of the spine although there are sacral points involved.

There are three diagnoses that present themselves in the sacral area. Stagnation of Qi and Blood is characterized by severe, stabbing pain which becomes worse with rest and better with light exercise although it would be worse with overexertion. It is tender to touch, does not respond to changes in weather and is much worse standing or sitting. It is also unaffected by the application of heat. There is a marked feeling of stiffness and rigidity in the muscles and an inability to flex and turn at the waist. Stagnation of Qi and Blood in the back in an acute case is due to a sprain. In a chronic case the sprain causes recurrent attacks of backache, especially if there is a background of Kidney-deficiency.

Kidney-deficiency is the cause of chronic back-ache. In many instances a patient will have one or two outbursts of pain and not attend to this problem and over time it manifests and will eventually end up with the patient throwing out their back during a simple event such as tying their shoes. In Chinese medicine this type of problem is best addressed when it occurs in the beginning, otherwise down the road it turns into a chronic and deeper problem. I also notice that some of my patients who are older complain about an old problem whereby they have thrown out their back maybe once every two years or so. This leads to repeated sprains and takes longer to heal and Chinese herbs must be taken over a period of time in order to build up the Kidney-deficiency, which has taken place over time and with age.

Younger people can also experience Kidney-deficiency and this can be from overexertion, work patterns, or from a hereditary Kidney-deficiency. Ballet as well as farm work before someone reaches the age of thirteen can weaken the Kidneys and the back. It can be combined with poor posture, performing excessive exercise and the enormous increase of people traveling in cars and not walking or biking to strengthen the spine and joints.

There is one more condition of back-ache which is the retention of Damp-Cold whereby the pain is worse in the morning and better with light exercise. This pain is relieved with heat and worse when the weather gets cold and damp. When Cold prevails there may be stiffness and contraction of the back muscles and the pain is more aggravated by rest and improved by movement. It also responds to heat. When dampness is involved there may be swelling, numbness and a feeling of heaviness.

All these problems can be cured with Acupuncture and Herbs. They do not need to be lifetime problems. In my twenty years of practice I have witnessed back pain totally resolving itself. You do not need to live with pain and you do not need to live on pain medication. Please call if you have any questions. I work with low income families and offer a free 10 minute consultation.

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SCIATICA & CHINESE MEDICINE

The lower back in Chinese Medicine is the residence of the Kidneys. If the back pain radiates down the leg from the back it indicates a more Full condition, usually from Damp-Cold in the leg channels. Occasionally it may also be due to Damp-Heat. The pain may also only occur in the leg without affecting the back. This syndrome of back pain is called Sciatica. It is important to try and find out what channels are involved so that certain acupuncture points can be used. As mentioned in many of my other articles, pain can be caused by both a deficiency or an excess condition as well as be an acute problem, which occurs suddenly or a chronic problem which continually occurs over time. Chronic conditions are always due to Kidney deficiency which can be combined with retention of Damp-Cold or stagnation of Qi and Blood.

Throughout my eighteen years in acupuncture, I have seen many types of Sciatica and the use of both Acupuncture and Herbs have gotten some very quick results. Many times there is a radiating leg pain in the very back of the leg or on the side of the leg. It usually occurs down one leg only and can be resolved in just a few treatments. The use of the herbs helps to release the cold, nourish the Kidneys and remove the dampness. Along with these treatments, I have given herbs to many patients to take for several months afterwards to minimize further back problems. It is also interesting to look at the function of the back, which helps us to stand erect in the world and move forward. In times of stress, many people experience back problems.

When a backache is accompanied by sciatica it usually takes a little longer to treat. As mentioned above, Sciatica is usually caused by Wind-Cold in both acute and chronic cases. The pain is usually worse in the morning and better with light exercise and movement. The pain can be relieved by an application of heat and is worse when the weather is cold and damp. During an acupuncture treatment I use both a special heat lamp and a warming herb called moxa. When Cold predominates there may be stiffness and contraction of the back muscles and the pain is more aggravated by rest and stagnation. When Dampness predominates there may be swelling, numbness and a feeling of heaviness.

My 55 year old patient complained of an acute backache, which had started after working at one of her jobs as a gardener. The pain was intense and was centered around the lower left kidney area. It radiated downwards to the left buttocks and the back of the leg. She was so uncomfortable that she came directly from work to see if she could get some relief so that she could go back to her job the following day. We even did her verbal intake with her standing up rather than sitting. The muscles on her left side were in spasm and the entire area felt very stiff. She was treated with both distal points and local points for a period of 45 minutes with both needles and moxa. I also sent her home with a fabulous Chinese formula for Sciatica. Upon getting off the table 80% of all her pain was gone and in the next couple days we gave her one more treatment and she took the herbs for four days. After the last treatment she was totally pain free.

Lower backache and Sciatica can be treated perfectly, adequately and successfully according to Chinese Medicine. The results are profound with no Western pain medications or treatments. For any questions or for a free ten-minute diagnosis, please call Marcy @707-824-8747.

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Addiction & Chinese Medicine

The idea of addiction has been a long-term topic on many levels. The past several years I have seen patients who are addicted to cigarettes, food and there own mental restlessness. This state of constant craving is never satisfied and affects the Heart and scatters the Qi. Craving also affects the Pericardium that surrounds the Heart and stirs up the fire in the Heart.

In disease, the Minister Fire refers to a pathological, excessive Empty-Fire rising from the Kidneys. The emotion of the Kidneys is fear and as this energy rises from the lower Dan Tien it begins to affect the Mind. If the Mind is settled, calm and content, the Pericardium and the Heart energy will follow and the person will lead a happy and balanced life. If the Mind is weak and dissatisfied, the Pericardium and the Heart will demand cravings and the person will constantly desire food, cigarettes and other objects but when attained they will never receive satisfaction and will be left frustrated and aroused.

Craving will cause Heart-Fire and Empty-Fire depending on the underlying condition of the patient. It seems to me that there are many emotional states such as resentment, anger, agitation, animosity, bitterness and hatred which all seem to play a large roll in the body not being balanced and for cravings to constantly occur. I believe this to be a temporary relief since the cravings seems to run the person involved with never any satisfaction. All of this bottled up emotion helps to create excessive consumptions of many things that seem to sabotage one’s spiritual growth. The positive counterpart to all of these emotions is flexibility, hope and a quiet endurance of hardship. The Heart meridian is made up of blood or substance and when this blood is deficient and there is not enough substance then the Heart and the Shen will not rest peacefully. It is important to build up this substance and open the Heart so that the cravings can longer have a hold on the patient.

Irregular eating and excessive consumption of fats, sweets, dairy foods and cold-raw foods can injure the Spleen and also create Blood and Qi stagnation. The Blood Sugar diet seems to balance out the body and make it more neutral. I have also found that deep breathing helps to shift the patient’s space and allows them to inhale deeply and oxygenate their Heart area. Over the past couple years there has been a great deal of stress on many people and they have resorted to some compulsive behaviors that take them completely out of their bodies. Sometimes I have seen the Lung play a major role in this type of addiction since the Lungs emotion in Chinese Medicine is grief and sorrow. It is important that people know that any organ can be responsible for disharmony and that my role as a practitioner is to create harmony and fullness in each patient. I do believe it is a time of Heart for many people and in opening up the Heart and pulling people back into their bodies so they can begin to experience peace.

My patient that I have been working with to stop smoking has just recently turned a corner since I have gone into deeper treatments of both His Heart and his Lung energies. He is now able to take a deep breath without craving a cigarette and feels more full and relaxed. There are many deeper issues that need to be looked at in order to get true healings. I believe all of these illnesses are an invitation to make healings within us and gain the spiritual benefits of health. We all have a right to feel good and a right to be happy and free of old patterns and of pain. The more we work on ourselves and honor ourselves the more we can move forward into true freedom.

Please call with any questions or schedule a free 15-minute diagnosis so that you can move forward into true health and freedom.

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Chinese Medicine - Sciatica, Back & Leg Pain

The lower back in Chinese Medicine is the residence of the Kidneys. If the back pain radiates down the leg from the back it indicates a more Full condition, usually from Damp-Cold in the leg channels. Occasionally it may also be due to Damp-Heat. The pain may also only occur in the leg without affecting the back. This syndrome of back pain is called Sciatica. It is important to try and find out what channels are involved so that certain acupuncture points can be used.

As mentioned in many of my other articles, pain can be caused by both a deficiency or an excess condition as well as be an acute problem, which occurs suddenly or a chronic problem which continually occurs over time. Chronic conditions are always due to Kidney deficiency which can be combined with retention of Damp-Cold or stagnation of Qi and Blood.
Throughout my eighteen years in acupuncture, I have seen many types of Sc
iatica and the use of both Acupuncture and Herbs have gotten some very quick results. Many times there is a radiating leg pain in the very back of the leg or on the side of the leg. It usually occurs down one leg only and can be resolved in just a few treatments. The use of the herbs helps to release the cold, nourish the Kidneys and remove the dampness. Along with these treatments, I have given herbs to many patients to take for several months afterwards to minimize further back problems. It is also interesting to look at the function of the back, which helps us to stand erect in the world and move forward. In times of stress, many people experience back problems.

When a backache is accompanied by sciatica it usually takes a little longer to treat. As mentioned above, Sciatica is usually caused by Wind-Cold in both acute and chronic cases. The pain is usually worse in the morning and better with light exercise and movement. The pain can be relieved by an application of heat and is worse when the weather is cold and damp. During an acupuncture treatment I use both a special heat lamp and a warming herb called moxa. When Cold predominates there may be stiffness and contraction of the back muscles and the pain is more aggravated by rest and stagnation. When Dampness predominates there may be swelling, numbness and a feeling of heaviness.

My 55 year old patient complained of an acute backache, which had started after working at one of her jobs as a gardener. The pain was intense and was centered around the lower left kidney area. It radiated downwards to the left buttocks and the back of the leg. She was so uncomfortable that she came directly from work to see if she could get some relief so that she could go back to her job the following day. We even did her verbal intake with her standing up rather than sitting. The muscles on her left side were in spasm and the entire area felt very stiff. She was treated with both distal points and local points for a period of 45 minutes with both needles and moxa. I also sent her home with a fabulous Chinese formula for Sciatica. Upon getting off the table 80% of all her pain was gone and in the next couple days we gave her one more treatment and she took the herbs for four days. After the last treatment she was totally pain free.

Lower backache and Sciatica can be treated perfectly, adequately and successfully according to Chinese Medicine. The results are profound with no Western pain medications or treatments. For any questions or for a free ten-minute diagnosis, please call Marcy @707-824-8747.

Read article »

Addiction & Chinese Medicine

The idea of addiction has been a long-term topic on many levels. The past several years I have seen patients who are addicted to cigarettes, food and there own mental restlessness. This state of constant craving is never satisfied and affects the Heart and scatters the Qi. Craving also affects the Pericardium that surrounds the Heart and stirs up the fire in the Heart.

In disease, the Minister Fire refers to a pathological, excessive Empty-Fire rising from the Kidneys. The emotion of the Kidneys is fear and as this energy rises from the lower Dan Tien it begins to affect the Mind. If the Mind is settled, calm and content, the Pericardium and the Heart energy will follow and the person will lead a happy and balanced life. If the Mind is weak and dissatisfied, the Pericardium and the Heart will demand cravings and the person will constantly desire food, cigarettes and other objects but when attained they will never receive satisfaction and will be left frustrated and aroused.

Craving will cause Heart-Fire and Empty-Fire depending on the underlying condition of the patient. It seems to me that there are many emotional states such as resentment, anger, agitation, animosity, bitterness and hatred which all seem to play a large roll in the body not being balanced and for cravings to constantly occur. I believe this to be a temporary relief since the cravings seems to run the person involved with never any satisfaction. All of this bottled up emotion helps to create excessive consumptions of many things that seem to sabotage one’s spiritual growth. The positive counterpart to all of these emotions is flexibility, hope and a quiet endurance of hardship. The Heart meridian is made up of blood or substance and when this blood is deficient and there is not enough substance then the Heart and the Shen will not rest peacefully. It is important to build up this substance and open the Heart so that the cravings can longer have a hold on the patient.

Irregular eating and excessive consumption of fats, sweets, dairy foods and cold-raw foods can injure the Spleen and also create Blood and Qi stagnation. The Blood Sugar diet seems to balance out the body and make it more neutral. I have also found that deep breathing helps to shift the patient’s space and allows them to inhale deeply and oxygenate their Heart area. Over the past couple years there has been a great deal of stress on many people and they have resorted to some compulsive behaviors that take them completely out of their bodies. Sometimes I have seen the Lung play a major role in this type of addiction since the Lungs emotion in Chinese Medicine is grief and sorrow. It is important that people know that any organ can be responsible for disharmony and that my role as a practitioner is to create harmony and fullness in each patient. I do believe it is a time of Heart for many people and in opening up the Heart and pulling people back into their bodies so they can begin to experience peace.

My patient that I have been working with to stop smoking has just recently turned a corner since I have gone into deeper treatments of both His Heart and his Lung energies. He is now able to take a deep breath without craving a cigarette and feels more full and relaxed. There are many deeper issues that need to be looked at in order to get true healings. I believe all of these illnesses are an invitation to make healings within us and gain the spiritual benefits of health. We all have a right to feel good and a right to be happy and free of old patterns and of pain. The more we work on ourselves and honor ourselves the more we can move forward into true freedom.

Please call with any questions or schedule a free 15-minute diagnosis so that you can move forward into true health and freedom.

Read article »

Cancer Treatment in Chinese Medicine

Chinese Medicine and the Treatment of Cancer

by Marcy Basel

According the World Health Organization, more than 10 million people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer every year, and more than 6 million die from cancer. It is projected in the next 20 years these numbers will increase by 50%. The primary objectives of cancer treatment are cure, prolongation of life and improvement of the quality of life. Treatment with Western medicine may involve surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormonal therapy. The treatment with Chinese Medicine involves acupuncture, herbs and dietary changes. Traditional Chinese medicine has produced extremely promising results in dealing with the adverse affects and complications occurring during chemotherapy and radiotherapy. I have been working with cancer patients over the last eighteen years and while I was in acupuncture school I was diagnosed with melanoma on my face so I spent five years of my education focusing on many different types of cancer along with alternative means of treatment. I have also had experience with two major oncologists at St. John’s Hospital for three years assisting them and working with their patients both in the clinic and in the hospital.

The past several years I have treated many types of cancer and many different stages of cancer. I have found that Chinese medicine works synergistically with Western medicine methods to alleviate symptoms of a physical nature, disease stages, pathology and possible complications. I have noticed that my patients who are going through chemotherapy have done very well regarding theory nausea, tiredness and excess internal heat. The treatment in Western medicine seems to injure the Vital Qi and the acupuncture, diet and herbs seem to balance out many of the symptoms and helps the patient regarding their recovery. My job is to balance the immune system and also balance the Yin and Yang in the body. I have found that chemo and radiation both create and extreme amount of internal heat so acupuncture supports the Vital Qi, clears the heat, relieves toxicity, invigorates the blood, softens hardenings, dissipates lumps and corrects the inharmony.

Using Chinese Medicine along with surgery treats the local systemic system and helps to create an anti-cancer environment throughout the body. There are certain protocols for before, after and during cancer treatments, which help to nourish the body so it is not depleted. I have found that it is best for a patient to avoid anxiety, banish tension and create daily activities that move the Qi and are nourishing. The diet is also important to avoid heat-producing foods so that the Spleen is fortified and the Kidneys are boosted. Over the past ten years I have a created a protocol of vitamins, herbs, green drinks and American ginseng tea to help move a patient into remission and true health.

I have recently been treating a patient who had many cancerous tumors in her abdomen and was diagnosed with third stage cancer. Throughout her two-year journey of pain and discomfort she kept telling the doctor that something was wrong and it went undiagnosed until she experienced severe pain. Working with the oncologists many patients kept telling their doctors that something was wrong and they were never really examined until it was third or fourth stage cancer and many doctors just said it was nothing…please insist if you feel that something is wrong that the doctor takes further tests no matter what they may think. The melanoma on my face went undiagnosed until I insisted the dermatologist took a skin sample and sent it off to the lab. I was the one who insisted on the test, she claimed I was fine. The results of my patients surgery has been very rough on her, To begin with she had an allergic reaction to her treatments and had to be rushed to the hospital, She also has experienced severe weight loss, sores down her esophagus, severe burns under her arms and swelling in her legs. Through acupuncture, herbs and diet she is doing much better and her moods and outlook have been lifted as well. I even found her a Chinese crème that totally healed under her arms in two days.

It is an important time to take our own health into our own hands and take responsibility for our lives. Through the guidance of alternative healers we can assist the treatment of cancer and have a variety of methods available to us for our healing. Please create a system of health for yourselves where you are being nurtured on a deeper level than just the western system. These two work very well together and help to heal a person from the inside out so that their health is forever alive and well. It is my experience that offering this range of treatments will provide a major improvement in your quality of life and enables you to fight against your illness with more determination. My treatments balance the meridians, increase the immune system and also enhance the healing process as well as protect the body from future re-occurrences of cancer.

Marcy Basel

707-824-8747

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CHINESE MEDICINE: Veterans Administration Funds Treatment

VETERAN’S AND CHINESE MEDICINE

Recently, a new patient came in who had back surgery a year ago through the Veteran’s Hospital in San Francisco. He had been suffering for many years from an injury and the doctors decided to fuse his entire lumbar area together in order to give him relief. They fused L1-L5 together and supposedly wrapped the muscle over the top in order to give him some mobility.

It is my experience that many patients I have treated who have fusions along the spine area have a Kidney deficiency as a result, and have lost the strength of this organ. They’ve also done very little to build this organ back up.

In Chinese medicine the treatments and the herbs used to treat this deficiency are extremely important because they not only help to alleviate pain, but they also build kidney energy over time so that future surgery can possibly be avoided.

In all my years of practice I have found that fusions along the spine are very difficult to heal from since the spine is built to be flexible and moving. It seems that even when there is a fusion in one location along the spine, trouble occurs along a different area of the spine in order to compensate for this lack of movement. However having said all this, there is relief for many who have had this type of surgery.

The patient who walked into my office came in with severe pain and was unable lie down to sleep without experiencing cramps and spasms throughout the night in his lumbar area, and also down one of his legs. Prior to his fusion he had developed chronic degenerative joint disease in both of his hips and also in his lumbar region. One of his hips had been replaced, but the joint disease created a rubbing of bone on bone, and the doctors decided it was best to take the pressure off the spinal column by doing the fusion.

I must say that in several cases in my clinic, I have put patients on a protocol to help reverse this degenerative disease formation, including women who have low bone density tests. I have been able to reverse this process through acupuncture and herbs.

This patient was also taking five different medications including sleep meds, pain meds (ox codeine), and heart medications. In addition, his diet was not serving him and he was drinking five cups of coffee per day. To treat someone like this is always a challenge for me ,but the amazing thing was that the Veteran’s actually prescribed him six physical therapy/acupuncture treatments, which they would cover. This patient needed relief fast and his willingness to take his own health into his own hands proved to him that he could achieve astounding results.

As an acupuncturist I can recommend and even give Chinese herbs and alternative plans of treatment but I cannot alter medications given from western doctors. Through my suggestions, this patient is no longer on sleeping or heart medications since we have found alternative formulas which have positive results. I put him on alternative products, which not only allowed him to sleep 5 hours, but also took away his spasms and a lot of his pain.

He is only drinking one cup of coffee in the morning and has improved his diet and takes herbs to strengthen his back. Here is his testimonial: “For over a year I have suffered from severe cramping of my lower back muscles, a complication from lumbar spinal surgery. Even taking large nightly doses of prescription sleeping pills, I could only sleep about 3 hours before the pain whole me up. But after only 2 acupuncture treatments and a week’s use of the corresponding natural supplements I was sleeping 5 hours without sleeping pills at all. Now, after 6 treatments and the supplements daily, I have eliminated 3 of my 5 daily prescriptions drugs and I haven’t had any cramping in over a week. I’m convinced; I recommend acupuncture (in general) and Marcy Basel (in particular) to anyone dissatisfied with the AMA results.”

I feel strongly encouraged that the Veteran’s Hospital in now acknowledging alternative medicine to their patients, and paying for these treatments at the recommendations of their own neurosurgeons and doctors. This is a breakthrough for Chinese Medicine.

Please take advantage of this, as a veteran, if you have had problems. There are alternatives herbs, which can be taken instead of the western medications, which have no side affects and still can perform as well.

Marcy Basel can be reach at 707-824-8747 or e-mail: marcybasel@aol.com

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CHINESE MEDICINE: Food Allergies

FOOD ALLERGIES & CHINESE MEDICINE

Allergy describes a hypersensitivity reaction in which the body displays an excessively or abnormal sensitive response. Sources of allergens vary from person to person and may include various foods, dander, pollens, molds and yeasts. In foods, some reactions are immediate while others do not take place for several hours. Asthma, itchy eyes, rash, swelling, tiredness and acute gastrointestinal distress are common presentations of this type of immediate response. Delayed food reactions are thought to be more common than immediate food response. Poor diet, stress, infection, chemicals, drugs, environmental toxins and genetic predisposition are possible contributing factors to the development of allergies.

In Chinese Medicine, food allergies can be both an excess and a deficient syndrome. It is up to the Spleen and Stomach to provide transformation and transportation of all foods which enter the body. I remember seventeen years ago one of my Taoist teachers said “if you don’t know what to treat you can always treat the Spleen/Stomach and get good results.” Hippocrates said more than 2000 years ago, “All diseases begin in the gut.” We have to look at the digestive system when we try to treat any degenerative disease no matter how unrelated it may seem to the condition. I have seen in my practice that the patients who have long standing problems, such as headaches, allergies and excess phlegm, have all been allergic to some food, which they eat almost daily. Several of them recently went through a food allergy test and one patient suffered form a severe allergy to garlic while the other one suffered from an allergy to milk. Since having the food allergy test both have done incredible with the results and changes they have made.

The role of the enteric nervous system is to manage every aspect of digestion from the esophagus to the stomach, small intestine, and colon. The connection between the brain lies at the heart of many woes both physical and psychiatric. Ailments like anxiety, depression, irritable bowel, ulcers and constipation manifest as symptoms at the brain and gut level. The majority of patients with anxiety and depression will also have alterations of their GI tract. In Western diagnosis, gut flora protects your immune system. In Chinese Medicine, the Spleen/Stomach suffers and then the immune system is thrown off and is responsible for the allergic reaction. When this occurs due to a deficiency with the organs, the reactions become hyperactive and the person starts reacting to foods and the environment. The emotion for the Spleen is over-worry and over-thinking and these two help create a deficiency in the organ system. I believe in our society that this is a common response to stress and work. The Stomach during these times cannot perform its function properly due to this type of emotion. The Spleen/Stomach has three basic physiological functions: digestion of food, absorption of nutrients into the body and keeping toxins out of the body.

It is my experience that people who have never had allergies often become allergic after sustained damage to their Spleen/Stomach. If a patient is eating something everyday that they are allergic to than these systems are becoming depleted over time. In Western Medicine, when the immune system is not functioning properly the mucous membranes start over-producing mucus and there is an overabundance of phlegm that just hangs out in the body. Because the system is breaking down, the Spleen/Stomach can no longer transform and transport this phlegm and it gets lodged in the body. Our immune system can malfunction in at least three ways. First, it can be weakened so that it cannot mount up an adequate response to fight off usual stresses as seen in cancer. Second, it can overreact in a way where it is hypersensitive to normal stimuli, as occurs in asthma, migraine or food allergies. This result is not only using up the immune reserves of the body, but it may cause immune reactions that create tissue injury. Third, it can go on as mentioned to create auto immune reactions against our own tissues. In either way, a food allergy test along with acupuncture and herbs can help rebalance the system back into a healthy, vibrant individual. I am continuing to be amazed at the transformation that my patients are experiencing due to these types of changes.


Marcy Basel is currently in private practice in Sebastopol and has been using Acupuncture and Herbs for over seventeen years. She has an extensive pharmacy on location and does Nutrition and Cranial Sacral work. To make an appointment or to get information please call 707-824-8747. Marcy also offers a free fifteen-minute consultation on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

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CHINESE MEDICINE: Foot Pain

The foot is primarily associated with walking, movement toward the outside world, from yin to yang, and constitutes one of our modes of communication. In supporting the principle of the body in the walking mode, the foot is not only the symbol of grounding, but also of our inner strength in the sense that it supports the upright position and also our vulnerability. The feet our first stage of development is standing and walking and the foot establishes contact with the earth. The footsteps we leave on the ground bear witness to the path we are on, either good or bad.

In my practice I have worked with so many different types of foot problems such as tendonitis, cold feet, neuropathy, bone spur and plantar fascitis. These are just several of the many aside from toe pain that is sometimes involved. All of these disorders are diagnosed in accordance with the Qi. Most often plantar heel pain indicates a yin access and can be eliminated by needling certain kidney points. It can also be an excess problem in some cases and that would involve draining certain points around the foot. Tendonitis can be an athletic injury and can range in its severity, however, when untreated a minor injury can quickly turn into a severe injury. There are three places that tendonitis can occur along the heel. This pain needs to be distinguished from bone spur and rheumatoid arthritis.

Bone spurs are treatable with acupuncture and herbs. Since this has to do with the bone, in Chinese medicine it is related to the Kidney energy, which is in charge of building bone. Bone spur is a common problem on the foot and is an overgrowth of bone most commonly seen at a joint, the place where the two bones meet and allow for movement. Abnormal motion at the level of the joint over the course of time will cause the spur to form. You can also have spurring of the joint as a result of excessive tension on the bone from where the tendon attaches. Normal aging will also cause bone spurs to form. The most famous bone spur occurs on the heel. I have had good luck combing acupuncture and also I use a Chinese formula, which has worked wonders on many patients. Personally I have seen too many botched surgeries and I am not one to condone cortisone shots.

Neuropathy is another peripheral vascular disease that can be a very serious problem. This is also called the diabetic foot and is sometimes overlooked until it accelerates to a total loss of sensation. As diabetes progresses many diabetics lose sensation in their feet but it can also present as relentless burning, tingling or numbness. I have treated many patients over the last ten years and they have all experienced a difference with the combination of acupuncture and herbs. This is also related to the kidney but I have seen the liver and spleen meridians involves as well. In the foot in Chinese medicine there are the Liver, Gall Bladder, Kidney and Spleen meridians that all run through different parts of the foot. So many times through a diagnosis I can decipher the problems as an organ problem it the presentation goes right down a specific channel. Also I have noticed that many patients can present the same problem but it will demand a different diagnosis depending on the patient.

The last common complaint is Cold feet. In addition to cold weather, a poor functioning thyroid, blood deficiency, Raynauds disease, rheumatoid arthritis and high blood pressure, many people need to change their diet and stay away form cold foods, caffeine and smoking in order to allow their Qi to move through their body into their feet. Cold damp weather with further restricts the blood flow that goes to the toes. I also have many patients who work outdoors and need to protect themselves better from the cold. Circulation and blood flow are the main things to increase with cold feet. Chinese medicine does not usually refer to western terms but rather the patient comes in and presents their symptoms and the acupuncture treats them according to what they see, their pulses and their tongue are the diagnostic tools.

Through its transport points, the foot is a place of exchange between human Qi and universal Qi. It is one of the branches of the body. I believe rehabilitation can take place without surgery and there are many different approaches through the use of acupuncture and herbs that are extremely effective.

Marcy Basel is currently in private practice in Sebastopol and has been using Herbs and Acupuncture for over seventeen years. She has an extensive pharmacy on location and also does Nutrition and Cranial Sacral Therapy. To make an appointment or to get information please call 707-824-8747. Marcy also offers a free fifteen-minute consultation for free on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

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