Accupressure Therapy

Ancient Tradition Of The Chinese Culture And The Philosophies

2011-12-12T00:57:00.000-08:00

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an ancient tradition of the Chinese culture, Chinese Sociology and the philosophies of Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. This system is applied to health promotion, as well as treatment of illness, respecting the interrelatedness of the person and nature.

The system is characterized by the diagnosis of disturbances in the flow of energy, or chi. Diagnosis requires observation, questioning and listening, and palpation of pulses (Singleton et. al., 1999).

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) came from understanding one’s environment, accepting man as a product of nature, and accepting man as inevitably mutually dependant with nature. Creatures around him, plants, the river flow, the sun, the soil, and the air that he breathed in and exhaled - man survived by living harmoniously with his surroundings.

In fact, much of the basic theory of medicine in China is recorded in classical books that are both works of medical science and literature. The myriad concepts were organized and documented by the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine (Yong, et al, 1999). All disorders and diseases are the result of imbalances in the body.

Imbalances, including everything in the universe, are the results of the interplaying of the opposing forces known as Yin and Yang. In brief, Yin and Yang are the negative and positive forces that make the world go round.

TCM places much importance on harmony and balance in our daily lives by requiring us to pay attention to what we eat, how we exercise, and the way we handle our emotions, sexual lives, work and sleep.

The balancing of the Yin and Yang in one’s body with the universe creates more energy and prevents people from getting sick.

TCM draws on nature, ancient knowledge of herbs and the body’s own healing resources. All aspects of an individual – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual are interconnected and interdependent. Each of us is a unified organic body-mind-spirit.

The workings of the human body was shaped by Taoist philosophy, which held that humans are an aspect of nature and as such, are governed by the same natural laws as the universe. Therefore, each individual is a miniature universe with analogies to the larger universe.

A TCM practitioner will not treat one condition without understanding the impact on the rest of the body, or what may have caused the specific symptom.

Author: Maurice Wong

This is part 1 of the article published.

Reference:

Singleton, J. K., et. al. (1999). Primary care (1st ed). Philadelphia. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Yong, D. et al. (1999) Acupuncture Treatment at Ang Mo Kio Community Hospital - A Report on Our Initial Experience. Singapore Medical Journal, Vol 40(04). Retrieved January 11,2007, fromhttp://www.sma.org.sg/smj/4004/articles/4004a7.html

Myths about Cholesterol

2011-12-09T00:36:00.000-08:00

To start off, let me recount a personal account of a cardiologist.

There once was a cardiac specialist MD who had a high cholesterol problem. Coming from a family with a medical history of heart problems, he decided to take actions to lower his own cholesterol. He fasted from cholesterol-laden foods and kept testing his cholesterol levels. Much to his surprise, he realized his cholesterol level remained at where it was and did not drop as he thought it would. Intrigued, he began to conduct research and found that more than 80% of the cholesterol found in our blood of which is produce by the liver and not contributed by the food we consumed.

The question then pops, what causes our liver to overproduce cholesterol in our body? We have to understand that when we eat something, it would be processed and broken down into smaller bits that are able to pass through our intestine walls. Only then, we can determine that the real culprit for our high cholesterol level is actually sugar. When starch gets broken down in our body, it turns into sugar and is metabolized into glucose so that the body can use for energy. Once in the body, the glucose gets transferred into cells in our body through insulin. However, glucose when not converted into energy by our body due to us leading a lifestyle without proper exercise, the cell proceeds to convert the glucose into a combination of any three fatty acids, termed as triglycerides, and this is returned back into the bloodstream.

With an increase in triglyceride levels, our liver begins to increase its cholesterol production to balance the triglycerides levels, thus the reason why it is common for practitioners to associate high cholesterol levels with high triglyceride levels together.

With this knowledge, we now turn to compare certain statistics concerning our sugar intake, past and present. A shocking discovery found that in the new millennium year, our sugar intake has overshot by more than fifty times, from between 5 -10lbs per year before the millennium, to an astonishing over 200lbs per year after the turn of the century. Yet even with such discoveries, it is hard to put away the belief system that has already etched into our minds on the subject of cholesterol.
Just as how drug companies have hypnotized doctors into prescribing unnecessary drugs to healthy people with normal cholesterol levels, we too become mindless robots and listen to whatever doctors instruct us to do to keep our cholesterol levels as supposedly “normal” levels.

However, as more research is being carried out in this field, scientists have begun to learn more about heart disease and its causes. The astonishing discovery made by researchers is that, contrary to the belief of many, plague that builds up in arteries which eventually leads to heart disease caused by inflammation within one’s body and has nothing to do with cholesterol levels. Causes of inflammation include viruses, smoking, having an imbalance of omega-6 polyunsaturated fat to omega-3 polyunsaturated fat in our diets and even factors like stress! On the other hand, cholesterol is a healing substance within the body, which can respond to inflammation in the arteries by being deposited in combination with other substances to form “plague” to heal the artery lining. However, just because the plague consists a portion of cholesterol, it does not mean cholesterol is the cause of the formation of the plague, but rather, it was only serving its purpose of being a healing agent in our body. Keeping it simple, plague deposits as a healing agent whenever our body suffers from any significant inflammation but will just continue to circulate in your blood if you do not have inflammation, regardless of you having high or low cholesterol. Thus, the real solution to heart problems is to keep your inflammation in your body low, rather than your cholesterol level.

With that clarified, we can then move on to sieve out the truths from various myths pertaining to cholesterol.

Myth #1: Fatty food will raise your cholesterol level.

Dietary fats that we consume daily are not similar and we can categorize them into two categories, saturated fatty acids (contains only single bonds between all its Carbon atoms) and unsaturated fatty acids (may contain one or several double bonds between the Carbon atoms). Saturated fatty acids are more likely to increase the amount of fat in our blood, as well as raising the level of “bad” cholesterol also known as low-density lipoproteins or LDL; whereas, for unsaturated fatty acids, they are more likely to decrease the amount of fat in our blood, and therefore, decreasing the level of LDL cholesterol in our blood.

However, we do have to note that anything we consumed have to be done with balance and moderation. Just like when we consume too much food containing fat, indirectly we are consuming high amounts of calories, as fats contain high calories and that would lead to a gain in weight, which subsequently lead to a raise in cholesterol. Furthermore, studies have shown that production of cholesterol in our body increases when we consume food with little cholesterol and vice versa. This is to ensure that our body’s cholesterol level is balanced, and we have the “optimum” level of cholesterol in our body. Thus, it explains the reason why a low-cholesterol diet can only lower a person’s cholesterol level by a limited amount.

Myth #2: Cholesterol is bad for our body.

Much to the dismay of cholesterol detractors, cholesterol is actually very much essential in our body for the proper and normal functioning of our body system. Cholesterol which is found in our cells helps resist from harmful chemicals or free radicals and prevents the components of the cell to move out on its own. Cholesterol is also vital in the production of hormones, bile salts and vitamin D.

As mentioned when we were going through the myths of cholesterol, the main cause of heart diseases is not high cholesterol levels as cholesterol just forms part of the plague that acts as a healing agent. Mental stress, physical activity and change of body weight may influence the level of blood cholesterol. High cholesterol is not dangerous by itself, but may reflect an unhealthy condition, or it may be innocent totally. Thus, what people should be worried about is keeping our body inflammation free, or in simple terms, to stay healthy.

Myth #3: Drugs like vitamins and Statins can help lower cholesterol.

There is no evidence supporting the claim that vitamins can actually help to lower our cholesterol, though scientists have found that a particular type of vitamin B or Niacin, can actually have an effect on lowering cholesterol levels. Unfortunately, though it is true that drugs aimed at lowering cholesterol have proven to be effective, but the drawback is that these drugs do nothing more but to lower cholesterol. They do not improve your heart or total mortality and in some cases, the side effects due to consumption of such drugs can actually shorten your life instead. For Statin drugs, research has shown that it can prevent cardiovascular diseases, but it is only tie to other mechanisms rather than because your cholesterol level is lowered. But, before you jump around in jubilation at finding a miracle cure that can both lower cholesterol and cardiovascular disease at the same time, be warned that Statin drug tests on rodents in laboratories have stimulated cancer and also cause them to lose muscle functions, pregnant women may also risk giving birth to children with malformations that are extremely severe.

Myth #4: You will feel sick when suffering from high cholesterol levels.

Most of the time, people only find out about their high cholesterol problems when they go for their routine medical check ups yearly and often shocked to discover about their condition. This is because there are no visible signs or symptoms that can inform us whether our cholesterol levels have been hitting the roof. The only way we can determine whether we are having high cholesterol is when we do a blood test in a clinic or hospital.

Myth #5: Only the aged or old people will have high cholesterol.

Unfortunately, there is some truth in this myth; as we age, our cholesterol levels will inevitably increase. Research has shown that with age, cholesterol levels in our bodies would generally be on the rise as well. However, scientists believe that this will change in the society that we live in, and high cholesterol will no longer be just a problem associated with the elderly, but more and more young people will suffer from it as well.

As mentioned earlier in the causes of high cholesterol, stress is one of its factors. In the ever-increasingly competitive society we live in, we face huge amounts of pressure each day and our stress level indicators are always in the danger zone.

As a result, scientists have faith to believe that more and more youths will suffer from high cholesterol in the future and eventually develop heart conditions. Thus, it is always to be better to have your cholesterol levels checked regularly.

Next, I shall take about: "How to have a healthy life while maintaining a healthy cholesterol level?" in next post.

In Sync With Nature, the Yin And Yan Ways.

2008-03-20T23:42:00.000-07:00

We have frequently used Ying and Yan as a analytical tool describing a change and a way of seeing the rhythms of our life . The process of change is not just from yang to yin or yin to yang. It does not mean that we are helpless in a meaningless cirle of change. We can use Yin and Yang to descibe the individual lives in accordance to the changes in our living environment. We are continuously in sync with Nature, for we are also part of Nature! In my opinion, if we understand the fact of change, we will be able to accept the fact of such changes. Our life will be able to flow seamlessly and the journey will be smooth.

Teeguarden (1977), gave an analogy about the journey of life is like driving a car. She mentioned that if we jerked the wheel to the right, and then to the left, we were using to much effort to keep the car on the road. In relation to that, should we turn the steering wheel slightly to the right, and slightly to the left, we are able to get a smooth, pleasant, effortless and joyous ride.

Reference:

MM Lee (2006,Nov 4),Dialogue Session Between MM Lee And The Students On Government Takes Decisions That Benefit Majority. Singapore. Straits Times.

Teegauarden, I. M. (1977) Acupressure Way of Health: Jin Shin Do. Japan Publicatins, Inc.

Smacking Your Way To Fitness And Health

2008-03-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

,Studies have shown that on average an adult spends watching about 3 hours of TV per day are twice likely to be obese. Those who watch 4 hours or more per day will be 4 times more likely to be obese.

In normal ageing process, our metabolic rate will reduce approximately 3% per year and our weight will slowly increase from my increase food intake. That also depending on your level of physical inactivity. Hence, in order to have a healthy relationship with food we need to increase my physical activity according to the amount of food intake. Of course, the cruity is that age also plays an important part too.

However, a combination of dieting and exercising are the most effective ways for losing weight and maintaining weight loss in the long term. A combination of different forms of exercises such as the aerobic, and the resistance and flexibility exercises.

Since I am a food lover, I have problems of keeping my stomach trimmed. I do not wish to see it growth that I could not see my toes when I look down. There must be a better way to keep my tummy trimmed.

I went through a whole piles of Chinese Medicine textbooks tha I bought from China to look for alternative solutions. Unfortunately, none of them talked about losing weight. Suddently I stumbled upon a video tape that I bought from a tui na master in Guang Zhou. I played the tape and it was about using a unique qi channels opening technique called the finger tapping technique.

While trying to recall why I bought this video, I could only able to remember the master told me that a student from the Western had once asked him for help to get ride of her big tummy. But he did not tell me how big the stomach was. He, however jumped straight to the point and explained that his effective technique is called the “Smacking your way to fitness and health” technique.

It was such a simple technique that anyone will know what to do after seeing the video. All, right I shall use this “Smacking your way to fitness and health” technique for a while to see if it is effective.

Pain Management

2008-03-13T17:31:00.001-07:00

I saw this advertsiement about a basketball player who was selling some sort of heat releasing plasters for relieving pain. I found that the phase “When the heat is on the pain in gone!”, is very meaning and has a very insightful concept of the way how Traditional Chinese Medicine treats pain. This concept has been adopted by the Chinese for more than three thousands years and till now the fort still holds .

There are many ways of managing pain. You can take some pain killers which will numb your nerves so that your brain will not be able to sense the pain. You can also try other traditional treatments like acupuncture and acupressure. Both techniques were once considered as a unorthodox treatments until the use of the gate control theory of pain, which was put forward by Ronald Melzack and Patrick Wall (1962, 1965), which explained theory behind these treatments. Ronald Melzack and Patrick Wall (1962, 1965), believed that pain was perceived by interaction between different neurons.

By rubbing the pain area or using some invasive methods, like acupuncture, will help to “distract” the interactions between the neurons and hence lessen the pain. This will also activate the nonnociceptive fibers that inhibit the firing of nociceptive fibers (Kandel et al., 2000).

The using transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS), which selectively stimulate the nonnociceptive fibers by using electrodes, will also help to lessen pain.Besides using the above scientific theories as the foundation for pain management, we can also use heat to relieve pain too. Heat will can stimulate the flow of blood and stimulate the nonnociceptive fibers in the affected area. Hence, when I treat my patient for pain, I will try to relax the muscles and then continuously stimulate the nonnociceptive fibers around the painful area. It is indeed has helped me to manage the pain effortlessly and cost effectively.

Using heat to manage pain. When the “Heat is on the Pain is gone” is what acupuncturists have also been adopting to treat chronic pain for about three thousands of years. The using of moxibustion together will acupuncture and acupressure are both essential techniques for relieving pains. Chronic pains that were caused by bad flow of qi or trauma require heat to go into the deeper tissue to increase the blood flow to nourish fibers. Heat will also help to stimulate the nonnociceptive fibers as well. A Chinese Medicine practitioner will and must try to find out the underlying causes of the chronic pain when the systematic problems have been addressed. He must then renders cost effective method to treat the underlying problems and take the miseries from the patients.

It is important to note that to be able to manage pain is very important. According to McGill University, those who is suffering from chronic pain will affect their choice of friends, activities, lifestyle and profession. They believes that failure to take up the challenges that their bodies faced can be seen as a mental illness (McGill University). So, the next time someone told you that he/she was in pain, please pay attention!

Reference:
1. P.D. Wall, R. Melzack, “On nature of cutaneous sensory mechanisms,” Brain, 85:331, 1962.
2. R. Melzack, P.D. Wall, “Pain mechanisms: A new theory,” Science, 150:171-9, 1965.3.
3. Kandel E.R., Schwartz, J.H., Jessell, T.M. 2000. Principles of Neural Science, 4th ed., pp.482-486. McGraw-Hill, New York.

Tag: Acupressure,Acupuncture,chinese medicine,gate theory, Kandel,nonnociceptive fibers,pain management,Patrick Wall,Ronald Melzack,unorthodox treatments

Acupressure: How Much Pressure To Apply?

2008-03-12T07:25:00.000-07:00

I always believe that Acupressure is one of the most effective treatments for relieving pain and stress. In the Acupressure point therapy, it releases tension, increases the circulation of blood, and improves the body’s life energy to improve health.

Acupressure does not only help to maintain good health through self-care but also strengthens resistance to disease and promotes wellness through the relaxing of the body and relieving of stress.

When a muscle is chronically tense or in spasm, the muscle fibers will contract. This could be due to the imbalance of Yin and Yang in the body. The body will secret lactic acid which is the result from fatigue, chemical imbalances, stress, and qi stagnation. Tensions formed and tended to concentrate around the related acupressure points.

The pressure applied on these Acupressure points must be gradual, and steady with penetrating pressure for approximately a few minutes. A rule of thumb, it will be about three minutes. The ideal pressure to any points depend on how fit your clients are and their health conditions.

To elaborate on the penetrating pressure, it should be firm enough so that your clients are feeling the pleasant and firm pressure. If they feel extremely sensitive or pain, release the pressure gradually until your client verbalized a balance between pleasure and pain.

How to learn the proper Acupressure techniques and to give professional acupressure sessions for releasing stress effectively? There is no institution that will teach you the skills without you attending series of lessons and certifications.

Those who wish to learn the techniques for self-care purposes, and wish for a quick and easy to learn path, studying at home can be an ideal way to so. However, the lessons can be too demanding. You may want to consider to buy some books that are used by classroom students. Not knowing what are the textbooks to get? Well, I have explored some self study products and identified the following books that you can use Acupressure for Pain Management and Stress Management. Click here for the list of textbooks that get you started.