Andres Vergara, L.Ac., M.Ac. and Michele Collins, Rh (AHG), MPH
Acupuncture and Chinese herbs are highly effective treatments for the relief of any and all types of pain. Pain and debilitating chronic pain transcend the simple sensation of hurt. Chronic pain can limit one’s activities and deeply affect one’s mood. Using Chinese medicine, which is one of the oldest and continuously practiced systems of medicine in the world, we have been immensely gratified to help a wide variety of people with very diverse problems find relief. There are many kinds of pain, from joint pain and severe pain in
various areas of the body that can inhibit ability to work and to
function. We have successfully treated many different types
of pain, including headaches, migraines, neck pain, shoulder pain,
upper, middle and lower back pain, leg pain, ankle pain, finger pain,
hand pain, toe pain, pain throughout the body, hip pain, chest pain,
elbow pain, knee pain, menstrual pain, etc. Pain can arise from accident or injury, arthritis, cancer, many different ailments and can also be a result of emotional distress, but Chinese medicine can treat both the emotional and physical aspects of pain The treatment of pain is a topic we addressed on our internet radio show, Holistic Healing with Herbs and Chinese Medicine. You can click here to listen.
Chronic pain is a fast growing public health problem in the United States, effecting about 100 million American adults, which is more than the total effected by cancer, heart disease, and diabetes combined. In June of 2011, the Institute of Medicine released a report titled Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education, and Research detailing how this issue that is impacting our country, as well extensive recommendations for how to deal with, as well as prevent, chronic pain. This report estimates that this issue cost the country $635 Billion dollars a year in medical treatment and in lost productivity. One of the key recommendations the report makes to improve the care of people with chronic pain is to individualize the treatment. They report also recommends data collection for a better understanding of pain, a key area being research about the characteristics of acute and chronic pain.
Chinese medicine has a lot to contribute to the understanding of acute and chronic pain, both in terms of treatment and in terms of prevention. Most importantly, Chinese medicine offers a nuanced understanding of the varied root causes of pain and the way these causes affect the body, both in the short term, as well as in the long term if pain is not treated in a timely fashion. Chinese medicine has an extensive history of treating acute injuries, known as hit medicine. The goal of these treatments was to help martial artists and soldiers heal quickly to return to training and/or combat. One famous topical herbal treatment is Yunan Bai Yao (the ingredients of which are considered to be a state secret), which was used to stop the bleeding from gunshot wounds. In short, there is a lot that allopathic medicine can learn from Chinese medicine. But it isn’t just the use of acupuncture, which is the commonly recommended treatment for pain, but in by understanding and using the Chinese system as a whole.
Western/allopathic medicine has two main approaches – pharmaceuticals and surgery. Even if these treatments are effective people (especially true in the case of pharmaceuticals such as narcotics), people feel drugged and are not as able to function and perform daily life. In short, quality of life can be effected dramatically. Even more alarming is that people can become dependent on these medications, resulting in addiction.
Traditional Chinese Medicine looks at the body as a continuum of yin and yang and the importance of maintaining a dynamic balance between the two. Health is maintained when yin and yang and qi and blood are in balance in the body. There is a clear internal map that determines where qi and blood flow in the body. If there is too little qi and blood or if they are stuck in a particular place then there will be an imbalance between yin and yang, resulting in suboptimal internal organ function which will in turn lead to illness and pain.
Modern western medicine has discovered pain signals that are transmitted by receptor cells, and it is these cells that respond to injury, inflammation or tissue damage. Once they receive these messages, the signals travel to the brain where they are interpreted as pain. Our nerves can actually become very efficient at transmitting pain over time, hence the issue of chronic pain.
Pain is viewed differently in Chinese medicine. Essentially stagnation or stuckness causes pain. When something is stuck or not moving we will experience pain. There is a Chinese saying “when there is free flow, there is no pain, where there is no free flow there is pain.” Given this root cause, there is usually the need to facilitate the flow of qi and blood in the treatment of pain. In addition, there are different types of energies that can stagnate – fluids or phlegm, blood, qi, and cold can all stagnate and cause pain. Often there are multiple factors contributing to pain, which necessitates a complex approach, because there isn’t just one type of stagnation. Also, if an issue is chronic, there is a greater chance that there is more than one type of stagnation, as well as other organ systems that have become involved. You can have heat and cold at the same time, as well as you a mixed pattern of deficiency and stagnation.
An example of this is leg pain, which can be caused by many factors. From a western perspective this pain may be a result of sciatica, nerve pain, intervertebra disc protusion, spraining of local muscles. The Chinese medical aetiologies and pathologies include: overexposure to wind, cold and damp. Pain from cold will be characterized by contraction stagnation pains, as well as worsening of the condition on exposure to wind, cold or dampness. Damp pain will be characterized by feelings of heaviness and lingering pain. If the aetiology is external due to wind damp cold, then the pain will often have a rapid onset and last for short periods of time. This characteristics can also be due to traumatic injury. If the pain is chronic and accompanied by other appropriate signs and symptoms indicating an internal imbalance, then it is more likely to be due to an internal deficiency or stagnation pattern.
Summary of Recent Research
There are now multiple studies that validate the use of Chinese medicine for pain. One study validated the use of acupuncture for back pain, concluding “acupuncture constituted a strong treatment alternative to multimodal conventional therapy giving a promising and effective treatment option for chronic lower back pain.” Another study showed acupuncture is better than medication for migraines. Still another study showed that acupuncture is effective for carpal tunnel. Yet another study documented the effectiveness of acupuncture for shoulder pain. And yet another study has shown the effectiveness of acupuncture for osteoarthritis . There was a recent Australian study that showed Chinese herbs are more effective for period pain than anti-inflmmatory drugs, the contraceptive pill, placebo, no treatment, acupuncture and heat compression, concluding herbs are more effective than conventional drugs at resolving period pain.
It is important to note that most studies in the west have examined the use of acupuncture, and not herbs. Yet, the internal use of herbs actually can be even more effective at addressing and resolving the root causes of pain. Both of our experiences in the clinic, as well as our studies in a Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in China have reinforced this observation. External applications of herbs is also be an effective strategy in treating pain, as evidenced by the hit medicine liniments of Chinese medicine.
Because of the severity, frequency and complexity of chronic pain cases, effective treatments are very important. Prolonged pain tends to become more complex, and if not treated, can result in problems later in life, such as arthritis. Western medicine often has no adequate medical explanation for many chronic pain cases because the exact causes are often not understood. It is still customary for doctors to tell their patients that there is nothing wrong with them, that there is nothing that can be done, or that the pain is all in their heads. Thanks to the success of Acupuncture and Chinese herbs in the treatment of pain and many other ailments and diseases, it is now not uncommon for doctors to refer to acupuncture and herbalists for the treatment of chronic and acute pain.
Additional resources
A Tooth from the Tiger’s Mouth by Tom Bisio – this is a great book for learning about Chinese hit medicine and the treatment of acute pain issues.
Black Belt Herbs – Miles Coleman, Rh (AHG), an herbalist handcrafts herbal liniments.
