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Book NowKnee problems are very common; it is estimated that frequent knee pain affects about 25% of all adults. It may be caused by arthritis, an injury that hasn’t healed properly, overuse, or sometimes there is no obvious cause for the pain. For information on knee pain caused by arthritis, please click here.
Knee problems often take a long time to heal, and it is not uncommon for someone to experience some degree of pain and stiffness the rest of their life. The main reasons for this slow healing or lack of healing are
Muscles have a very good blood supply, and generally heal quickly. Bones also heal fairly quickly (usually around 6 weeks). However connective tissues such as tendons, ligaments and cartilage have a much more limited and indirect blood supply, meaning they are relatively poor in blood vessels compared to muscles. (Tendons get their blood from the connected muscles, attached bones, and outer tissue layers, while ligaments get their blood mainly from surrounding joint membranes and outer covers.) This low blood supply makes them heal very slowly after an injury. Apart from the bones, knees are mostly made up of these connective tissues.
So if a footballer injures a muscle or bone, they will be back on the field in a month or two, whereas if they have a significant tendon or ligament injury they may be out for the rest of the year.
In some ways the knee is a very simple joint, as it only moves the lower leg backward and forward in one direction. (On the other hand, the shoulder joint allows the arm to be moved in almost any direction.) The knee is actually very strong while it is moving backwards and forwards, but will start to play up if it is bent or twisted out of alignment. It is a little like having bad alignment on one of the wheels of your car- after a while your tyre will wear out or get damaged.
The main causes of misalignment of the knee are the joints above and below it, i.e. the hip and the ankle. Try standing up and turning your hips to one side; it is likely you will feel a strain in your knees. So if your hips are rotated or one hip is sitting higher than the other, this will often result in knee problems, especially on the inside of the knee.
Ankle issues that affect the knee are often due to an old ankle sprain that hasn’t healed completely. The ankle may feel completely fine with normal use, but if it is pressed carefully where the original injury occurred there will still be a tender spot there. On a subconscious level the mind recognises there is still an problem with that ankle, and will favour it a little when you walk. This will cause an increased pressure plus a more uneven pressure on the opposite knee, eventually causing damage. (So in most cases, the pain is in the opposite knee to the old ankle injury.)
Sometimes the ankle itself is fine, but if there is a misalignment of the foot with the lower leg bones it can have a similar effect.
If the alignment issues are not properly addressed, the knee will continue to be a problem, or any improvement will only be temporary.
This often involves a number of steps.
There are a large number of acupuncture points that can be used, depending on exactly what is happening with the knee. A few examples include
Tendons and ligaments are notoriously slow to heal, and in many cases they are never as good as they used to be. Sometimes there may be ongoing pain or discomfort, or the area gets sore with use, is easily damaged again, or the injury starts to play up again as the person ages. This poor healing is often due to the poor blood flow to these tissues.
However, having high doses of the right nutrients needed to repair tendons and ligaments can make a major difference to how quickly and well the damage heals. (As an example, a lady who had an old ankle injury which still caused her pain years later. She tried every therapy she could for her ankle, but none of them helped. But when she started taking the right nutrients, her ankle finally came good.)
An experienced naturopath will be able to determine the correct nutrients and dosage to help repair the damage. These nutrients will often be ‘practitioner-prescribed only’ products, which will have a stronger effect than over-the-counter products, and can only be prescribed by a therapist trained in their use. The naturopath may also prescribe natural anti-inflammatories if inflammation is an issue.
Acupuncture can also help by increasing the blood flow (and nutrients) to the area.
To properly address knee problems it is important to address all of the factors involved. We find that a combination of acupuncture and naturopathy normally produces the best results.
(Disclaimer – Please be aware that each person’s body is different, so individual results may vary. If you have an appointment at our clinic, your therapist will conduct a detailed assessment of your condition, and they will be able to advise you on how successful your treatments are likely to be. A result is not promised and/or guaranteed from the act of receiving a treatment.)
We are currently offering a limited number of free Comprehensive Assessments. (Terms and conditions: the Assessment is a completely free service, with no obligations whatsoever.)
The Assessment helps to identify:
If you would like to book in for an Assessment, please give us a call on 3376 6911, or you can book online using the link at the top of the page.
Be well, and have a great life!
(Illustration 289 above is from 'Kiiko Matsumoto's Clinical Strategies Vol. 1.)
Mitch (not his real name), had strong pain at the front of his left shoulder. He was normally quite active, including swimming and going to the gym, however the pain was stopping him from doing anything other than gentle exercise. The shoulder had been a problem for over a year, and started after he had been doing a lot of swimming.
Mitch booked in for acupuncture at our clinic. The most common causes of shoulder problems are
However none of these areas were too bad, so Mitch's case was unusual. We checked his neck again and found a small tight area at the bottom of the front of his neck, between the scalene and sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscles. Tightness in these muscles can compress the brachial nerve plexus and the subclavian artery, causing a condition known as Neurovascular Compression Syndrome. The pressure on the nerves and artery is what causes the pain, which can be felt in the person's neck, shoulder or arm. In some ways, it is a little like getting sciatic pain in the leg caused by pressure on a nerve in the lower back.
Once we were able to diagnose this as the cause of Mitch's shoulder pain, we provided an acupuncture treatment (using a point on his arm and one on his abdomen) to treat the compression of the relevant nerves and artery, which resolved his shoulder pain.
This case illustrates the importance of always identifying the case of the problem and treating that, instead of just addressing the symptoms.
(Disclaimer – Please be aware that each person’s body is different, so individual results may vary. If you have an appointment at our clinic, your therapist will conduct a detailed assessment of your condition, and they will be able to advise you on how successful your treatments are likely to be. A result is not promised and/or guaranteed from the act of receiving a treatment.)
Joe (not his real name) injured his ankle and went to a hospital, where he was given Endone and Panamax for the pain. Unfortunately he had a bad anaphylactic reaction to the medications, went into severe shock, and came close to death. He was given a very high dose of adrenaline to stop the reaction, and was able to be discharged from the hospital.
However, after that he felt very fatigued, and he had a raspy voice which became worse whenever he was talking. The muscles in his upper and lower back had also become tight.
Joe had a busy, high-pressure job, and was always on the go, so his adrenaline levels were higher than normal even before the adrenaline injection. In acupuncture abdominal diagnosis, there are areas near the navel (and on the top of the chest) that indicate the person’s adrenaline levels. When we saw Joe, these areas were found to be very tight and even tender.
So Joe’s first acupuncture treatment focussed on reducing his adrenaline levels. After the treatment he felt calmer and more relaxed. His lower back had loosened up, and his voice was a little less raspy.
At his second appointment, Joe advised that his doctor believed the raspy voice was due to reflux triggered by the adrenaline injection. It was decided to treat him for reflux instead, however after this treatment there was only a slight improvement in his voice.
At his next treatment, Joe confirmed that the first treatment was much more effective than the second one for his voice. Even though the raspy voice was likely caused by reflux, just treating the reflux without addressing what was causing it obviously wasn’t effective. (This is very often the case, that the problem isn’t resolved, or only improves a little or keeps coming back, unless the cause of the problem is treated.)
So Joe’s adrenaline levels were treated again, and he advised that after this his breathing felt much easier. His Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) was also treated, as the nervous system and adrenaline levels are often closely linked. Joe advised that his appetite had been low after the anaphylaxis, however when we treated his ANS he became hungry.
At his next appointment Joe said that he was a great deal better, including feeling much calmer. He previously had a lot of tightness in his stomach, and this had also reduced considerably.
Disclaimer – Please be aware that each person’s body is different, so individual results may vary. If you have an appointment at our clinic, your therapist will conduct a detailed assessment of your condition, and they will be able to advise you on how successful your treatments are likely to be. A result is not promised and/or guaranteed from the act of receiving a treatment.
There can be a variety of factors for both fatigue and throat problems, and to obtain good results with these conditions it is crucial to diagnose and address these factors.
We are currently offering a limited number of free Comprehensive Assessments. (Terms and conditions: the Assessment is a completely free service, with no obligations whatsoever.)
The Assessment helps to identify:
If you would like to book in for an Assessment, please give us a call on 3376 6911, or you can book online using the link at the top of the page.
Be well, and have a happy life!
Acupuncture may help ease the severe nerve pain caused by some cancer drugs, according to a small study published in Acupuncture in Medicine.
Cancer patients treated with these drugs can develop a condition known as 'chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy', or CIPN for short, as a by-product of their treatment. The drugs can damage peripheral nerves, particularly in the calves and feet, which can result in severe nerve pain and/or difficulty walking. As yet, there is no effective medical treatment. Clinical examination of the patients in the study showed that all had a mixture of numbness on touch and nerve pain, while nerve conduction studies showed evidence of damage to the sural nerve. In those patients given acupuncture, both the speed and the intensity of the nerve signalling improved in five out of the six patients (83%). And these same patients said their condition had improved.
The authors stated that "The data suggest that acupuncture has a positive effect on CIPN, as measured by objective parameters [nerve conduction studies]." They went on to say that their results are similar to those found in patients treated with acupuncture for nerve damage caused by diabetes or peripheral neuropathy due to unknown causes.
Please click here to read more about the research.
Disclaimer – Please be aware that each person’s body is different, so individual results may vary. If you have an appointment at our clinic, your therapist will conduct a detailed assessment of your condition, and they will be able to advise you on how successful your treatments are likely to be. A result is not promised and/or guaranteed from the act of receiving a treatment.
There can be a variety of factors for peripheral neuropathy, and to obtain good results with this condition it is crucial to diagnose and address these factors.
We are currently offering a limited number of free Comprehensive Assessments. (Terms and conditions: the Assessment is a completely free service, with no obligations whatsoever.)
The Assessment helps to identify:
If you would like to book in for an Assessment, please give us a call on 3376 6911, or you can book online using the link at the top of the page.
Be well, and have a happy life!
Mary (not her real name) came to our clinic for treatment for her frozen shoulder. The pain was from the top of her shoulder to her upper arm, and was even more intense when she placed her hand behind her back. (She also felt stiff and sore in her left upper back and up into the back of her left neck.)
Frozen shoulder is the common term for shoulder adhesive capsulitis (SAC), which is also known as scapulohumeral periarthritis. It is due to a chronic inflammation of the shoulder joint causing pain and a restricted range of shoulder movements. The conventional treatments for SAC are cortisone injections, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and physiotherapy. Unfortunately, none of these treatments are proven to be clearly effective for SAC in the long-term, and the majority of them often result in various side-effects.*
As with any musculoskeletal problem, I examined the alignment of Mary’s back and neck. I found that her left shoulder was a little higher than her right, and her left hip was also higher than the right.
In some styles of acupuncture, this pattern is known as a ‘4 Corner’ imbalance. The trunk of the body is roughly the shape of a rectangle, with the shoulders at the top corners and the hips at the bottom corners. If one of the corners of the rectangle is shifted, it will affect the other 3 corners as well. (See image.) Often a chain reaction will occur, where the muscles, tendons and ligaments in the other corners try to compensate for the distortion. This will often cause hip, lower back pain, shoulder or neck pain or stiffness.
In a 4 Corner imbalance, there will also be tight vertical muscle bands between the shoulder blades and spine. This was certainly the case with Mary, leading to a clear diagnosis of this condition. Acupuncture was used on specific points in each of her corners to loosen the contracted muscles which had created the shift, as well as the muscle tightness that resulted from the shift. This reduced Mary’s shoulder pain, and she was able to freely put her arm behind her back, which she was unable to do before. However she still had some pain in her shoulder, and the pain in her upper arm hadn’t changed.
It is common for pain in the arm to be the result of tightness or pressure in the neck or shoulder, so these areas were re-examined on Mary. According to Gray’s Anatomy, compression of the subclavian or axillary blood vessels or brachial nerve plexus in the neck (by the scalenus or sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscles) can cause pain in the arm. This is diagnosed by carefully feeling an area just behind the bottom of the SCM muscle in the neck. If this area is tight or tender, it is likely there is pressure on these nerves and blood vessels, resulting in pain in the arm or shoulder, and restricted range of the shoulder. This is a very common cause of frozen shoulder.
The diagnostic area was found to be quite tight and fairly tender in Mary’s case, so an acupuncture point St38 on the leg was used to relax the scalenus and SCM muscles, and take the pressure off the nerves and blood vessels into her shoulder and arm. After this her arm pain was much less, and the range of her shoulder was much greater.
It is common that there are several factors involved in any musculoskeletal problem. In Mary’s case, the combination of the 4 Corner imbalance and the compression of the nerves and blood vessels in the neck resulted in her frozen shoulder, and by treating both of these we were able to significantly improve her pain and range in a single treatment.
Disclaimer – Please be aware that each person’s body is different, so individual results may vary. If you have an appointment at our clinic, your therapist will conduct a detailed assessment of your condition, and they will be able to advise you on how successful your treatments are likely to be. A result is not promised and/or guaranteed from the act of receiving a treatment.
As with any condition, in order to get results it is crucial to first investigate the cause of the problem. We are currently offering a limited number of free Comprehensive Assessments. (Terms and conditions: the Assessment is a completely free service, with no obligations whatsoever.)
The Assessment helps to identify:
If you would like to book in for an Assessment, please give us a call on Brisbane 3376 6911, or you can book online using the link at the top of the page.
Be well, and have a great life!
*https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5937513/
(Illustrations from Kiiko Matsumoto's Clinical Strategies Vol. 1)
Fibromyalgia is painful, often debilitating condition involving constant muscle pain over most of the body, strong fatigue, sleep problems, and often emotional and mental distress.
From a medical perspective, the cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, and very little can be done to relieve the symptoms.
A study by the world-renowned Mayo Clinic was conducted on 50 fibromyalgia patients to determine if acupuncture could be used as a treatment for their condition.
It found that the acupuncture treatments significantly improved their symptoms compared with the control group.
Please click here to read more about the research.
Disclaimer – Please be aware that each person’s body is different, so individual results may vary. If you have an appointment at our clinic, your therapist will conduct a detailed assessment of your condition, and they will be able to advise you on how successful your treatments are likely to be. A result is not promised and/or guaranteed from the act of receiving a treatment.
As with any condition, in order to get results it is crucial to first investigate the cause of the problem. We are currently offering a limited number of free Comprehensive Assessments. (Terms and conditions: the Assessment is a completely free service, with no obligations whatsoever.)
The Assessment helps to identify:
If you would like to book in for an Assessment, please give us a call on 3376 6911, or you can book online using the link at the top of the page.
Be well, and have a great life!
A study published in the 'Brain Research' journal investigated whether acupuncture treatments on the body produced any changes in brain function. They found that when a patient receives acupuncture treatment, it deactivates areas within the brain that are associated with the processing of pain.
Acupuncture is now recommended by the U.S. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) as a treatment option for National Health Service patients with lower back pain. NICE guidelines now state that GPs should 'consider offering a course of acupuncture comprising a maximum of 10 sessions over a period of up to 12 weeks' for patients with this common condition.
Current clinical trials at the University of York are investigating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of acupuncture for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and for depression. Recent studies in the US have also shown that acupuncture can be an effective treatment for migraines and osteoarthritis of the knee.
Please click here to read more about the research.
An extensive study by the University of Helsinki has found that one in four people in Europe use natural therapies (or 'complementary and alternative medicine') for their health issues.
Approximately 40,000 people from over 20 countries participated in the study, and the most popular treatments were massage (12%), homeopathy (6%), osteopathy (5%), and herbal remedies (5%).
The study found that women and those with higher education used natural therapies the most. Germany had the highest proportion of users, with almost 40% saying they used natural therapies.
With any health issue, in order to get results it is crucial to first investigate the cause of the problem. We are currently offering a limited number of free Comprehensive Assessments. (Terms and conditions: the Assessment is a completely free service, with no obligations whatsoever.)
The Assessment helps to identify:
If you would like to book in for an Assessment, please give us a call on 3376 6911, or you can book online using the link at the top of the page.
Be well, and have a great life!
Acupuncture is well-known for its ability to relieve pain. But how does it do this, and is the benefit temporary or long term?
To get good results with any form of treatment, you need three things- correct diagnosis, correct treatment, and correct dosage. If all three are correct, the treatment will work well. However if the assessment is incorrect, the results won’t be good even if the treatment is great. So the acupuncturist will firstly need to check carefully what is causing your back pain.
The exact process of how acupuncture points work is still not fully understood, however they seem to act like tiny controls for the body that can be adjusted up or down to change the way the body is working. There are many hundreds of these points, and over thousands of years we have learnt how they alter and correct the body. With a skilled acupuncturist, there is very little or no sensation from the extremely fine needles, and many people find the treatments have a very relaxing effect.
Surprisingly, most acupuncture points are well away from the areas they treat. For example, an important point for stomach pain is on the shin, one for heart pain is on the wrist, and for sinus pain a point on the top of the foot is often used.
In a treatment, the most important points are those that treat the cause of the problem. These points are referred to as the ‘Root’ treatment. Sometimes, other points near the problem area are used to support the Root treatment, and this is called the ‘Branch’ treatment.
(Some of the many differences between acupuncture and dry needling include
The most common causes of back pain include alignment problems, inflammation, muscle tension or spasm, and tissue damage or injuries.
Alignment and Muscle Imbalances
Your back is designed to be strong and flexible at the same time. This makes it a very complex structure, with lots of different muscles all pulling in different directions. When the tension in all of these muscles is balanced, your back will work well and feel good. Think of the mast on an old sailing ship- if all of the ropes holding it up are correctly tensioned, the mast will be nice and strong, but if some ropes are too tight and some are too loose, the mast is much more likely to bend or crack or split when it is put under pressure.
The imbalances between the muscles can be due to a variety of causes, including poor posture, repetitive movements using only some of the muscles (such as from sports, cleaning, or work activities), injuries, lack of physical activity, etc. The most common ways these imbalances affect your back is by changing the alignment of your pelvis (hips), your spine, or your whole torso.
Pelvis Alignment
Your pelvis is the foundation of your entire back, so if one hip is higher than the other or if the pelvis is slightly twisted, it can cause pain in a variety of places in your back. (Imagine the foundation of a house being uneven, causing the walls to start cracking.) A pelvis imbalance will often affect the base of your spine, where the spine attaches to your pelvis.
Spinal Alignment
The spine contains many small vertebrae to make it nice and flexible. However this means it can easily become crooked by muscles pulling on it unevenly.
Torso Alignment
Your shoulders tend to follow your hips, so if one hip is too high the shoulder above it will often be too high as well. (See A Common Cause of Back, Neck & Shoulder Problems for more details.)
Pelvis Alignment
One of the best acupuncture points for this type of back pain is called Ki9, which is about 2/3 down the inside of the calf, where the main part of the calf muscle stops. Often the hips will visibly be far more level and aligned after using this point.
Spinal Alignment
If the spine is bent to one side or the vertebrae are sitting unevenly on top of each other, the acupuncture point GB39 is very important. This point is about one hand-span above the outside ankle, and if the back pain is caused by this type of alignment problem, it can work very well to resolve the pain.
Torso Alignment
In some ways, the trunk or torso can be viewed as a rectangle, with the hips and shoulders forming the corners. If one of these corners has shifted, it will often affect the other 3 corners as well. For example, if the left hip is tilted down the right hip will be tilted up, and this may cause the shoulders to go out of alignment as well. (So if someone has a shoulder problem, it might be due to a misalignment of one of their hips, or vice-versa.)
Pain caused by this condition is treated by using specific points at all of the four ‘corners’, correcting the torso alignment and relieving the pain.
We often have clients come to us saying that they saw a very good physiotherapist, chiropractor, massage therapist, etc, and despite their best efforts the pain hasn’t improved. Often in these cases we find there is a lot of inflammation involved, and once the inflammation is cleared the pain is relieved. (Note that inflammation can still be an issue even when anti-inflammatory medication doesn’t help.)
The main points for inflammation in the lower back are on the little toe- Bl66 and Bl67. If the pain is more in the hips or buttocks, GB43 and GB44 on the second toe are used instead.
In most cases, treating the alignment issues will cause the release of the muscle tension or spasm in the back. If there is still some tightness or soreness left after this, there are a variety of points on the legs that can be used.
Bone Pain- if the pain is due to a bone problem, Ki7 is the major point to treat it. This point is located in a hollow above the inside ankle bone. (Sometimes this point is very effective for arthritis as well., even though arthritis is more of a joint problem.)
Muscle Pain- Sp3.2 is the most effective point for pain caused by damaged muscles, such as a muscle tear. (Different points are usually used for muscles that are sore from being very tight.) The point is on the inside of the foot, just before the bump near the bottom of the big toe.
Tendons and Ligament Pain- Liv8 is used for pain from any connective tissue damage, such as a badly sprained ankle or a torn ligament. This point is just above the end of the crease on the inside of the leg that appears when the knee is bent.
Disc Pain- if from a damaged disc, Ren12 can often be quite effective in relieving the pain. Ren12 is midway between the bottom of the sternum and the navel.
Nerve Damage Pain- most of the time nerve pain is treated by relieving the pressure on the nerve. However if the pain is due to actual damage to the nerve, Lu8 is usually the best point to relieve the pain. This point is on the inside of the wrist, about 1 cm below the thumb.
As you can see, an acupuncture treatment can involve a variety of factors. A skilled Brisbane acupuncturist can quickly get to the cause of the problem, and start the process of relieving the pain and helping the tissues heal and repair.
If you suffer from any of the points discussed in this article and are seeking effective back pain treatment, we offer a free Comprehensive Assessment, to investigate what is causing the problem and the best way to fix it. (Terms and conditions- the Assessment is a completely free service, with no obligations whatsoever.) Most people find their Assessment to be very helpful and informative.
Be well, and have a great life!
There are a number of causes of back, shoulder, neck and hip problems. One of the more common ones we see is a misalignment between the shoulders and the hips.
In some ways, the trunk or torso can be viewed as a rectangle, with the hips and shoulders forming the corners. If one of these corners has shifted, it will often affect the other 3 corners as well. For example, if the left hip is tilted down the right hip will be tilted up, and the shoulders will also be uneven. So if someone has a shoulder problem, it might be due to a misalignment of one of their hips, or vice-versa.
As well as causing issues with these areas, a ‘4 Corner imbalance’ can have a flow-on affect to other parts of the body as well. If you try raising one hip high, as well as your shoulder raising up you might also feel how your neck will bend to the side to keep your head straight. So over time, this imbalance could also cause neck pain, lower back pain, soreness between the shoulder blades, sciatic pain, and sometimes even knee pain.
Diagnosis
The main method of identifying a 4 Corner imbalance is simply to look at the person’s back when they are standing up, to see if their shoulders and hips are all level. (You can see from the third diagram that the spine can sometimes also be bent to the side,) If the hips and shoulders are uneven, the person then lays face down on the treatment table, and the area between the shoulder blades is checked for any tightness or soreness. The top of the back of the hip bones (just under the iliac crest) is carefully checked as well.
Free Assessment
If you have a lower back, shoulder, neck or hip problem, we offer a free Comprehensive Assessment, which is a detailed look at what is going on in your body, what is causing the problem, and the best way to sort it out. (Terms and conditions- the Assessment is a completely free service, with no obligations whatsoever.) Most people find their Assessment results very insightful and informative.
Be well, and have a great life!
(Images from Clinical Strategies, Vol.1, by K. Matsomoto and D. Euler)
Valued at $120, your Assessment will help to uncover:
All this will be fully explained to you, and you can ask as many questions as you like. That way we can be sure to give you all of the right information, understanding and advice you need. Terms and conditions: This is a free, no obligation offer.