Pain and Stagnation

Pain is a limiting factor in life. Many of us live with chronic pain, and it can interfere with our work, our relationships, and our pursuit of happiness. At Journey Healthcare, we believe everyone can be pain free.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), pain has many different causes. These causes are categorised into patterns according to TCM theory. These include Cold Attacking (contracted and stiff muscles, relieved by warmth), Deficiency Pain (chronic, aching, weakness, better for pressure), or Damp Pain (a feeling of heaviness, aching, with swelling), among others.

Your Leichhardt acupuncturist will assess your condition thoroughly to determine your particular pattern, and your treatment will be personalised around this diagnosis.

One common cause of Pain is Stagnation of Qi (Chi) and Blood. Our bodies are designed to move, flow, and change. They do not respond well to lack of movement and sluggishness. In TCM there is a saying; “Where there is free-flow, there is no pain. Where there is pain, there is no free-flow.”

When there is a lack of movement, for example a lack of exercise, or movement of Qi and Blood is impeded due to a trauma (bruising) or other factors such as the presence of a pathogen, a blockage will occur. We call this blockage Stagnation. This condition is extremely common and one we treat at Journey Healthcare in Leichhardt often and with great success.

In cases of pain caused by Qi Stagnation, the nature of the pain will be localised, have a distending quality, and feel worse for pressure. Blood Stagnation is more of a sharp pain and feels as if it is ‘boring in’. There may be bruising present and it feels worse for pressure. Often Qi Stagnation and Blood Stagnation will be combined.

To relieve pain, increase mobility, ease tension, and speed healing this stagnation needs to be moved. TCM employs different techniques, depending on your pattern differentiation. Acupuncture, guasha (scraping), cupping, moxa, and massage are all extremely helpful and effective.

If you experience pain, and the symptoms of Qi and Blood Stagnation sound familiar to you, TCM can help. Conditions that respond extremely quickly to treatment include sciatica, lower back pain, frozen shoulder, RSI, old or recent sports injuries, and many others.

We hope to see you soon, so we can help to get you pain-free and back pursuing your happiness.

Helena Nyssen

Journey Healthcare

Helena is a registered Chinese Medicine Practitioner, and Remedial Massage Therapist at Journey Healthcare in Leichhardt NSW. You can visit Journey Healthcare at www.journeyhealthcare.ntpages.com.au

call on 0404 0505 13

email helena.nyssen@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you!