Good morning Readers,

Today, in response to requests, I am going to write about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

The carpal tunnel is a channel that is on average 3 cm wide, formed by the bones of the wrist as a base and a transverse ligament as a roof. The median nerve and tendons responsible for flexing the fingers pass through this channel.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is an inflammation of the median nerve resulting from its compression by narrowing the carpal tunnel. It can happen due to excessive repetitive movements with the wrist, as in activities of daily living (twisting cloths, typing, lifting weights) or by physical activities such as tennis, volleyball, among others.

In Chinese Medicine, when we have a patient with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, we assume that the injury is only in the musculoskeletal system and does not affect the internal organs at first.

Thus, it is important that the therapist knows, initially, how to work the pain and the injury with the Tendinomuscular Vessels, which are specific to this type of pathology. In the theory of Tendinomuscular Vessels, the Tsing point of the affected meridian + an ashi point (pain point that does not belong to a particular meridian) is used and ends with the “Union Point” of the affected meridian.

If you do not know the Tendinomuscular Vessels, have exclusive material in the Blog store, just click on the link (for now only in Portuguese): https://loja.facilitanteacupuntura.com.br/store/product/9

In addition to this treatment, the therapist may use local points to treat pain, such as TE-3, TE-4, TE-5, LI-4, LI-5, LU-9, PC7, HT-7, SI-3, SI-4, in addition to other points that circulate Qi and blood throughout the body, as LI-4 + LV-3 used contralaterally.

Other points for gerneral pain can be used, such as ST-36, BL-60, LI-11, among others.

An important tip is the test of the trigger points of the brachioradial musculature, which normally becomes tense in all pathologies of the wrist, including common tendonitis. If the patient reports pain in the region of this point, the therapist should disable the trigger point using a deep needle in it.

It is also necessary to know if the patient has some energetic imbalance of the organs that act on muscles and joints, that is: Liver, Kidney and Spleen. If, in addition to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, the patient has imbalances in these organs, they must be treated according to the corresponding syndrome.

In auriculotherapy the points of Analgesia, Muscle Relaxation and Wrist will give a great pain relief.

I hope I’ve helped 🙂

Let’s keep studying.

A big hug to everyone.

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Good morning readers!

The news today is that we’ve also have English subtitles in some videos on our Youtube channel! Today, I present to you a quick live on Facebook showing a point to improve pain in the lower back and hip and relieve tired legs 🙂

It’s a old vídeo but with precious informations.

Hope you like it!

Big hug!

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Good afternoon readers,

Today we are going to discuss a little bit about the functions of Ren Mai Wonderful Vase, also known as Conception Vase.

The Wonderful Vases, as we know, are considered “Extraordinary Meridians”, that is, they do not belong to the well-known 12 Main Meridians, do not have a defined path and use points “borrowed” from the principal meridians to use our essence to perform health treatment.

Some literature says that Ren Mai (or Conception Vase) has a strong energy in women, so his name is linked to the ability that only women have, to reproduce.

Among the main functions of the Conception Vessel, we can mention:

• Preserve Jing, Qi, Yin and Yang from Kidney
• Removes humidity in the lower abdomen
• Moves the stagnation of Heart, Lung, Liver, Spleen and Stomach Qi
• Regulates emotions
• Regulates the female reproductive cycle and associated psychological changes

Having this information about its functions, we can say that the Conception Vase is very useful in the treatment of female infertility, not only strengthening the general energy of the Kidney, extremely important in the gestation process, but also strengthening the Jing so that embryonic growth is appropriate.

When the woman suffers from recurrent candidiasis, the Conception Vessel is also of great help, as it removes humidity from the lower abdomen. In some cases, menstrual delays also happen due to the accumulation of humidity in the lower heater, since the humidity blocks the passage of blood, when removed, the cycles return to normal.

In addition to these issues, the Conception Vessel is very useful in the psychic changes of women, which occur throughout their reproductive life. In general, all severe psychological changes in women are related to Fear.

In women beginning their reproductive life, close to their first menstruation, there is a fear that things will not work out, a fear of being disapproved or of being different from the group they attend.

Even after the first pregnancy, the fear lies in the fact of failing as a mother, not knowing how to educate and insert the child into society. In some cases, this fear is also related to guilt, with thoughts of: “did I do the right thing? what if I had acted otherwise? ”.

In a more mature phase, there is a fear of rejection by the children, followed by the “empty nest syndrome”, when the children get married, or go to college abroad. There is a fear of loneliness and of the children not coming back.

In menopause, however, the fear lies in not being able to be more productive or feeling “unnecessary”, with near maturity, the woman may think that her life is coming to an end.

All the feelings of these changes can be changed and even cured with the use of Ren Mai. Using vital energy, it is possible to correct the organic and psychic functions of the woman, and make her health maintenance more effective and achieved easily.

I always recommend the contralateral use, opening LU-7 on the right side and closing KI-6 on the left side 😉

If you want to know more about wonderful vases, there is a handout in the store. Only access:

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… And get yours 🙂

I hope you enjoyed!

A big hug!

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Good afternoon Readers!

Today we’re going to talk a little bit about the patient who suffers from shoulder pain.

Patients suffering from bursitis, tendonitis or who are undergoing recovery from surgery on the shoulder joint usually take a long time to recover 100%, so it is interesting to evaluate how we can return range of motion and reduce pain in a shorter time. possible.

For these cases, a good tip is to associate the knowledge of Acupuncture and Dry Needling. Although the Dry Needling technique is not as complex as Chinese Acupuncture, it derives from oriental knowledge and should be studied by all professionals who handle needles.

When we treat energy meridians, we are not always able to release all patient’s pain, as they may suffer from the presence of myofascial trigger points.

Myofascial trigger points are areas of the muscle that suffer from hypoxia, that is, they lack blood and oxygen, due to their pre-existing inflammation or because of an accident with direct trauma. Usually, in cases of shoulder problems, the muscles most affected by trigger points are:

• Subscapularis
• Small Round
• Latissimus Dorsi
• Supraspinatus

It is important that the therapist finds the trigger point through palpation, to know if they’re causing reflex pain signal in the patient. If so, the affected muscle must be needled deeply. After approximately 3 minutes of this type of needling, the patient will be able perform the restricted movement with greater amplitude.

An important observation is that, like traditional acupuncture points, trigger points also have a correct location, and there is no need to needle a large muscle extension.

In addition to the dry needling the therapist should place needles at points that help to restore the circulation of blood and energy in the affected joint. Good local action points are:

• LI-14
• LI-15
• SI-11
• GB-21
• LU-3

And of distal action, we can use the points GB-34 and GB-39 that will nourish the muscles and tendons in general.

It is evident that the therapist should use other tools such as moxotherapy, electrotherapy, auriculotherapy and other resources if the patient does not improve between the first 3 sessions, however, if the points indicated in this article are correctly placed, it is certain that the patient will improve already in the first session.

I hope you enjoyed it and it will be useful.

A big hug to everyone!

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Hello Dear Readers,

Today we are going to talk a little bit about some recommendations that acupuncturists give to their patients right after an acupuncture session and also discuss a little why we should follow these recommendations.

If you are an acupuncturist or acupuncture patient, you have probably heard that the patient cannot, until 2 hours after a session:

• step on the icy floor
• drink ice water
• have sex
• do intense physical activity

Have you ever wondered why these recommendations exist?

These recommendations are extremely important, my dear reader, as they are protecting the effects achieved by stimulation of acupuncture points. Let me explain:

Acupuncture has as main objective to rebalance the patient physically and energetically. Energy is a subtle, non-palpable substance that circulates through acupuncture meridians. This energy needs to circulate in a continuous and harmonic way throughout the organism for the individual to be healthy.

When acupuncture needles are inserted in the points located on the meridians, the body’s response is to circulate the energy, making it take its correct course and reach all the organs that are in need of this substance.

The energy cycles every two hours, changing its highest concentration per organ in what we call “Organ Body Clock”, maintaining itself this way throughout life. When we get sick, the energy stops flowing harmoniously, a fact that acupuncture can correct during the session.

However, we say that the peak effect of acupuncture occurs after two hours after we remove the needles. That is, the benefits will start to happen while the patient is needled, but they will only reach their peak two hours after the removal of the needles. This happens because the energy that has been unlocked needs to fall back into the “body clock”, a fact that takes 2 hours, according to the literature definition.
Knowing these facts, the question still remains: But why are there the recommendations at the beginning of this text?

1. When we step on the cold floor or consume cold drinks, we are putting the pathogenic factor “Cold” into the body, which blocks the circulation of blood and energy in the body. So, we would be acting contrary to the objective of acupuncture, which is maintain harmonic circulation.
2. When we have sex or do intense physical activity, we generate “Heat”, which will stir up the energy and prevent its circulation from being harmonious, as in the previous exemple.

Two hours after the session, the circulation of energy will have returned to normal, and consuming cold drinks, stepping on the cold floor, having sex or doing physical activity will cause the same impacts on the body, however, the body rebalanced by acupuncture can adapt to these changes and regain their balance easily after these practices.

We call this phenomenon homeostasis, which is the state of physical, chemical and dynamic balance of an organism. The body can become unbalanced, but the healthy body is able to rediscover its balance.

So, dear readers, the recommendations given to patients must be followed in full, so that the effect is complete and so that the therapist has the chance to restore the patient’s organism the ability to rebalance itself and cure its symptoms;)

I hope you enjoyed.

A big hug to everyone.

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Good morning readers

Today we’re going to talk a little bit about Wei Qi: The Defense Energy.

Known as the energy that protects the body, Wei Qi can be understood in Western medicine as that which represents immunity, the body’s ability to defend itself from external pathogenic factors.

Wei Qi is produced by the Lung, however, its raw material comes from digestion by the Stomach and Spleen. The Stomach has the function of ripening and decomposing the digested foods, while the Spleen will transform the digested foods into Gu Qi, known as “the essence energy of the food”.

Thus, the Gu Qi produced by the Spleen will reach the Lung, where, together with the Air energy, it will become Wei Qi.

Wei Qi (defense energy) will circulate through the surface of the skin, a place known as the “Cou Li” space (space between the skin and the muscles) and when it is strong, it will defend the body from invasions of cold, humidity, heat, wind and dryness. With a strong Wei Qi, the individual will not get sick.

Wei Qi’s circulation is particularly notable. According to Ling Shu, its circulation starts in the Bladder meridian, in the eyes region, following the following sequence:

During the day (circulates 25 times in the viscera) → from BI1 to B67 → SI19 to SI1 (Tai Yang levels) → GB1 to GB44 → SJ23 to SJ1 (ShaoYang levels) → from ST1 to ST45 → LI20 to LI1 (Yang Ming levels)

** circulations occur separately at each Energy Level

During the night (circulates in the organs) → Kidney → Heart → Lung → Liver → Spleen → Kidney.

This means that during the day our viscera and the posterior region of the body are more protected than the organs. And at night, the opposite happens, the organs and the region of the body are more protected than the viscera.

This circulation of Qi justifies why it is so easy to get a cold when, at night, the Yang meridians are unprotected and we take wind in the back, for example.

In order to keep Wei Qi good during the day, we need to nourish the organs, so good nutrition and rest should be part of the daily routine.

Two points are particularly important in maintaining Wei Qi, the SP6 and the LU9. SP6 is important because it has the action of improving immunity and LU9 for its function of direct Lung toning. Keeping Wei Qi strong is keeping the body disease-free 🙂

I hope you enjoyed!

A big hug!

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Good morning Readers

Today we are going to talk a little about Lateral Epicondylitis, also known as Tennis Elbow.

Epicondylitis is a pain, inflammation or even a wear that affects the tendons of the elbow muscles, which originates in the epicondyles. Epicondyles are the bony protrusions at the end of the arm bone, the humerus.

The most common symptoms of epicondylitis are: pain or sensivity over the lateral epicondyle, which radiate along the extensor muscles, reaching up to the wrist, pain that is aggravated by small movements of the elbow, which can disturb and impair the performance of common activities, such as brushing your teeth, opening a door, writing or lifting a full glass.

For Traditional Chinese Medicine, there is no specific syndrome to explain the appearance of lateral epicondylitis, and it may be just a muscle involvement or even a Liver imbalance, failing in the nutrition of the tendons.

To find out if the Liver is affected, it is necessary for the acupuncturist to evaluate other symptoms in the patient. Cramps, dry eyes, brittle nails and pallor on the side of the tongue are some examples. If the therapist concludes that there is a Deficiency of Liver Blood, some points such as LR8, LR3 and a combination of points that tone the blood, such as ST36, SP6, PC6 and CV4 are indicated, in addition to local points that will directly relieve symptoms of the patient.

There is also the possibility that the patient does not suffer from any Liver energy imbalance, having only one muscle injury due to direct trauma or overuse. In these cases, we can use Tendinomuscular Meridians, which have no connection with the internal organs, but have the ability to deflame the muscles and tendons.

Another option to treat lateral epicondylitis, in addition to the tendinomuscular points, is the use of local points, such as LI11, LU5, PC3, SJ10 or even the application of dry needling in the trigger points that eventually appear in the region.

The trigger point that commonly appears in cases of epicondylitis is the trigger point of the Brachioradial muscle. Deep needling in this region with the needle facing the elbow joint will instantly relieve the pain.

Other resources such as cupping and Gua Chá, made with light pressure, just to improve blood supply and drain inflammation or even direct or indirect moxa can be applied.

Guiding the patient to use magnets on the local pain will also speed up recovery.

For Chinese Medicine, the combination of available techniques is capable of improving 100% cases of epicondylitis.

Practice and tell me later.

A big hug to everyone.

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Hello dear readers!

Today, inspired by a course with Professor Neil Gumenick, I decided to write something about GV20 point based on the explanation of 5 Elements of the Traditional Chinese Medicine.

When we talk about Acupuncture, we know about the possibilities of treating physical and psychological problems using it. Also in TCM, we say that psychic, mental and emotional problems are imbalances of the Shen (the Mind), which is ruled by the Spirit, also known as Shen.

In the Oriental point of view, the Spirit is always perfect, because he is not born; he just is… A non-substantial energy. We can imagine our Spirit as the sky, completely blue and cloudless.

As we grow up, we hear a lot of good things and a lot of bad things, such as “you are not good enough”, “you are not beautiful enough”, “give up, you will not make it”. Over the years, our “blue sky” becomes full of dark clouds, prone to big storms. Therefore, our spirit ends up troubled by negative ideas and thoughts, which commands our mind, and that normally, has an external origin, coming from other people.

The important point of this analogy is that no cloud is permanent and it is possible a blue sky after a storm. Clouds always dissipate, and so it is with our or to the patient’s emotional problems.

It is imperative to know that there is no “I AM an emotional patient” but “I AM sick of my emotions”. Then we can use the GV20.
GV20 is the twentieth point of the Governor Vessel meridian. Located at the top of the head, it is the highest point of the body, therefore, known as the most Yang point of our entire system. In a spiritual way, it is seen as the closest point to heaven, which means, the closest point to our spirit and his Yang energy is able to clear up the clouds. (Clearing thoughts, giving hope, encouragement and the ability to get rid of negative thoughts)

GV20, in a world where depression rates, anxiety and suicide only grow, have such a noble function. I believe it is extremely important to consider not only using this point in Acupuncture sessions (with needles), but also to teach patient its location and how to pressure it whenever bad feelings create such grey clouds on blue sky.

Professionals qualified in this area can also use Moxa effectively.
There are many others GV20 functions that I have already seen. However, this use was undoubtedly one of the most important that I have studied recently and I really wanted to share it with you today.
I hope it was enlightening for you!

Big hug to all.

Fernanda Mara
PS: Please, read Prof. Neil Goumenick’s articles at link:
www.acupuncturetoday.com