Hello readers!

Today let’s talk about an interesting theme: how to treat trigger finger.

Trigger Finger is basically the maintenance of the articulation in an inflected position, due to the affected finger tendon inflammation and stiffness.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, nourishment and good functioning of tendons relies on a good Liver functioning, thus, everytime we are going to treat a patient that suffers from trigger finger, we must tone and nourish the Liver.

For that purpose, I suggest the points: LV3, LV8, GB34 and GB39.

In auriculotherapy, besides the Liver we should also work on points related with the pathology itself, such as Fist, Hand and Hand Fingers points.

In Chinese Diet Therapy, fresh aliments for the Wood Element may be of big help in order to stop inflammation in the joints and interrupting the disease evolution. Some of these foods are: strawberry, chicory, radish, apple, pear, etc…

You can find the complete food chart here: https://www.facilitatingacupuncture.com/therapeutic-food-tables/

When we are treating trigger finger, we also use a category of points named “Baxie Points” these points are located in the fold of each one of finger phalanx, in order to use needles we need to insert it in a subcutaneous matter, adequate needle size being 18x8mm (tsing needles) or even minor needles. Such points, just like others, shall be in the patient body for 20 minutes.

Baxie points, due to them being local treatment points, will help with easing inflammation, nourishing the tissue, pain (case there is any) and also improves movement amplitude. May also be treated with magnets.

In many occasions, trigger fingers are consequences from rheumatic diseases, such as artritis, artrosis, etc…. Those diseases, however, are related to the Kidney, in Chinese Medicine. Therefore, besides all already said protocol, the therapist must protect the patient’s Kidney.

To strengthen Kidney and bones, I suggest the points: KI3, KI7 ,BL52, BL23.

Neutral aliments for Water Element will help slow down the disease. And in auriculotherapy we will use Kidney points, besides the ones previously mentioned.

When trigger finger is diagnosed early, acupuncture has excellent results, not only in a situation improvement but also healing the patient. However, when there is already articulation deformity caused by trigger finger, the treatment is longer, but shall return life quality to the patient even if cure is out of sight.

Let’s treat it?

Hope that this was useful!

A big tight hug!

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Hello Dear Readers!

Today we are going to get into the second part regarding the laws that rule the functioning of the 5 Elements. In part 1, we saw the Son’s Mother Law (Generation Cycle). Using it, we are able to tone or sedate organs according to its positions Mother and Son as distributed on the pentagram.

Now we will take a look into the Grandpa and Grandson Law (Control Cycle).What we have on the pentagram is:

Heart is Lung grandpa                                Small Intestine is Large Intestine grandpa

Lung is Liver grandpa                                 Large Intestine is Gallbladder grandpa

Liver is Spleen grandpa                              Gallbladder is Stomach grandpa

Spleen is Kidney grandpa                           Stomach is Bladder grandpa

Kidney is Heart grandpa                             Bladder is  Small Intestine grandpa

In a disease situation, the Control Cycle, or Grandpa and Grandson exemplifies the energy control, that is, it doesn’t allow energy to just be created, passing from organ to organ, as in Mother and Son Law. There is a control over this energy generation through this cycle.

When we talk about disease treatment, the law is also valid, but divided in two parts:

1. When we Tone Grandpa – we Sedate Grandchild

Therefore: When we Tone Kidney, we Sedate Heart. When we Tone Liver, we Sedate Spleen. When we Tone Stomach, we Sedate Bladder.

The practical application of this law is used to Sedate organs that are suffering from Excess Diseases.

Exemple: When we have Heart Excess, We Tone its Grandpa, Kidney. Given that when we Tone Kidney, we Sedate Heart.

2. When we Sedate Grandpa – we Tone Grandson

Therefore: When we Sedate Bladder, we Tone Small Intestine. When we Sedate Gallbladder, we Tone Stomach. When we Sedate Lung, we Tone Liver.

The practical use of this law is to Tone organs who are suffering from Deficiency Diseases.

Example: When Lung is in Deficiency, we Sedate Heart, since once we Sedate Heart, we Tone Lung.

A friendly reminder that the word Sedate, shall always be remembered as “disperse”, to circulate energy, and it must never be thought on as the ability of making another organ or viscera reduce its normal functioning. Also, the word Tone, shall always be understood as “nourish”, to make it simple, bring energy, blood or body fluids to the places where there is deficiency, for these substances. That means, Tone does not mean to make the organ work more than normal.

When we add the two rules, Mom and Son, and, Grandpa and Grandson we have the following situation:

In Deficiency Diseases:

• We Tone the mother of the organ/viscera deficient.
• We Sedate the grandpa of the organ/viscera deficient.

In Excess Diseases:

• We Sedate the son of the organ/innards in excess.
• We Tone the grandpa of the organ/innards in excess.

The treatment uses the classical 4 point chart, where Old Shu points are distributed. However, that’s a topic for another text.

I hope that you liked it and that you can now comprehend the 5 Elements Laws a bit better.

My warmest regards,

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Good morning readers,

Today we are going to discuss a very important pathology: the trigeminal neuralgia.

Trigeminal neuralgia is a disease that causes facial crippling abrupt pain, with electric shock sensation, stabbing or being shot, felt through the long trigeminal nerve extension, it lasts for a few seconds or minutes or even hours in some cases, these episodes may occur many times in a single day.

The most affected spots are: face lower area and jaw area, next to the ears, eyes, hair, gum, teeth and lips. It is known as one of the most unbearable pains that humans can experience. It may significantly compromise  the patient’s life quality and become  extremely disabling.

Possible trigeminal neuralgia causes are:

• Vascular compression: blood vessel is pressed against the trigeminal nerve root.
• Physical damage to the nerve: through dental or surgical procedure.
• Family history: it’s a rare condition (1 to 2% of all cases).

On top of that, it may be related to:

• Multiple Sclerosis – appears in multiple sclerosis advanced cases.
• Brain tumor: tumor that presses against the trigeminal nerve.

Pain episodes may be triggered by brushing your teeth, chewing, speaking or even by touch (to the face).

How can Acupuncture help ease pain in a patient who suffers from Trigeminal Neuralgia?

Research have pointed to Acupuncture as an effective method in patient pain controlling, for patients that suffer from Trigeminal Neuralgia. Long and Chen (2015), conducted an experiment in 40 patients with the said pathology, comparing Acupuncture treatment with Carbamazepine (medication) and the results showed that acupuncture efficacy was 95% against 87% from medication.

In the said experiment, were used to control pain, the following points: Tai Yang, LI4, LI7, ST7, Yintang, GV20, GB20 and ST6.

Witzel and Lusvarghi (2013),  also conducted a research on a case, 54 year old man that using 0 to 10 pain scale described his pain as 10. The said patient suffered for more than 10 years with crises that lasted 1 minute everyday. The following acupuncture points were applied TE23, SI18, ST2, ST6, ST7, Yuyao, SP6, LV3 and LI4, with needles, during 20 minutes.

Then, 6 sessions were done in consecutive days and after this period the pain lowered from 10 to 1, and from this point on, the sessions were spaced to once a week.

Besides these 2 articles, others have proved the point ST6 combined with pain spot points (Ashi) very effective on trigeminal neuralgia treatment.

In auricular acupuncture, the most effective technique belongs to French Medicine, that stimulates the reflex area of trigeminal nerve in the ear, using electroacupuncture 5Hz through 20 minutes for immediate analgesia. The reflex trigeminal area is located in all shell region, upper and lower of the ear.

However, in Auriculotherapy, muscle relaxation, analgesia, jaw and maxilla points may be stimulated through spheres or auricular needles, offering positive results.

Just like in other pathologies, Trigeminal Neuralgia must be studied in depth by acupuncturist in order to comprove even further it’s positive results and efficiency. Nevertheless, it’s a known truth that its results, based on already existing literature, are excellent and must be used on those who suffer with this kind of pain

I hope that you liked it and I hope that you succeed treating your patients!

My warmest regards!

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Bibliographic References: 

• Base text available in: https://portalsbn.org/portal/neuralgia-do-trigemeo-nt-o-que-e-sintomas-causas-e-alternativas-de-tratamento/
• Scientific article: https://www.acupunturadratamara.com.br/post/acupuntura-reduz-a-dor-da-neuralgia-do-trigemeo#:~:text=Uma%20investiga%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20recente%20descobriu%20que,distribui%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20do%20nervo%20craniano%20V.

Scientific article: https://repositorio.usp.br/item/002676434

Good morning readers,

Today I’m going to talk about the mood changes that occur during menopause, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine.

As we all know, in Chinese Medicine the functions of growing, development, reproduction, aging and death are all linked to the Kidney. In this way, a woman’s fertile time is directly related to a good Kidney functioning.

I have already written and recorded a lot (in Portuguese), on the reasons why the Kidney loses its strength and vitality before the expected. Overwork, lacking proper resting, emotional stress, bad eating habits, are the main causes of Kidney fatigue before the age of 40 or 50 years, situations like this are very common and imposed by the modern lifestyle.

However, it’s also true that the Kidney’s energy physiologically wears off. It’s normal that humans age. But we do not need to accept menopause symptoms that hurt women’s health very badly.

We always talk a lot about hot flashes, famous sudden heat feelings that bother us particularly during night, accompanied with a lot of sweating. Nevertheless is important that we balance our emotions. Women in menopause often suffer from anxiety, depression, insomnia, mental agitation, sensation of life purpose loss.

Why does it happen?

The main energy related to natural aging and menopause is the Kidneys Yin Essence.

To Yin some other important questions are related, such as blood, marrow, cold, and more.

As a result, when Yin energy decreases, that is less marrow production and thus Spleen will lack raw material for blood production. Therefore, as the cold energy dashes away, what is left to the body are uncomfortable heat sensations, like the hot flashes.

As blood production is reduced, Heart suffers, it has a shortage on the most relevant substance for its job, keeping blood flow through all organs, therefore, it weakens itself. Weakened, it won’t be able to anchor the mind (shen), the situation which belongs in its command.

Thus, with a unanchored mind, the woman may have days of extreme agitation and anxiety, alternating with days of depression, lack of living desire, as if menopause brought with itself a wait for death sensation.

Consequently, we should teach all therapists and patients, that it ain’t enough, in Chinese Medicine, only tone Kidney Yin during menopause, when important system parts belong to Spleen and its ability and capacity to absorb food essences and blood transformation. That’s why, by toning the Kidney’s and Spleen’s Yin, we will give to Heart adequate substances for it’s normal functioning, and thus mental activity will be better balanced, controlled anxiety and more positive thoughts.

In order for this balance to exist, I suggest the following points: KI6, SP6 and PC6. Points such as: CV4, SP2 and HT7 can also be used. On auriculotherapy, we can use Shenmen, Kidney, Heart, Spleen and San Jiao points. 

A woman in menopause must comprehend that life isn’t over once she loses her procreation capacity. Once the patient calms down, all bad symptoms from this period shall disappear and the patient will find a new goal and new energy to live.

I hope all of you have understood and liked the explanations and tips.

My warmest regards.

Profa Fernanda Mara

Hello Readers!-

In the last text I wrote about the reasons why certain situations harm our immunity. Now is the time to write a text about how we can improve our immunity with the resources that Chinese Medicine offers us:

Acupuncture Points – World Acupuncture Federation Guidelines
The World Federation of Acupuncture, at the beginning of the Covid-19 (coronavirus) crises, issued a statement to acupuncturists talking about the effectiveness of some acupuncture points that collaborate in improving the immune system, given their functions described below. The following were cited: LI-4, PC-6, SP-6, ST-36, VC-6 and CV-4.

• LI-4: has action to regulate Wei Qi (defense energy)
• PC-6: moves chest Qi
• SP-6: strengthens the Spleen (organ responsible for Gu Qi, which is the raw material for defense Qi)
• ST-36: regulates Wei Qi, expels the wind
• CV-6: strengthens the original Qi (which circulates in the meridians)
• CV-4: roots the mind (shen), nourishes the blood

These points must be done at least once a week with needles. If not possible, it is recommended that they are stimulated with moxa at least once a week. If the patient has more time available, he can use it every other day.

It is important that in this moment of crisis, the therapist can teach patients how to self-apply moxa, thus, they will be collaborating not only to improve the immunity of the patient himself, but also of his family members.

About therapeutic food, we already talked about in the last post, but it is worth remembering that neutral foods from the Earth, Metal and Water tables are good allies in strengthening immunity. The tables can be found at the link:

https://www.facilitatingacupuncture.com/therapeutic-food-tables/

Auriculotherapy can also be an ally in improving immunity. Ping Chuan points are particularly important in caring for the immune system. One is located inside the triangular fossa and the other in the antitrago region. In addition to Ping Chuan, it is considered important to place Shenmen, Kidney, Sympathetic, Spleen, Lung and the Anxiety point in case the patient is feeling particularly tense.

Using 10 drops of propolis dissolved in a glass of water once a day and consuming a small portion of royal jelly (the size of a soy bean under your tongue) every day for at least a month will keep your immunity strong.

We need to understand that often, the best way to attack is to defend ourselves.

I hope the text was helpful.

A big hug to everyone.

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Good morning Readers

In times of pandemic, there is an urgent discussion on how we can improve our immunity to prevent the spread of opportunistic diseases. Everyone knows that maintaining a good diet, sleeping well, avoiding emotional stress and engaging in moderate physical activity are Western Medicine recommendations.

Chinese medicine basically follows the same recommendations and has precise explanations for each one, in addition to offering the possibility of treatment for each of the situations, as we will see below:

1. Good nutrition
   In Chinese Medicine the main organs related to immunity are: Spleen, Lung and Kidney:
   – Spleen: produces Gu Qi, that is, the essence of food. The Spleen receives the food digested by the Stomach and transforms it into the energetic part of the food that will serve as raw material in the formation of the defense energy, known as immunity, in Oriental Medicine.

– Lung: receives Gu Qi from the Spleen and Qi from the air. With the sum of these two energies, it transforms into Wei Qi (Defense Qi). When the defense Qi is good, the patient’s immunity is good. If the Lung lacks energy to transform Wei Qi or the Spleen to form Gu Qi, the patient will suffer from low immunity.

– Kidney: it is the basis of vital energy. Distributes energy to all organs and viscera. Low Kidney energy may reflect low energy for all organs, that is, decrease the production of food and defense energies, mentioned above.

In addition, the Deficiency of Kidney energy, by law of 5 Elements, will consume the energy of the Lung, leaving it weak, preventing the production of Wei Qi.

In this way, foods that strengthen these organs are indicated. Neutral foods are suggested in the therapeutic feeding tables, found at the link:

https://www.facilitatingacupuncture.com/therapeutic-food-tables/

Choose foods that you like and consume at least one of each table per day.

2. Sleep well

– Sleep, in general, restores the energies of our body. Sleeping well and waking up rested ensures that the kidney preserves our vital energy. When we spend long periods without sleeping well, or being able to sleep, but waking up tired, we have an additional expenditure of the Kidney Yin energy.
When there is Kidney Yin Deficiency, we cause internal heat, with long-term dryness of fluids, especially Lung Yin energy.
-As previously explained, when the Kidney is weak, it consumes the energy of the Lung (Law of the 5 Elements) impairing immunity.
-To sleep better, consider using points: Yintang, PC-6 and SP-6.
-To improve the quality of sleep, black sesame and jasmine teas can be used.
-In auriculotherapy, Anxiety, Tension and Heart points can be used.

3. Avoid emotional stress

-Emotional stress can cause internal imbalance in all organs. In general, Liver is the most affected when we refer to stress itself and also due to irritability, frustration and impatience.
-When the Liver Yang rises, due to the insult cycle of the 5 elements, there is a Lung Deficiency, which will be impaired in the production of Wei Qi.
-Therefore, we must avoid stress, however, when we find ourselves stressed, we must use points LR-2 and LR-3.
-In auriculotherapy, Liver Yang and Emotional Tension are indicated.
-Blackberry leaf tea and lemon water are great for reducing liver heat.

4. Practice moderate physical activities

-Moderate physical activity is one that does not cause extreme tiredness, but it is enough to keep the body warm, the blood vessels dilated and a harmonious flow of Qi and Blood.
-It is suggested that this activity take place for 30 to 40 minutes, 3x a week. It can be walking, Yoga, sit-ups, weight training, that is, any physical activity that pleases the individual.
-By avoiding the stagnation of Qi and Blood, the organs are well nourished and avoid any kind of pathology.
-If you feel very tired doing physical activity, it is suggested that you do it for less time. Massage for 3 minutes, bilateral at points ST-36 and Ki-1 will help with the disposition.
-Ginger and cinnamon teas will help the circulation of Qi and Blood.

Following these tips, we will be in agreement with Western Medicine in terms of preventing the loss of immunity.

We will continue debating this subject in another text on how to increase immunity!

A big hug to everyone!

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Good morning Readers!   

Today we are going to talk about extreme anxiety. Of uncontrolled mental agitation.

You may have heard someone say that the world is getting more complicated every day. That people are increasingly anxious. Or worse … are you saying and feeling all this?

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why things are going this way?

One of the biggest problems we have today is IMMEDIATISM. Everything is for yesterday. If we receive a message, we want to respond right away. If we have to solve something at work, we go without sleep even though we know that during sleep time that thing would not be resolved. If we post a photo on social media, we return to our page every 5 minutes to see the number of likes and comments. We want to know everything, we read everything, we interpret little and often we do not even check if the information read is true. Macabre legends and stories are created on the internet and become real threats just because they are shared by hundreds of people

The truth is that we have created an URGENCY that is not real. And with that, we become more and more anxious. We believe in everything. We are afraid of everything and we lose our ability to think coherently and we think too much.

This is how hysteria is created: behavior characterized by excessive emotionality or panic terror.

And how does Chinese medicine look at this situation?

In Chinese Medicine, who controls the quality and coherence of thoughts and attitudes, the feeling of mental agitation and discernment is the Heart. It is said that the Heart is the abode of Shen, that is, the Heart is the abode of the mind.

When we deal with a lot of information and get agitated, the Heart is energetically unbalanced, generating heat. Thus, every case of anxiety, mental agitation, difficulty in discernment, incoherence in acting and thinking, restless sleep, involves a Heat in the Heart, which for Chinese Medicine is a Syndrome, and needs to be taken care of.

By removing the Heat of the Heart, it is possible to make the individual become more calm and begin to have more tranquility.

And how can we reduce this agitation by removing the heat from the Heart?

The Acupuncture points: HT-7, HT-8, HT-9, PC-6 and PC-7, belonging to the Heart and Pericardium meridians, are of extreme importance, in addition to the Heart and Yang Liver ear points that are also important to calm down.

Eating foods considered to be cold for the heart, such as melon and watermelon is also an excellent option.

But above all, there is the tip for meditation and breathing exercises and the awareness that we are spending too much energy on things we shouldn’t be doing. We need to stop, breathe, understand and solve problems and never shake our Heart.

And remember. We are always an influence for those close to us

A big hug to everyone.

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Hello readers,    

Today we are going to talk a little bit about anemia.

Anemia is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the condition in which the hemoglobin content in the blood is below normal as a result of the lack of one or more essential nutrients. In general, it can be defined as any disease where there is a decrease in the amount of red blood cells.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, blood is produced through the normal function of the Spleen and Kidney. It is said that the Kidney produces bone marrow (responsible for the raw material and “plant” for blood production in the body) and the Spleen transforms the raw material produced in the Kidney into blood itself.

The most common syndromic pattern found in patients with anemia is Deficiency of Spleen Blood, which can occur after major surgery, accidents with a lot of blood loss, poor diet or even genetics.

Chinese medicine can help patients with anemia, using kidney and spleen toning points, such as: KI-3,    KI-6, CV-4, BL-23, BL-52 and SP-6, SP-8, SP-10, BL-20. However, just using acupuncture in cases of anemia, of any kind, will not be enough to totally improve the patient.

This is due to the fact that anemia is a Deficiency Syndrome, so the patient’s goal is to nourish the blood, increase its production, a situation in which only acupuncture needles are unable to perform.

For a better result, the therapist should indicate foods that assist in the production of blood in the body, such as dark green vegetables and roots … In this list we can include: kale, spinach, broccoli, green beans, endive, yam, cassava , parsnips, sweet potatoes, etc … Some grains can also help, such as beans, soybeans and lentils.

If we associate therapeutic feeding with acupuncture, the results will be faster and more effective.

In addition, the herbal medicine Gui Pi Tang is indicated to strengthen the blood of the Spleen and is an ally in the treatment, provided that it has in its entirety, indication for the specific case of the patient.

In auriculotherapy, some points can be used, such as Spleen, Pancreas, Kidney, Metabolism and will keep the patient treated from one session to another.

The association between western and eastern medicines is important in the treatment of anemia. Not only in the supplements and medications that the western doctor can pass, but in particular, in the control by blood tests. To find out if the patient is really better, in addition to his feeling on a daily basis, it is extremely important that the blood test findings are in agreement;)

I hope I helped all of you! We continue taking care of our patients!

A big hug to everyone!

Profa. Fernanda Mara