Pain is a way of communication that your body is telling you something is wrong, whether you fell down and scraped your knee or lifted something too heavy and blew out your back. The feeling of pain comes from pain receptors or nerves located throughout the body and when you are injured, those pain receptors will send messages in a form of an electrical signal to the brain to let you know that you are hurt. Whatever it is, your body will heal itself and the pain will usually go away. Chronic pain, however, does not. Whether we get older or get injured, these message channels become damaged and can no longer communicate with the brain. Whatever it is, if it's your body having trouble healing your injury or you healed from your injuries, these pain receptors will continue to send signals to your brain telling you that you are still injured. Your body will be in pain for weeks, months, or even years.
Cupping therapy is an ancient Chinese healing method that has been used to relieve both acute and chronic pain, dating back to 1000 BC and potentially even earlier than that. With cupping, most practitioners will place a cup over a flame for a fraction of a second to create a vacuum. The practitioner will then place the cup on the surface of the skin which will cause suction of the muscle into the cup. This method of cupping will enhance blood circulation, clear blockages, help relieve muscle pain, move lymphatic fluid, and cleanse the body of toxins. Cupping is proven to prevent flare ups and reduce severity of chronic pain symptoms and in most cases, completely cure chronic pain from patients. Cupping has many other uses such as giving deep tissue massages, relieving muscle tension, preventing injuries, maximizing a work out, or, as Draymond Green from the Oakland Warriors did, a quicker recovery from an NBA final's game to prepare for the next. Check out the video below of Oakland Warrior's 2 time NBA Champion, Draymond Green and how he recover from game 3 of the finals.
Eastern Medical Center's Teresa Shen healing Chronic Pain with Cupping
Video of Oakland Warrior's 2 time NBA Champion, Draymond Green recovering with Acupuncture, Cupping, and Moxa
Eastern Medical Center's Active Release Therapist, Clinton Muhammad, healing Chronic Back Pain of a patient through Active Release Technique
Chronic pain can also be treated with Active Release Therapy. Active Release Therapy is the practice of manual therapy for the recovery of soft tissue function that involves the removal of scar tissue. Scar tissue can cause chronic pain, stiffness, muscle weakness, and muscle dysfunction. Active Release Therapy is known to, but not limited to, treating chronic pain of carpal tunnel, achilles tendonitis, tennis elbow, neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain, and lower back pain. The removal of scar tissue will increase your joint mobilization, range of motion, increase blood flow, and even clear chronic pain symptoms.
Acupuncture is a form of Traditional Chinese Medicine that is 3,500 years older than Western medicine. Using super fine hair like thin needles, acupuncturists will insert these needles into precisely located points on the body. Unlike mainstream painkillers, which target the central nervous system (the brain and the spinal cord) and numbs them temporarily where pain is perceived, acupuncture targets the root of the cause; the peripheral nerves in the rest of the body. These needles will activate the body's natural healing functions and send the body's natural healing chemicals such as serotonin and endorphins to heal the body of chronic pain. These natural body chemicals will also repair the message channels to let your brain know that you are no longer injured.
According to the National Institute of Health, a number of studies suggest that acupuncture works particularly well on chronic pain such as back pain, neck pain, osteoarthritis, knee pain, and headaches. It often reduces the incidence and severity of tension headaches and may prevent migraines. The National Institute of Health concludes "acupuncture appears to be a reasonable option for people with chronic pain to consider."
Eastern Medical Center's Chronic Pain Specialist Eric Wei Wang healing Chronic Back Pain with Acupuncture and Electric Stimulation
Eastern Medical Center
Acupuncture | Cupping | Massage Therapy | Life and Wellness
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