Upper or lower arm pain

The pain at the arms can be very disturbing, very painful. The pain is perceived at   certain locations on the arm. Sometimes it is the rotator cuff pain. Often, there is tension and pain along the meridian of Large Intestine. Points like LI 10, LI 12, LI14, LI 15 are frequently the most painful. Needle these points or moxa these points are helpful. However, the culprit is the Small Intestine and San Jiao meridians. Palpating these meridians and very painful spots can be found.   These spots need be addressed. The best way is to moxa these spots until the pain level is reduced. Stretching the elbow to make sure free movement is also important. Do not  forget to address the neck shoulder as well.

The spots to Moxa : Ashi points, especially near SI 9 on the painful arm. Moxa in the painful spots along the SI is very important. This is because these pain are of deficiency type, not excess. Sometimes,  H3, Lu 5 and LI 10 can also be used.

Carpal tunnel syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a painful disorder at the wrist. Moving the wrist can send a shocking pain toward the hand. It is caused by long duration of hand use; computer keyboard, checkout counters, washing, mopping or any other type of repetitive works with hands.  These activities can overly stress the muscles in the arms and hands. Overtimes, the nerve under the wrist become sensitive, resulting in severe pain.

Standard practice of treatment is based on treating the tendon at the wrist. The general Western medical approach is to fix the tendon-nerve in this area. Injection of pain killing medicine or surgically reduce/remove the wrist tendon are commonly done. Pain killer injection works for a short time. Surgery seems to be an overkill. It also resulted in weakened wrist, which would be permanent. It should be considered as the last resort.

The secret of treating carpal tunnel syndrome lies in treating the source of the problem. They are the upper arm and forearm.  Very frequently, neck and shoulder are involved as well. Do not over look these locations. Over- used muscles in these areas are the culprit. When these musculatures become problematic, they would be tender and inflexible. The hand motion become difficult and very easily over loaded. With time , the tendon at the wrist become overly stressed.

So the treatment is very similar to treating arm pains. First, treat the neck shoulder as previously described, treat the arm by palpating the most painful spots, most often along the SI, small intestine meridians and LI, large intestine meridians. Treat them either with acupuncture or moxibustion. Then, do a little TLC at the hands and wrists, with moxa or massage. The pain will be significantly reduced. A few treatments coupled with physical exercise to strengthen the arms and hands muscles, the problem will be resolved.

Numbness in the arms and fingers

Whenever sensory nerves are squeezed, it will turn numb. We all have experience of numbing sensation after sitting at the same position for a long time. This is caused by nerves being squeezed. If the squeeze is tight enough, the blood flow would also be stopped. When this happens, the limbs turn cold and pale. This is a common phenomenon called pinched nerve.

SO, the goal is to resolve the squeezing. Most of the time, it is the musculature related events. Such is the case with so called thoracic outlet syndrome which is produced by abnormally tight scalene muscle which runs from cervical spin to the ribs. The solution is to get the muscle to restore its flexibility. Again, first relax the neck and shoulder following the above protocol (N-S protocol). Then, check a few spots for tenderness and treat them accordingly: Lu 1 or 2, St 11, St 12.

Reynaud’s syndrome: Some people have this kind of “genetic predisposition “that when their hands are exposed to extreme cold, their fingers will turn icy cold and blue. The best approach is prevention by avoiding exposure of the limbs to extreme cold.