Does anyone else get toe cramps when you work out? Gaah 😫 it’s annoying – and painful. In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), cramps are a symptom of an underlying Blood or Yin Deficiency. How do you know which one it is? Your tongue is pale – Blood deficiency Your tongue is red with not much coating…
The neck is complex. In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), all 14 meridians pass through some part of your neck. In the style of acupuncture we practice (KMS, based on the teachings of Kiiko Matsumoto), we palpate the neck at every visit to figure out what’s happening in your body and start to correct it with the treatment. A “pain in…
A holistic view of knee pain includes 4 parts: Alignment Having good posture is more than just “sitting up straight.” Good posture includes every part of your body, including your knees. We start with good foot posture – standing or sitting with our toes slightly (~ 10-15 degrees) out from our centerline. This leads to…
Pain is the worst. It’s distracting and depressing. It gets in the way of your best life – or even just a regular life. I do believe, however, that pain is also our body’s intelligent way of propelling us away from death. We know to pay extra attention to that area, so we don’t cause…
Sciatica. Tingling, burning, numbness down the leg. Sometimes sharp pains or weakness in the hip or back… Not fun. What IS sciatica, really? Most people would say it’s a “pinched nerve.” The sciatic nerve branches out from your lower back. Lumbar discs 4, 5, and the sacrum all have sciatic nerve roots. The sciatic…
Gout is the painful buildup of uric acid crystals in a joint. Usually it’s the big toe, but it could be found in the hands, elbows, knees, or ankles. It can be an underlying cause of kidney stones. Gout-affected areas are very sensitive to the touch. Usually they’re warm, red, and swollen. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), any…
Does acupuncture help nerve pain? Absolutely. It works directly on the nervous system – it’s what it does and how it works. Of course, there are limitations. Treatment success depends on if we can address the underlying cause. Injuries After a traumatic injury, nerves may be crushed or severed. At first, you may end up in an emergency…
There’s always something. A new miracle pill – a magic bullet – to make you look as beautiful as you feel you should be. The you you want to see in the mirror. What never ceases to surprise me is how people endlessly research, question, and second-guess herbal medicines based on thousands of years of case…
If you’ve never survived a Texas summer, here’s the scoop: while a heat wave in February or December is not unusual, by May, it’s here to stay. It’s a full 5 months of the year. In May, you feel the last cool breeze until Halloween. Other than wearing as few clothes as possible, and taking…
Something you’ll never hear – “Your biceps are too strong.” This confused me for a long time about the pelvic floor — On one hand, you hear that you should strengthen it. Then, on the other hand, you that pelvic floor problems are because it’s too strong. Your pelvic floor is a group of muscles including the perineum (the space…