Acupuncture, Acupressure Self Help
Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 8:33 am
If I had known about Dr. Zamboni’s CCSVI theory that Multiple Sclerosis is essentially a vascular disease, I wouldn’t need a cane to walk today. I had all the tools for self help at my disposal, all I needed was the IDEA.
Well, now I have the idea. It comes a bit late for me, but I hope my suggestions can help others control if not outright heal the disease.
It’s Chinese Acupuncture theory which opened the door to this insight. Amazingly, Acupuncturists seem unaware of the possibilities their treatments can bestow, being limited (they and everyone else) by the idea that MS is an auto-immune disease. Let’s be clear. The auto-immune response is secondary to the true cause of MS, a blood reflux which injures the brain and spinal cord.
"In November 2009 Dr. Paolo Zamboni and colleagues reported that all patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) had abnormalities in veins in their neck or back that could be diagnosed using ultrasound." From Appendix 1 Lay Summary October 2011 of the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal.)
So let’s assume that the shortest distance between point A and point B is a straight line. Stress tenses up the neck and back. Veins draining the brain and spinal cord pass through the neck and back. Tensed muscles compress these veins thus impeding free flow of blood from the brain and spinal cord. Let’s consider treating the tension which knots up the muscles and deforms the veins. The Gall Bladder Meridian begins at the outer corner of the eye, runs over the side of the head, down the neck, down the upper shoulder under the arm, down the side of the body and legs to finish at the outer corner of the 4thtoe. The Bladder meridian begins at the inner corner of the eye, passes
over the head, down the back in 2 vessels parallel the spinal column, over the buttocks and down the back of the legs to end at the edge of the little toe. Since these are the main protective meridians which begin on the head and pass down the neck, over the shoulder or down the back they become the primary candidates for treating neck, shoulder and back stress which apparently “deform” the veins draining the Central Nervous System. End of story.
I get an acupuncture treatment once a month for maintenance. Tension builds up over the month until I feel like a clenched fist is knotting up my insides. The treatment opens up the fist like a flowering. I know the same relief when I swim. Now I realize that in both cases the blood flow has been freed.
Lest my insistence on this point makes me obnoxious, it IS the blood flow and the OXYGEN. Yesterday I was recovering from a minor cold. (I use the homeopathic remedy by Boiron, Oscillococcinum, to prevent or minimize a viral illness. The setback had been attenuated, but I was still feeling tense and dragged out. ) After swimming I felt SO much better, total relief. It’s the release of blood flow, the oxygen. Every time I experience that relief I can’t emphasize enough how important it is. I also can’t believe it. I’ve heard of oxygen therapy. If swimming is impossible–Acupuncture is a good replacement – oxygen therapy might work.)
It is therefore imperative that the Acupuncture therapist treats both the gall bladder and bladder (back) meridians. Both front and back of the body needs treatment. A traditional acupuncturist usually has several rooms so that he can treat patients consecutively which allows each to have a longer treatment. In France that often is not the case, so I have been treated by doctors who treat the back and then I lie down on an inclined table and the front is treated with the needles still in the back (taped flat.) (My Asiatic Doctors treats both front and back separately.) Your Doctor should be made aware of the CCSVI theory that veinous blood backs up into the brain and is need of release.
By accident I discovered that a point on the back slightly below where the neck meets the shoulder opens up the blood flow in the neck vein to give me much relief. This point belongs to the Gall Bladder meridian. Neither of my current Acupuncture doctors were aware of the importance of this point or of the CCSVI theory (even though the Gall Bladder meridian is known to be critical for MS treatment, but usually work is done on the leg.)
Not all acupuncture treatments are effective.
ACUPRESSURE SELF HELP: One evening while alone after learning about the CCSVI theory I could feel all the warning signs of an MS attack. I performed a TENS self acupressure treatment which relaxed me slightly but I was still worried about what the next day would bring. Well, the next day, the “attack” was gone. Just stopped in its tracks. That never happens without treatment. In fact once the MS process begins the stress feeds on itself, stress triggers it off and then the anxiety exacerbates it. So now, every morning I give myself a treatment. I’m probably in a progressive stage with occasional crisis. Often on waking I have the impression the blood flow is stagnating in my brain and doing some damage. So I get the flow going again. The summer of 1993 when I began to“lose” my legs, I made a terrible mistake. I listened to an Acupuncture Doctor who told me my TENS apparatus couldn’t do much. (I was using it to “balance” my meridiens in general because I had had an MS attack which caused me to limp.) True, the TENS self treatment is not as profound as a good acupuncture treatment, but now I realize it can and does get the blood flowing. It can stop brain damage. This doctor might have thought it wouldn’t do much good but it could do no harm, so why discourage me?
Now I will describe the basic TENS treatment I use as "maintenance" as well as to stop an impending "attack".
TENS stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator which is sold to deliver small electrical impulses via electrode pads placed on the skin to ease pain. However, I use it to stimulate acupuncture points to open blood flow from the Central Nervous System. I use a small 9 volt battery powered apparatus (3.5¨ x 2.5¨or 9 cm x 6.5 cm). It has 2 controls linked to 2 leads which branch into 2 pads each, thereby giving the possibility of stimulating a total of 4 acupuncture points at a time. It can be purchased on the Internet in the US for about $50. I ordered one from England which was a bit more expensive. (You have to buy a supply of pads as well which come in packages of 4. The pads are adhesive. Eventually they stop adhering so I use tape for a while to extend their use longer.)
The basic principle is to balance 2 Yin points with 2 Yang points. The Yin Organs "nourish", the Yang "protect". One can consult the Acupuncture meridians on the internet at YingYangHouse.com. (The Spleen meridian runs up the INSIDE of the leg which isn't made clear on the chart.)
I now start with the upper back point to open circulation from the brain. I place a pad on the upper back just below (slightly outside) where the outside of neck meets the shoulder. (Acupressure points are sensitive so I poke around until I've found the point. This is apparently Gall Bladder 21 but the official description doesn't make much sense to me, so I follow my own idea of how to find it.) This Gall Bladder point "clears up" my head and I'm convinced it opens the blood flow from the head. For the complementary Yin point I use Spleen 10 which is found about 3 fingers up from the knee on the middle of the inside thigh. Again, this will be a very sensitive point. I place the pads from the lead on one side and then repeat the process on the other. Now I slowly turn on the "wheel" controls of the TENS unit to feel the electric impulses. (I don't touch the pads with my fingers when the unit is "on", the finger tips are very sensitive.) I get immediate relief with the upper back points. Also, if I start to have an "attack", this will stop it. Sometimes I'm not really aware that an attack has stopped, but by next morning the symptoms are gone.
I then turn to my original self treatment. I start with Spleen 6 which is a powerful Yin point. Called the 3 Yin it is the intersection of 3 Yin meridians - the Liver, Spleen and Kidney. (Warning – Don’t use needles on a pregnant woman. It’s good when giving birth.) The Spleen meridian runs up the INSIDE of the leg. I place 4 fingers at the top of the ankle bone along the leg bone, at the last finger I press into the leg to find a sensitive point, that's it. I place a pad over this point. Then I find the Yang Gall Bladder 34. I find the small bone on the outside of the knee. I press just below, slightly inside, this bone, (when an acupuncture needle is used one can feel an electric impluse down to the ankle.) I place a pad over this point on the same leg as the Spleen 6. I then do the same thing on the other leg with the second lead. Again I slowly turn on the "wheel" controls of the TENS unit to feel the electric impulses.
As an alternative Yang point I place the pad in the middle of the back of the knee which is Urinary Bladder 40, thinking this will open circulation from the spine
I don't know how effective this self-treatment will be for others. But it has changed my life. I used to live in dread of a breakdown. I can now control the stress and prevent “attacks”. The TENS device is a minor investment. I believe one should take confidence in one’s own healing powers.
(By the way, I received a diploma as an Acupressure Massage Therapist in 1987 from the Berkeley Acupressure Institute. I only practiced on myself, family and friends, but I have some knowledge of the subject. Ideally an Acupuncture Doctor or Acupressure Massage Therapist can help you get started. If you bring in these new ideas to your therapist, he/she might learn something which can help other patients. Amazingly enough, Acupuncturists are fixed on the auto-immune theory of MS and don't even realize the healing power of their own skills. Just don’t let some self important control freak discourage you.)
Taken from MS Cure Enigmas.net
Well, now I have the idea. It comes a bit late for me, but I hope my suggestions can help others control if not outright heal the disease.
It’s Chinese Acupuncture theory which opened the door to this insight. Amazingly, Acupuncturists seem unaware of the possibilities their treatments can bestow, being limited (they and everyone else) by the idea that MS is an auto-immune disease. Let’s be clear. The auto-immune response is secondary to the true cause of MS, a blood reflux which injures the brain and spinal cord.
"In November 2009 Dr. Paolo Zamboni and colleagues reported that all patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) had abnormalities in veins in their neck or back that could be diagnosed using ultrasound." From Appendix 1 Lay Summary October 2011 of the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal.)
So let’s assume that the shortest distance between point A and point B is a straight line. Stress tenses up the neck and back. Veins draining the brain and spinal cord pass through the neck and back. Tensed muscles compress these veins thus impeding free flow of blood from the brain and spinal cord. Let’s consider treating the tension which knots up the muscles and deforms the veins. The Gall Bladder Meridian begins at the outer corner of the eye, runs over the side of the head, down the neck, down the upper shoulder under the arm, down the side of the body and legs to finish at the outer corner of the 4thtoe. The Bladder meridian begins at the inner corner of the eye, passes
over the head, down the back in 2 vessels parallel the spinal column, over the buttocks and down the back of the legs to end at the edge of the little toe. Since these are the main protective meridians which begin on the head and pass down the neck, over the shoulder or down the back they become the primary candidates for treating neck, shoulder and back stress which apparently “deform” the veins draining the Central Nervous System. End of story.
I get an acupuncture treatment once a month for maintenance. Tension builds up over the month until I feel like a clenched fist is knotting up my insides. The treatment opens up the fist like a flowering. I know the same relief when I swim. Now I realize that in both cases the blood flow has been freed.
Lest my insistence on this point makes me obnoxious, it IS the blood flow and the OXYGEN. Yesterday I was recovering from a minor cold. (I use the homeopathic remedy by Boiron, Oscillococcinum, to prevent or minimize a viral illness. The setback had been attenuated, but I was still feeling tense and dragged out. ) After swimming I felt SO much better, total relief. It’s the release of blood flow, the oxygen. Every time I experience that relief I can’t emphasize enough how important it is. I also can’t believe it. I’ve heard of oxygen therapy. If swimming is impossible–Acupuncture is a good replacement – oxygen therapy might work.)
It is therefore imperative that the Acupuncture therapist treats both the gall bladder and bladder (back) meridians. Both front and back of the body needs treatment. A traditional acupuncturist usually has several rooms so that he can treat patients consecutively which allows each to have a longer treatment. In France that often is not the case, so I have been treated by doctors who treat the back and then I lie down on an inclined table and the front is treated with the needles still in the back (taped flat.) (My Asiatic Doctors treats both front and back separately.) Your Doctor should be made aware of the CCSVI theory that veinous blood backs up into the brain and is need of release.
By accident I discovered that a point on the back slightly below where the neck meets the shoulder opens up the blood flow in the neck vein to give me much relief. This point belongs to the Gall Bladder meridian. Neither of my current Acupuncture doctors were aware of the importance of this point or of the CCSVI theory (even though the Gall Bladder meridian is known to be critical for MS treatment, but usually work is done on the leg.)
Not all acupuncture treatments are effective.
ACUPRESSURE SELF HELP: One evening while alone after learning about the CCSVI theory I could feel all the warning signs of an MS attack. I performed a TENS self acupressure treatment which relaxed me slightly but I was still worried about what the next day would bring. Well, the next day, the “attack” was gone. Just stopped in its tracks. That never happens without treatment. In fact once the MS process begins the stress feeds on itself, stress triggers it off and then the anxiety exacerbates it. So now, every morning I give myself a treatment. I’m probably in a progressive stage with occasional crisis. Often on waking I have the impression the blood flow is stagnating in my brain and doing some damage. So I get the flow going again. The summer of 1993 when I began to“lose” my legs, I made a terrible mistake. I listened to an Acupuncture Doctor who told me my TENS apparatus couldn’t do much. (I was using it to “balance” my meridiens in general because I had had an MS attack which caused me to limp.) True, the TENS self treatment is not as profound as a good acupuncture treatment, but now I realize it can and does get the blood flowing. It can stop brain damage. This doctor might have thought it wouldn’t do much good but it could do no harm, so why discourage me?
Now I will describe the basic TENS treatment I use as "maintenance" as well as to stop an impending "attack".
TENS stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator which is sold to deliver small electrical impulses via electrode pads placed on the skin to ease pain. However, I use it to stimulate acupuncture points to open blood flow from the Central Nervous System. I use a small 9 volt battery powered apparatus (3.5¨ x 2.5¨or 9 cm x 6.5 cm). It has 2 controls linked to 2 leads which branch into 2 pads each, thereby giving the possibility of stimulating a total of 4 acupuncture points at a time. It can be purchased on the Internet in the US for about $50. I ordered one from England which was a bit more expensive. (You have to buy a supply of pads as well which come in packages of 4. The pads are adhesive. Eventually they stop adhering so I use tape for a while to extend their use longer.)
The basic principle is to balance 2 Yin points with 2 Yang points. The Yin Organs "nourish", the Yang "protect". One can consult the Acupuncture meridians on the internet at YingYangHouse.com. (The Spleen meridian runs up the INSIDE of the leg which isn't made clear on the chart.)
I now start with the upper back point to open circulation from the brain. I place a pad on the upper back just below (slightly outside) where the outside of neck meets the shoulder. (Acupressure points are sensitive so I poke around until I've found the point. This is apparently Gall Bladder 21 but the official description doesn't make much sense to me, so I follow my own idea of how to find it.) This Gall Bladder point "clears up" my head and I'm convinced it opens the blood flow from the head. For the complementary Yin point I use Spleen 10 which is found about 3 fingers up from the knee on the middle of the inside thigh. Again, this will be a very sensitive point. I place the pads from the lead on one side and then repeat the process on the other. Now I slowly turn on the "wheel" controls of the TENS unit to feel the electric impulses. (I don't touch the pads with my fingers when the unit is "on", the finger tips are very sensitive.) I get immediate relief with the upper back points. Also, if I start to have an "attack", this will stop it. Sometimes I'm not really aware that an attack has stopped, but by next morning the symptoms are gone.
I then turn to my original self treatment. I start with Spleen 6 which is a powerful Yin point. Called the 3 Yin it is the intersection of 3 Yin meridians - the Liver, Spleen and Kidney. (Warning – Don’t use needles on a pregnant woman. It’s good when giving birth.) The Spleen meridian runs up the INSIDE of the leg. I place 4 fingers at the top of the ankle bone along the leg bone, at the last finger I press into the leg to find a sensitive point, that's it. I place a pad over this point. Then I find the Yang Gall Bladder 34. I find the small bone on the outside of the knee. I press just below, slightly inside, this bone, (when an acupuncture needle is used one can feel an electric impluse down to the ankle.) I place a pad over this point on the same leg as the Spleen 6. I then do the same thing on the other leg with the second lead. Again I slowly turn on the "wheel" controls of the TENS unit to feel the electric impulses.
As an alternative Yang point I place the pad in the middle of the back of the knee which is Urinary Bladder 40, thinking this will open circulation from the spine
I don't know how effective this self-treatment will be for others. But it has changed my life. I used to live in dread of a breakdown. I can now control the stress and prevent “attacks”. The TENS device is a minor investment. I believe one should take confidence in one’s own healing powers.
(By the way, I received a diploma as an Acupressure Massage Therapist in 1987 from the Berkeley Acupressure Institute. I only practiced on myself, family and friends, but I have some knowledge of the subject. Ideally an Acupuncture Doctor or Acupressure Massage Therapist can help you get started. If you bring in these new ideas to your therapist, he/she might learn something which can help other patients. Amazingly enough, Acupuncturists are fixed on the auto-immune theory of MS and don't even realize the healing power of their own skills. Just don’t let some self important control freak discourage you.)
Taken from MS Cure Enigmas.net