When we think of pain in the body, it is an immediate experience for the person feeling it. Pain is there for a reason: to help the person who has it get some sort of resolution.
So naturally, we need to eliminate any possible red flags for the situation. But beyond that trying to understand the cause of pain is a major help for the patient.
The fact is that when you as a practitioner begin to focus really carefully on the topic, you open a space where the resolution of the issue becomes possible.
When the new patient starts talking about their pain (here we are concentating mostly on joint and muscle pain), and if it is hard for them to visualise it, I open up my anatomy app on the computer and we take a look at some of the structures that may be impacted. I'm always surprised that this is not something that conventional healthcare practitioners seem to do, and I find that it is extremely useful.
By the way, not only is it useful for the patient to review the area of worry, of pain, but it is useful for me, because sometimes (nearly always) I can get a better sense of what structures are there, and a deeper view into how to help. This is all background to helping.
At this point, we can add conventional medical labels, for instance, the names of muscles, into our understanding (and our notes!). Next comes our formal diagnosis process.
We can use diagnosis by seeing: looking at how somebody moves, how somebody walks, and we can use diagnosis by feeling. We can test things like range of motion, and movements that cause discomfort, of course, and also we can use specialist diagnosis methods.
I use two key ways of doing diagnosis to help better understand the pain and both of them revolve around the additional anatomy of channels and points.
First of all I use diagnosis with the channels. This is the specialist diagnosis method pioneered by Dr. Wang Ju-Yi a.k.a “Applied Channel Theory”. Not only does more carefully explore the area where the pain is felt, but we see how that area corresponds to the channels that flow through it. Beyond the immediate area related channels may be tender or swollen, and key points, such as the xi-cleft points and see that these points can also be either tender or swollen, or else experience some other change. This immediate way of diagnosis is a basic and useful way of translating symptoms that the person feels into basic strategies.
Second, I use pulse diagnosis. This is a quite sophisticated method (my Mai Jing A-B-C Pulse Diagnosis Method) that comes from the Mai Jing, the Classic of the Pulse, and this method highlights possible 8 Extraordinary vessel involvement e.g. Yang Wei Mai, or Luo-Collateral involvement e.g. Triple burner Luo.
Now with the above done, we get to immediate strategies. I nearly always use relevant 8 EV points or Luo-collateral points. Sometimes I add xi-cleft points, and in all these cases I look for pulse changes. Local anatomy, and channel palpation then reveal other useful points (and channels) to use.
Once distal points have been selected and needled, I think about local points. I may or may not use them, but if there seem to be useful and relevant points in the local area, they go in.
Finally, I nearly always use a medicinal herbal salve in conjunction with a heat lamp in the local area.
In summary, we have:
- Deep view into anatomy
- Channel palpation
- Pulse diagnosis
- Distal first, then some local points
- Salve and heat lamp treatment
So that is my approach to treating pain.
At East West College, we have a one day course on treating pain coming up soon: 7 September 2024 in Farnham.
