Issue 65 - Tse Qigong Centre

AcupointMassage forSpine Painand DiseaseThe older we get, the more common it is to have someproblems with spine. Many people suffer from pain andnumbness in the head, neck, shoulders, arms and even thehands. In more serious cases, the muscles may atrophy fromlack of movement and may even have paralysis and beunable to take care of themselves.Fig 1There are many things that can cause disease in thespine. Chinese medicine considers both internal andexternal causes of disease. Some external factorscausing spine diseases are attacks by wind, cold,dampness or other outside forces (like pollution,chemicals) that cause the Qi and the blood in the body tobecome stagnant.Internal factors are the gradual decline of the liver (whichrelates to blood circulation) and kidneys (which relates to themuscle, bones and marrow, including the brain).In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), treatment ofspine diseases will use not only herbal medicine for internaland external (by way of a herbal plaster), but it will also useacupoint therapy, self massage and exercise (Qigong). Qigongwill help to release the sick Qi in the body and to stimulate thefresh Qi and blood to flow. Acupoint therapy is stimulation ofthe pressure points which act like Qi doors to the body. Theyhelp to open the channels so that Qi can flow and any sick Qican be eliminated from the body.Qigong will help relieve muscle tension and spasms,improve blood circulation and will restore the metabolism ofthe bones and improve the resilience of the ligaments of themuscles surrounding the vertebrae.Self massage will help to support Qigong exercises andwill also stimulate the flow of Qi and blood. Self massage andFig 3Fig 2Qigong both help to widen the spaces between the vertebraeof the spine, helping to alleviate pressure that has built upthere. The exercises shown here use various acupuncture pointswhich can help those suffering from problems and also can beused as preventative for future diseases. The self massagetechniques are very simple and can be done at any time.page 14 Qi Magazine Jan/Feb 2003