The Treatment of Modern Western - Biblio.nhat-nam.ru

LATERAL EPICONDYLITIS 339ing professional advice from an ergonomic specialist or kinesiologist.For instance, Alexander Technique therapistsand Aston Patterners can help identify and correct faultywork postures.3. While ice is indicated within Chinese medicine for recenttraumatic injuries and acute inflammations with redness,swelling, and palpable heat, it is usually contraindicated fortennis elbow. Even though Western medicine defines lateralepicondylitis as a species of inflammation, it does not usuallypresent heat signs and symptoms according to Chinesepattern discrimination. In fact, given the common age rangeof patients with tennis elbow and its Chinese name, elbowtaxation, this condition is usually a vacuity condition complicatedby cold and/or blood stasis, all of which may beworsened by the application of cold.Instead of ice, patients may also be given warming and moving,impediment-assuaging Chinese medical liniments, plasters,or compresses for home use between regularly scheduledoffice visits, or they may be taught how to do indirect polemoxa at home. Such self-administered treatments are especiallyimportant in the U.S. where most patients cannotafford to receive more than one professionally administeredacupuncture treatment per week.4. Rest and moxibustion seem to be the best treatments forenduring tennis elbow. While direct nonscarring threadmoxibustion is our preferred technique, indirect moxibustionwith a roll, on a medicinal cake, or on a slice of gingerare also very effective. In addition, it is very important not toforget to treat the a shi point of pain. This can be treatedwith either acupuncture, moxibustion, seven star needle, ortuina. For instance, one can use chicken claw needling at thepoint of pain. This refers to inserting a needle perpendicularlyand shallowly at the a shi point, then needling obliquelyon both sides of the point following the channel pathway.In both the premodern and contemporary Chinese literature,the most frequently used points for tenosynovitis are:Qu Chi (LI 11), Shou San Li (LI 10), He Gu (LI 4), Chi Ze(Lu 5), the a shi point, Zhou Liao (LI 12), Shou Wu Li (LI13), and Zhou Jian (M-UE-46). If pain is recalcitrant toacupuncture and moxibustion, one may then use electroacupunctureor magnetotherapy with not less than a 2000gauss magnet on the site pain.5. For pain of the epitrochlea or “internal tennis elbow,” onecan use the same overall therapeutic strategy, but with differentacupoints: Xiao Hai (SI 8) and Shao Hai (Ht 3) as localpoints, and Yang Lao (SI 6) and Hou Xi (SI 3) as distantpoints.ENDNOTE1 McFarland, Ed & Curl, Lee Ann, “Patient Guide to Tennis Elbow,” JohnsHopkins Sports Medicine, www.med.jhu.edu/ortho/sports/tenelbow.htmp. 4