Marlborough Wellness Center, Marlborough, MA

Acupuncture, Massage and other modalities in Marlborough MA

bruising

Acupuncture, Cupping, and the US Olympic Athletes

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TCM and Cupping Adjunctive Therapy
TCM and Cupping Adjunctive Therapy

I love the Olympics! Every four years, I get to watch the world come together and compete in sporting events I am familiar with and some I didn’t even know existed. The spirit of competition is alive and exhilarating to watch! And then to see the bruised circles from cupping on the USA male gymnasts and swimmers had me jumping for joy!

You see, as an acupuncturist-herbalist, part of our extensive training included adjunctive techniques such as cupping. Cupping is an ancient practice stemming from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and was used to draw out pathological factors from the body that would cause stagnation and manifest as painful conditions. Joint pain, muscle tightness, coughing, asthma…stagnated energy can cause a multitude of misery! The cup is placed on the body either by fire to create the suction (fire cupping) or by a suction device. Glass is the best for cups as they can be cleaned sufficiently to not spread infection. Once placed on the body and affixed by suction, one watches for the redness to appear. In TCM, it is referred to as ‘sha’ but in Western Medicine, it is referred to as bruising. The act of the suction pulling the skin away from the tissues underneath helps release the myofascial system and can increase blood flow/circulation to the area to help with pain, fatigue, and/or injured muscle tissue. Cupping can be done multiple times and has proven to be very efficient at relieving physical discomfort and tightness.

Interestingly enough though, there are many people who think it is “snake oil” medicine, “unsupported treatments that do nothing” as I read online this week. Being someone who has trained and practiced in both Western Medicine and Chinese Medicine, my approach to these viewpoints is ‘you never know unless you try it’! I have found many a doctor who has tried complementary therapies and adjunctive techniques and are some of my biggest referral sources. Sometimes one medicine may not have the answers and the other might. Cupping and TCM have been around for more than 2000 years so something must be working. So if you are hesitant to try acupuncture or cupping, I recommend you “try it, you might like it”!

Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Comfort Zones and Bruising

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Stepping out of our comfort zone can be scary sometimes. I talk about acupuncture and herbal medicine being out of a lot of people’s comfort zones but as many know, when you are out of your comfort zone, amazing things can happen!

Last Sunday, I decided to join my husband mountain biking. Now, a little background story…he fell in love with mountain biking when he took a ride class through Marlborough Moves, led by the leader of the BLG (aka “Bloody Leg Gang”), a local mountain biking group full of biking enthusiasts. Even since then, he’s been trying to get me out with him but the bike available for my use just isn’t all that great and I really wasn’t interested. Forwarding through time, I received the opportunity to borrow a very nice bike with dual suspension and a up/down pneumatic seat. How could I say no now? Ok….stepping forward…out of my comfort zone I go!

We arrive at Vietnam, a set of trails in Holliston, and I get on the borrowed bike, trying to figure out the controls and get my bearings in the parking lot before we get on the trails. I thought to myself, “Ok, you can do this…man, this bike is incredible!” Before I knew it, we were riding through rock gardens, across bridges (yeah, I had to retry the entry to my first bridge but I did make it across), and approaching a pretty steep decline. The leader went first, followed by a brave woman and her dog, then my husband went. I watched them go, tried to see what lines they picked, how they turned, etc. so I could follow suit as gracefully as they went. I started on the decline but my front tire hit a rock just right and my left hand clamped down hard on the brake (NOTE: the left hand brake controls the front tire brake so you can kind of see where this is going…). I went over the handlebars and tucked my head (yes, of course I had a helmet on!). Taking the bike along for the ride, I landed on my back with the bike on top of me! After watching my epic fall, my husband came running back to me as I asked him, “Can you just get the bike because I’m fine.” As he removed the bike from the mangled mess that was my body and I went to stand up, I rolled down the rest of the hill. So very graceful, I know. I examined the borrowed bike to make sure I hadn’t broken anything before I examined myself…the bike was good. Whew! Now as for my body, not so much! I had officially been initiated into the “Bloody Leg Gang” as my knee was dripping. We kept riding for another hour and a half, only to ride up the same hill I had fallen down on earlier. I told the group I felt like I needed to try the down hill again, to rectify the mistake I had made earlier. The group went and I followed nervously, nailing the hill and feeling so great! Yes, I told my husband, I’ll be biking again soon!

As the day went on, I started feeling the effects of my fall more and more. I knew my knee and leg were going to bruise nicely and they certainly did. I immediately started applying my Super Life Healing Salve Pain-Healing-Salve-02-300x225to the injured areas and the pain subsided slowly due in part to the essential oil blend I created to decrease inflammation and pain. Even better, the arnica oil in the salve helped control the pain but also melted the bruising away! Today, although my leg still shows a nice “black and blue”, it’s fading each day to a more yellow color and healing nicely.

Why I told this story is two-fold. 1. Stepping out of your comfort zone can be fun and uncomfortable at times but to remember that the only thing constant is change and that that is how we can fully enjoy this amazing life we are living. 2. Acupuncture and herbal medicine is not to be feared but to be embraced and seen as a healing opportunity! So if you are one of the few who have been hesitant to trying acupuncture or herbal medicine, please remember my story and step out of your comfort zone!