Acupuncture: Relieves Pain and Restores Health
by Fang Mu, L.Ac., Oriental Medical Doctor (OMD)

Special care must be given to the body after it has been disrupted by surgery or ongoing upsets and stress. Just like a plant whose roots have been disturbed, a body that has been shaken to the core needs restorative care. Acupuncture helps balance the body so that it can fully recover from disruptions of all kinds.

Post-Surgical Relief From Pain
Many people experience chronic pain after surgery, even if the surgery was aimed at reducing pain. Many people also find post-surgical physical therapy painful. This does not mean that the surgery was not successful or that the physical therapy is not working. Rather, it is evidence that an additional, interim therapy, such as Acupuncture and Herbs, is needed to restore balance, so the body can truly recover from and heal properly.

Treating Weakness In The Body
Chinese medicine balances different kinds of weakness in the body. The body is weak inside if you regularly experience discomfort or pain from feeling too hot or too cold. This is a key indicator. Once your body becomes weak, any kind of change--including outside temperature, exposure to toxins or bacteria or physical injury, can affect you much worse than it would have if your body had been in balance.

Circulation of the body's energy (chi) is necessary for health. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs strengthen the body and help the chi flow better. The need for balanced movement of energy in the body is similar to the need for motion in a body of water. If the water in a lake does not move well, it will smell bad and accumulate fungus and bacteria. If the water moves too fast and floods other areas, then great amounts of waste will appear in the water. It is the same with the body; if your chi does not move properly, you are more likely to get sick. If you have too much energy, it will be hard for you to relax and refresh. If there is a smooth movement to the body's energy, toxins cannot stagnate and the entire body becomes clear, clean, and strong.

Case Studies: Healing Nerve Damage
One of my patients, a woman in her fifties, had experienced increasing shoulder pain for more than a year. It worsened until she could not even raise her arm due to stiffness and pain. She was always feeling tired, and her stomach was upset a good deal. When I checked her pulse, it was weak. Through Acupuncture and Herbs, her energy built up and flowed better, her digestion improved, and she could raise her shoulder.

A 17-year-old young man who was a very good baseball pitcher had to give up the game due to elbow pain. His medical doctor advised him to never pitch again. When he came to see me, I found his pulse weak. Through Acupuncture and Herbs, he recovered from the elbow pain and happily returned to playing baseball.

A 52-year-old man with Cerebral Palsy was in a car accident which damaged nerves in his back and legs so that he was unable to walk. When he came to me last winter, he had not walked in 29 years. By this spring, the Acupuncture and Herbs had strengthened his body so that now he is walking. He is also laughing and making jokes and is much happier in his life.

A senior citizen, 72 years old, became mysteriously paralyzed in both legs and could not walk. Her leg muscles were very weak, but it was not the result of any accident. Her doctor was unsure of the cause of paralysis and was considering invasive treatments such as surgery. When she came to me, she had not walked in six months. After only four treatments, she began to walk with a walker.

Another patient in her mid-forties, after breaking her backbone and being unable to walk, had given up hope of ever walking again. After several months of Acupuncture treatment, she now can walk with a cane.

In more than 20 years of practice as an Oriental Medical Doctor, I have seen many people experience improved physical benefits from Acupuncture and Herbs. Acupuncture and Herbs help the weak body get stronger and most importantly strengthen the immune system. It is like planting a small plant that needs water, fertilizer, and weeding. Without proper care, it cannot grow and become strong and fight off predators and disease. Sometimes it must be cut back so that the root can grow stronger. It is the same with your body; you have to add on if you have too little energy, and get rid of the extra energy.

Fang Mu, L.Ac., Oriental Medical Doctor, received her medical doctor degree for Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine in 1986 from Jiangxi Traditional Chinese Medicine College. She is board-certified in the U.S. and in the state of North Carolina, and is a nationally certified Chinese herbalist. You may contact her at Mu Chinese Acupuncture & Herbs in OakRidge, (336) 643-8838, www.MuAcupuncture.com.