Tendonitis and Healing Inflamation
I’ve recently had an influx of new patients coming in with tendonitis lately which inspired me to write this article and speak to this issue. Though this also speaks to those new patients and prospective patients about all illness and how to proceed with healing. Read on to learn more about Tendonitis and healing inflammation.
Tendonitis is an inflammation of the tendon of fibrous tissue that attaches a muscle to a bone. It is often accompanied by tenosynovitis, which is an inflammation of the lining of the tendon sheath.
The symptoms of these conditions are pain and tenderness at or near the joint, especially upon movement; possible swelling over the area; and in some individuals can result in numbness and tingling. Stiffness, along with pain can restrict movement of the joint involved. The most frequently affected joints are the shoulder, elbow (tennis elbow), thumb, wrist/hand and heel (Achilles tendonitis).
There are many reason’s for localized inflammation; one reason may result from repeated trauma, repetitive stress, excessive strain or overuse of a tendon. For instance, irregular or too-strenuous exercise along with not warming up properly can make one prone to injury. Or, long term, repetition of a movement can exacerbate a mild injury leading to a more serious condition.
Repetitive strain injuries in the arm are most often related to the type of work that a person does-hair dressers, musicians, car mechanics, massage therapists, cooks, to name a few. A common injury occurs from long hours on a computer, the repetition of a movement in addition to the direct exposure to electro-magnetic heat causing deep inflammation of the cells leading to tissue inflammation.
Treating tendonitis from a holistic medicine perspective;
Tendonitis in Chinese Medicine is sometimes explained as “local qi and blood congestion or stagnation in the channels” according to traditional Chinese medicine or TCM. TCM includes acupuncture and Chinese herbs. New, sterile acupuncture needles are inserted at or near the source of the pain, or distal to the pain site to open the channel to unblock and allow for movement of energy. This addresses the local symptoms by improving the circulation of qi and blood in the affected area. Where qi goes, blood flows and vice versa 🙂
In TCM, we have a concept called “root and branch”. Think of illness as a tree with the roots being the cause and source of illness while the branches are the different symptoms that grow from the root. An example is a person with poor liver function resulting in bouts of anger, abdominal pain, itchy skin, nausea, fatigue, joint pain and possible weight loss. The “root” of this specific persons’ illness is the poor liver function, this is the cause of the symptoms. These “branches” are the various symptoms of poor liver function. Treating the root cause of the initial illness, you allow the body to restore homeostasis and the patients own self healing mechanism begins to do the work it was meant to do. This method of treating the root cause of the illness will produce deep, profound changes in the mind and body of the patient.
If you focus on treating the root cause of the illness, the patient will be truly healed, not just managing the symptoms. This true healing will reduce the chances of the symptoms returning and restore the true health and independence to the patient. At Holistic Natural Medicine I find a combination of treating both root (cause) and branch (symptom) at the same time as the best way to practice the healing arts. For chronically ill patients, you must treat the root or else you are not doing right by the patient-you are just doing band aid care.
Acupuncture, specific herbal medicine, improvement of lifestyle factors (read my 5 lifestyle factors of health and healing article) and elimination of inflammatory foods such as white flour, and white sugar, course of treatment time relative to the severity of illness equals deep healing of the body and restoration of function. A holistic method is the treatment of choice, giving excellent results in both acute and chronic cases. If you have been on a correct healing program, a person should start experiencing improvement in their health overall within 6-12 weeks.
Most common branches:
Fatigue
Chronic pain
Impaired movement
Digestive disorders
Neurological issues (migraines, anxiety, depression, ADHD, poor memory)
Low immunity, allergies
Insomnia
Hormonal issues (hot flashes, menstruated difficulty)
Skin disorder and other toxicity related issues
If you’re suffering from acute or chronic issues and you need relief- contact Holistic Natural Medicine today and we’ll be glad to schedule an appointment for you.