Winnipeg Reflexology Etc

A Different Perspective on Pain

An article written by Chin Chu

October 28, 2014

Pain is all around us. Whether felt by ourselves, or someone we know, it is always causing us grief. But what if pain were a person? Like someone that we despised? What would we do to protect ourselves from them? We could:

1. Build a wall to separate ourselves,
2. Banish them from our land,
3. Send them for a long walk on a short pier, or
4. Persuade them to work with us, not against us.

These simple solutions can also be applied to how we should go about the treatment of pain. The first 3 solutions are commonly used, but the fourth treatment, however unlikely it may seem, can also be effective. This method is the Eastern approach to treating pain and follows the theory of yin and yang, the balance of energy (or chi).

In Eastern medicine, the slow movement of chi, or chi stagnation, is often the cause of pain. And so, it stands to reason that to relieve the pain, you must remove the stagnation. To do this, we must first determine what is causing the stagnation. So if;

1. The chi is too strong in a specific meridian, we need to find a way to drain it to a weaker meridian,
2. The chi is too weak, we need to transfer in chif rom a stronger meridian, and if
3. The stagnation is caused by a traumatic injury, the correct reflexes must be used in other parts of the body to remove the stagnant chi.

Treating Pain with an Eastern Approach

Eastern medicine encompasses the flow of energy meridians. There are 12 regular meridians that are all interconnected and circulate the flow of chi throughout the body. Because of this connection, meridians allow us to treat different areas of pain through various methods and locations.

For example,

 1. Heel Pain

Western medicine often classifies this as plantar fasciitis or tendonitis – which are both caused by inflammation. Common treatments for this ailment include reducing the inflammation by using cold packs or medication. For acute conditions, this may help, but once the pain lasts for more than a few months it becomes more difficult to treat and these conventional methods don’t work as effectively.

Eastern medicine takes a different approach, by identifying which meridians are running along the area of pain. For heel pain,

• The area is wrapped by the bladder and kidney meridians,
• In reflexology, the location of the pain is in the lower back, or pelvic area – which are controlled by the energy of the liver, kidney, bladder, and gall bladder, spleen, and stomach meridians.
• Any inflammation can be dealt with using the stomach energy, and tendon conditions ca be treated by the liver energy.

Based on this, the solution is simple. To treat the heel pain, we need to strength the liver and kidney meridians, and the lower back reflex of the foot.

2. Sciatica, Lower Back, and Hip Pain

Many people suffer from these types of pain. So many, in fact, that it has drawn us to one conclusion – the conventional approach may not be as effective.

From an Eastern viewpoint, these 3 conditions are of the same nature and origin.

• The kidney, bladder, and gall bladder meridians move through the sore areas of these conditions,
• The common meridians that influence the above 3 meridians are the colon, heart, stomach, and triple burner.

Because of this, the treatment methods are the same. To treat these conditions, we would simply locate the reflexes of the 4 latter meridians to influence the main areas. Often, within two sessions, results will be seen.

In Eastern medicine, pain is a warning sign. It is just a symptom displayed by the body due to the imbalance of the meridians, causing a weakness of the muscles, bones, tendons, and nerves. The reality is that all organs that connect to these meridians are also weakening. If these weaknesses aren’t addressed then the pain may appear in a different area, or the weakness may even manifest itself through a more serious disease.

Treating the body as a whole is the only way to effectively treat your pain. Treating the symptom and not the source may only mask the pain temporarily. Those who believe in this way of thinking will have a better chance for pain relief and better health. So instead of dismissing this ‘person’ that you despise, try inviting them into your life. You may one day become friends.