Neck Pain Portland Me | Neck Pain - Find Relief With Traditional Chinese Medicine

Neck pain and stiffness in the neck and shoulder area can be caused by many things including muscle tension, stress, a whiplash injury, or sleeping in an awkward position, to mention just a few.

When you feel neck pain you may instinctively begin to slowly stretch the muscles of your neck and shoulder or reach up and try to give yourself a massage. Or, some people might simply take a pain reliever. But neither of these options will provide true healing for your neck pain.

Pain Medicine Simply Masks Neck Pain -

Massaging your sore muscles may provide some immediate relief, but it will not get at the cause of the neck pain, and a pain reliever does nothing but mask the pain, doing nothing to solve the root cause of the neck pain.

This is what Traditional Chinese Medicine will do. Rather than covering up the symptoms of an ailment or disease, Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM, looks at the entire person and seeks to heal the root cause of the illness.

What is Traditional Chinese Medicine? -

TCM dates back thousands of years. It is a complete system used to both diagnose and cure human ailments and diseases. TCM medical practitioners base their diagnoses on the yin-yang principles and the five elements, (earth, metal, fire, water and wood). They also work with Qi (or Chi), which is the energy or vital life force of the person the flows throughout the body.

For a complaint like neck pain, a TCM practitioner would discuss the patient's lifestyle and other factors relating to the probable causes of the neck pain if it is not from an injury or a car crash. They might prescribe acupuncture treatments, which use hair-thin needles placed in meridian points along the body, or acupressure, which is actually a precursor of acupuncture using finger pressure instead of needles.

TCM Therapies for Neck Pain -

Another option, depending on the origin of the neck pain, might be herbal therapy, which is the highest form of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Chinese herbalism is advanced and exacting, comprising of over 6,000 substances. These herbs used either alone or in a special combination work to address the underlying disharmony in the body system.

Tui Na, translated literally, means "push pull," and it's a specific form of TCM massage. Using several hand techniques and passive and active stretching, the therapist seeks to restore the circulation of Qi and blood throughout the body. Tui Na is not only used for treating aches and pains, but it can be used for health maintenance and prevention.

So the herbal medicines work to restore internal balance while the acupressure, acupuncture and Tui Na work to restore the physical and energetic balance of the body.

Do you see how this holistic approach would be far more effective than simply popping an aspirin and continuing to plow through the day's activities? Sometimes a nagging symptom such as neck pain can be the body's way of letting you know that things are out of balance. Taking the time to care for and maintain your health may help prevent similar maladies in the future.