About Author: Dr. Jack Qiu

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Lumbar Herniated Disc Pain

By
Dr. Jack Qiu
– December 15, 2011

In my last article, I talked about lumbar herniated disc and exercises to relief pain and improve recovery of herniated disc.  In our Mesa AZ Chiropractic clinic, I treat chiropractic patients with acupuncture as well as chiropractic adjustment and therapeutic exercises.  As a chiropractic physician with a background in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) I would like to share with you my knowledge and experiences treating herniated disc condition using acupuncture.

Disc protrusion/herniated disc could be caused by trauma/injury, and age-related degenerated change which causes the loss of the water content inside the spinal disc.  The dehydrated disc contents shift out, pinch the spinal nerve root nearby, causing pain, numbness tingling and weakness of the low back and lower extremities.  Common signs and symptoms of disc protrusion or herniated disc include:

  • Mild pain in the low back
  • Numbness, radiated pain and weakness of buttock, legs and feet
  • Shooting pain increase when coughing or sneezing

According to TCM theory, one of the important etiologies of herniated disc is kidney and liver deficiency.  When I talk about deficiency, what I am talking about is based on the energetic level of the meridian/energy pathway that related to the organ and body tissue.  The TCM define the 12 meridian/energy channels flow around the body.  The kidney and the liver meridian channel are flowing from the lower leg to the abdomen which is right near the bladder channel (the bladder channel is running through from the feet and right across the lower back region) As an important component of the TCM principle, acupuncture treatment is to improve the flow of the energy along the nerve pathway, and maintain the balance of your body and the mind.  To solve the problems of the deficiency of kidney and liver, a common treatment protocol called the Eight Needle Technique is usually what I use on patients with herniated disc.  Eight acupuncture needles will be inserted to the eight acupuncture points (the selected strategic points) along two sides of the lower back region.  The goal of the treatment is to reinforce and balance the kidney energy/Qi (pronounced chee) reduce pain and inflammation, and promote the absorption of the herniated disc back to the normal position.  For general treatment, I will have the needle retained for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Acupuncture has been practiced in China for thousands of years.  In his historic 1910 book “The Art and Science of Chiropractic” the founder of chiropractic D. D. Palmer use a full page to introduce “Queer notions of the Chinese” in which the term “acupuncture” was mentioned.  Acupuncture has been popularly practiced in the United States since President Richard Nixon’s delegation to China in 1972 when the press reported its use in China.

As a Chiropractic and acupuncture practitioner practice in the wonderful Mesa area, my goal is to work with your health issues and help you reach the best result.  If you have any questions, please contact me.  I would be happy to explain to you the principles of acupuncture and Chiropractic, and how they can help with your health issues.  I am available during weekday and weekend, 7 days a week.  Call today and schedule an appointment for a complementary acupuncture and chiropractic consultation.

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Pain from a lumbar herniated disc

By
Dr. Jack Qiu
– July 14, 2011

Spinal disc protrusion or lumbar herniated disc  is a common condition we see here in our Mesa AZ chiropractic clinic and we can help the pain go away!.  The human spinal column consists of a series of vertebral bones.  Spinal disc is a cartilage consisting of an outer ligament layer called the annulus fibrous and a soft, jelly like substance in the middle surrounded by the annulus fibrous called the nucleus pulposis.  The spinal discs function as a shock absorber between each of the vertebral bones.  The spinal disc protects the spinal cord from the stress of our daily activities such as in heavy lifting.  It also helps to maintain flexibility of the spine.

A disc protrusion/lumbar herniated disc could be caused by trauma or injury. It can be an age-related degenerated change due to the loss of the water content inside the nucleus pulposis.  Each of these may lead to the tearing of the outer annulus fibrous allowing the jelly like nucleus pulposis to shift outward, pinch the spinal nerve root nearby, produce pain, numbness tingling and muscle weakness of the low back and lower extremities.  Common signs and symptoms of disc protrusion or lumbar herniated disc include:

  • Mild to severe pain in the low back
  • Numbness, radiated pain and weakness of buttock, legs and feet
  • Shooting pain  when coughing or sneezing
  • Back spasms

In our Mesa AZ chiropractic clinic, we combine chiropractic adjustment, therapeutic exercises and acupuncture for chiropractic patients with a lumber herniated disc.  As a Mesa chiropractor and acupuncture practitioner, I teach my patients with lumbar herniated disc home exercises to relief pain and improve recovery of their low back.  There are three exercises for lumbar herniated discs I would like to share with you here:

The first exercise is called “Prop-up on stomach”, also known as pre-cobra exercises.  Patients lie on their stomach, prop up on their elbow.  Hold the position for about 2 minutes.  For some elder patients if this is too difficult or too much bending backward, they can put a pillow right under their chest with their elbows prop up on the pillow, which gives them support and they could just slightly maintain the prop-up position.  (See below)

The second exercise is called “cobra exercises” or “press-up on stomach”.  This is a press up on the stomach position, a continuation of “prop-up on stomach”  Patients start with the same position as the pre-cobra exercises mentioned above, keep the waist and leg flat with the ground, and bring their back up with elbow straight.  Hold the position for about 1- 2 seconds and down, then repeat several times.  It is suggested clinically hold up to 5 seconds for each repetition and up to 20 repetitions.  (See below)

The third one is called standing back bend.  This is a great exercise for patients who work all day long with lumbar herniated disc.  Patents stand straight, holding their waist with both hands, and bend backward.  An alternation is to put their hands on wall, perform same bend backward, also can be recognized as “take your belly button toward the wall”  Hold about 1 – 2 minutes.  (See below)

The idea behind these 3 exercises is to press the lumbar herniated disc, and move it forward away from the spinal nerve, relieve the symptom down to the leg and feet, and create negative pressure inside the annulus fiber to increase the absorption of the protrusion  lumbar disc.  Normally during these exercises patient will feel the symptoms from the leg goes up to the back, which is called centralization (which indicates you are on the right track of recovery)  Stop the exercises immediately if you feel your symptom is getting worst.

As a Mesa, AZ Doctor of Chiropractic and acupuncture practitioner, I see chiropractic patients with lumbar herniated disc conditions by using chiropractic, acupuncture and therapeutic exercises.   If you have any questions about the above exercises, please contact me.  As your Chiropractic and Acupuncture doctor – Dr. Jack Qiu, my goal is to work with you and help to reach your goal of health.  I am available during weekday and weekend, 7 days a week.  Call today and schedule an appointment for a complementary acupuncture and chiropractic consultation.

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Concussion, Can Acupuncture Help?

By
Dr. Jack Qiu
– June 2, 2011

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A chiropractic patient asked “I suffered a concussion. Should I try acupuncture”?

Concussion and the common aftermath of concussion, Post-Concussion Syndrome, often cause painful and chronic symptoms following head injury.  As doctors of chiropractic this is seen frequently in our clinic. Concussion is a mild form of traumatic brain injury. This usually happens in a fall, motor vehicle accident or sports injury.  According to a statistic from the Mayo Clinic, “There are about 1.5 million cases of traumatic brain injury reported each year in US.”  Most common signs and symptoms of post-concussion syndrome include: headache, blurred vision, memory loss, insomnia and depression, etc.  Symptoms and signs mostly occur within 7 to 10 days after the accident or longer within months.

Acupuncture is a healing approach that has been used for thousands of years in China.  It has been shown to help relieve pain, stress and many other conditions.  A recent article from The Wall Street Journal reports acupuncture was used to treat US soldiers in Afghanistan suffering from mild brain injury.  Improvements were seen in reducing headache and anxiety and to  increase the quality of sleep.

The idea behind the acupuncture needle for headache and other syndromes from mild concussion and Post-Concussion Syndrome is the balance of the body energy/Qi (chee) within the energy pathway: Meridian.  There are 14 meridians spread around human body.  Six of the 14 meridian channels pass around the neck, face and head, and then continue to pass through the arm, hand, leg and foot.  If energy Qi is blocked along the pathway, that causes pain, diseases and syndromes. Certain points along these meridian channels are related to conditions of the brain, face and neck.  By inserting thin, gentle acupuncture needles to these Meridian points, we clear the Qi (energy) of blockage, improving the energy flow through the brain, face and neck.

As a Mesa, AZ Doctor of Chiropractic and acupuncture practitioner, I see chiropractic patients with headache, insomnia, and conditions related to concussion and Post – Concussion Syndrome.  If you or someone you know has had a mild brain injury in the past and continue to suffer any of the symptoms of Post-Concussion Syndrome, consider acupuncture as part of your treatment as it most often improves the healing process of your mind and body.  Call me – Chiropractic and Acupuncture doctor – Dr. Jack Qiu, for a complementary acupuncture and chiropractic consultation.

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Low Back Pain and the Kidney

By
Dr. Jack Qiu
– April 21, 2011

As a new Mesa AZ Chiropractor with a specialty in acupuncture, I would like to share information with you concerning the relationship between your low back pain and the Kidney.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the kidney is considered an important organ because of its role for water/fluid metabolism.  According to TCM principles, there are three basic substances of human body which include: Jing / Essence, Qi / Vital energy and Sheng / Spirit.  These three substances are stored in kidneys.  Among them, the Jing also know as Essence is related to life development.  In other words, the kidney is the primary organ associated with problems such as growing up, aging and infertility.  According to TCM, as we grow older our kidney Qi (pronounced “chee”) or the vital energy of the kidney, declines which is related to bone loss and poor hearing since the kidney functions to nourish the bones and the ears.

One common condition we see in our Mesa AZ Chiropractic clinic: chronic low back pain. Low back pain is usually considered a sign of Kidney imbalance/dysfunction according to TCM theory as the kidneys are “housed” in the low back.

In our Mesa AZ Chiropractic clinic, we help our chiropractic patients with chronic low back pain through chiropractic and acupuncture care.  Chiropractic care helps to reduce pain and restore the position of the misaligned spinal vertebra that block the nerve signal from brain to body.  Acupuncture care is to improve the flow of the vital energy Qi along the nerve pathway.  Certain acupuncture points along the kidney energy pathway (also known as the kidney meridian) could be stimulated by inserting acupuncture needles.  The goal is to tonify the kidney function for chronic low back pain.

Dr Jack Qiu works with his patient suffering with chronic low back pain with thorough knowledge in chiropractic and training in acupuncture. Dr. Qiu is available to help you with your health concerns.  As a chiropractor, He is available to help his chiropractic patients weekdays and on weekends.  A Free consultation is available.  Please call our chiropractor’s office today.

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Green Tea

By
Dr. Jack Qiu
– March 28, 2011

There are many health benefits associated with drinking green tea.  In our Mesa Arizona Chiropractic clinic, we educate our chiropractic and acupuncture patients with the healthy effects of green tea.  And we encourage our chiropractic and acupuncture patients to consider green tea as a beverage of their choice.

As a significant source of healthy and powerful antioxidants called polyphenols, green tea also helps maintain strong bone density, prevents osteoporosis and joint injury.  For our Mesa AZ chiropractic and acupuncture patients with arthritis pain, green tea helps reduce joint inflammation, improves and repairs joint cartilage.  For chiropractic and acupuncture patients with obese problems, we suggest green tea be included in their weight control program, which helps to lower the cholesterol level, increase fat burning and prevent cardiovascular disease.  As chiropractors and as a acupuncture practitioner at Lee Family Chiropractic, we help our Mesa AZ chiropractic and acupuncture patients reduce interference of their nervous system and improve natural healing.  Consumption of green tea may reduce diseases of the central nervous system, improve memory and promote anti-aging.  The benefits of green tea have been known during time of the ancient china for about 4000 years.

Contact Lee Family Chiropractic today for improved health and wellness.

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