Back Pain (Chronic)

WHAT IS IT AND WHAT CAUSES IT?

Chronic back pain is persistent pain or stiffness in the lower back and waist. It may be caused by a disorder of the spine or the muscles in the back, such as arthritis, strain and sprain, muscle spasm, bone spur, or a herniated disk.

WHEN SHOULD YOU SEE A DOCTOR?

If you have a back pain, visit your doctor for a diagnosis to rule out other underlying diseases. If you have severe pain, or if it does not get better in two days, see your doctor.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IN DAILY LIFE?

• In acute cases, resting is the first choice. Use ice in a plastic bag or a bag of frozen peas wrapped with a cloth to soothe the sore and inflamed area for 15 to 20 minutes. Repeat three to four times a day. (Acute cases usually only last a few days.)
• After one or two days, if the severe pain subsides, then you can use a heating pad with a warm, wet towel underneath for 20 minutes three to four times a day. You could use the heating pad three times, then an ice bag once daily. Repeat this cycle if necessary.
• Sleep on a bed with a firm mattress. Choose a comfortable pillow to keep your neck and spine in a natural position. If you lie on your side, put a pillow between your legs.
• In chronic cases, doing some of the following exercises regularly may help you relieve your back pain:
  • Walk forward in an S line for 10 minutes. Walk to the right for three or four steps, then to the left for three or four steps.
  • Walk like a penguin for five minutes. Keep your feet about 2 inches apart (toe turned out). Stand up naturally. Relax your knees. Slightly shake your body. Open your mouth and quietly pronounce “ah, ah.” Slowly move forward. Don't lift your foot more than 1 inch.
  • Lie down on a hard floor. Pull both your knees toward your chest and lock both hands on the knees. Slowly rock your body back and forth to stretch your back for one or two minutes.
• Take some measures to protect your back in daily life:
  • Keep your back warm. Wear lumbar support if you have a weak back.
  • Wear comfortable shoes. Move your toes as much as possible, particularly the second toe. Walking barefoot at home, massaging your toes in the bath, and wearing slippers as much as possible can relieve and prevent back pain.
  • When lifting any heavy object, do some back exercises first. Hold the object close to your body and lift slowly.
  • If you work at a desk for prolonged time, adjust the height of your desk and chair properly. Change your body position or do some back exercise, every 30 minutes. Place a small stool or box under your desk. Place your feet on it to raise your knee joint higher than the pelvic joint. In this way your sciatic nerve has less pressure and your spine is bending less.
  • If you are going to drive for a prolonged time, be sure to use a backrest. If you don't have one, use a bath towel to support your back. Placing cardboard on the seat can also help.
  • If you play golf, swing the club in the opposite direction several times before you prepare to hit a ball.

WHAT SHOULDN'T YOU DO?

• When the back is in pain, avoid the activities that use the painful spot too much. It is not the right time to do exercise yet.
• Don't sleep on damp ground or sit on a wet chair outdoors.
• Don't bend your back directly to pick up things on the floor. Instead, bend your knees, then squat down and pick them up using your leg strength.
• Don't wear high heel shoes, which may cause back pain for many women.
• From Chinese medicine's point of view, don't have too much sex.

Folk Remedies

The following therapies are used in chronic cases only:

• Brush your feet, legs, and back for five to 10 minutes after a warm bath. Use a soft brush. The brush acts as a bunch of acupuncture needles. They stimulate the meridian and prompt the circulation of Qi and blood.
  • Brush the soles and both sides of both feet, from the heel to the toes. Pay more attention to the point below the ball of the foot in the center, about a third of the distance between the toes and the heel. Before brushing, apply some cream to protect your skin.
  • Brush each toe from the root to the tip.
  • Brush the back of your leg, from the lower part of your calf, up to the back of your thigh.
  • Brush your back from the upper part down to the lower part.
• Blow the pain away: Set a hair dryer to low. Use it to blow warm air to the outside area under the kneecap to halfway down the leg. You can also blow warm air on the sole of your foot. If you feel too hot, move the hair dryer away a bit. When you feel the muscles cool down, move the hair dryer a bit closer. Take care not to burn yourself.
• Iron the pain away: Use three or four layers of cotton fabric to cover your back. Turn on a low-power iron for one minute, then pull out the power line. Ask a family member to slowly move the iron on the cotton fabric on your back, back and forth, just like ironing your clothes. Before ironing your back, make sure the temperature is warm, not hot. Take great care not to burn yourself.
• Steam several washcloths for 20 minutes. Wait until the cloth is comfortably hot to your skin. Apply to the painful spot. Cover the washcloth with clear plastic wrap for 15 minutes, after making sure the cloth is not too hot.
• Massage with a low-power vacuum cleaner: Sit on a chair. Take out the head or the brush of the vacuum cleaner. Use the opening of the pipe to gently suck at your back. Try to slightly lift the pipe, but don't lose contact with the skin. Continue for 10 seconds with suction while moving your back to the left, to the right, forward, or backward. Repeat several times.
• Hold your hands with fingers interlaced. Use your index and ring fingertips to gently press the points called “back pain points” (see the illustration on page 62), right underneath the tips 50 times. Meanwhile slowly rotate your back forward, backward, left, and right for two minutes. Do this whenever you have time.
• Apply hot salt on your back: Stir-fry 1 cup of salt in a pan until you can hear a cracking sound. Wrap the salt in a couple of paper towels, then with a cloth. Wait until the temperature cools down to the point of being comfortably hot on the skin. Apply to your back for one hour. Reheat if necessary.
• Wash with vinegar: Bring 300 ml rice vinegar to a boil. Wait until it cools to the point of being comfortably hot on your skin. Wash your painful spot for 15 minutes, once a day. Don't scald yourself. If you have an allergic reaction, discontinue use.

Food Therapy

• Drink spinach juice:

  Ingredients: 1 lb. spinach, Chinese cooking wine.

  Procedure: Make spinach juice with a juicer. Drink 100 ml of this juice with 30 ml wine, twice a day.

• Eat walnuts regularly:

  Ingredients: 7 walnuts shelled, 2 Tbs. brown sugar.

  Procedure: Stir-fry walnuts on low heat until a bit dark. Smash to small pieces and divide into two portions. Eat one portion with brown sugar, twice a day.

• Drink fruit wine:

  Ingredients: 7 figs, 500 ml 80-proof vodka.

  Procedure: Slice the figs into small strips. Soak them in vodka in a sealed bottle for seven days. Drink 25 ml at a time, twice a day for five days.

Chinese Massage

Choose from the following and massage once a day. In some cases, if you can't do it yourself, ask a family member to help you and tell him or her to be gentle. For an acute case, do not massage.

• Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Put your hands on your back. Use your palms, or the heel of the palms to scrub up and down from your waist to sacrum 100 times.

  

• Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Place your hands on your back just below your waist. Your thumbs are right on two acupressure points, which are called “Back Eyes.” Gently press these two points. Meanwhile slowly rotate your body forward, backward, left, and right. Make loose fists and gently tap against this point for one minute.
• Find the most painful spot. Gently tap against the painful spot 30 times. Gently knead for one minute.
• Use your thumb to gently press and knead the point that is a little higher than the waist, two finger-widths on both sides of the spine for one minute (Bl23).
• Lie down on your stomach. Ask a family member to use the thumb to gently press the point in the middle of the crease on the back of the knee for one minute (Bl40).
• Gently press and knead the point in the depression underneath the large muscle, about halfway between the knee crease and the heel for one minute (Bl57).
• Use your thumb and index finger to pinch the dent behind the anklebone on both side, of the foot 10 times (Bl60, Ki3).
• Use your thumb to gently press and knead the point at the back of your hand, two finger-widths from the wrist crease. One is between the ring and middle fingers. Another is between the index and middle fingers (“Back Pain Point”). Do it for one minute.

Chinese Herbs

• Take the patent herb Yu Nan Bai Yao. Follow the instructions.
• Apply the patent herb patch Shang Shi Zhi Tong Gao. If you have an allergic reaction, discontinue use.
• Apply a patent heating patch with herbs, called Chinese Moxibustion. Follow the instructions.

Bed-Wetting

WHAT IS IT AND WHAT CAUSES IT?

Bed-wetting is the involuntary loss of urine during sleep after the age of 5 years, mostly because the urine-filled bladder doesn't wake your child. Genetics, stress, or some underlying diseases may be the causes.

WHEN SHOULD YOU SEE A DOCTOR?

If bed-wetting becomes frequent, or is accompanied with pain or with blood, your child should see a doctor.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IN DAILY LIFE?

• Give your child a supportive environment. Blaming won't help. Asking your child to help clean up after bedwetting may help to some degree.
• Set up a schedule to go to the bathroom, no matter if your child needs to go or not. Then gradually increase the interval time between bathroom visits. Be sure to urinate before bedtime.

WHAT SHOULDN'T YOU DO?

• Don't drink too much at night or before bed.

Folk Remedies

• Pepper on the belly button (navel): Sew a 1-inch square bag with thin cotton fabric. Fill in with some black pepper powders and seal it. Tape it to the belly button with bandage. Change it every day for one week. If you find any allergic reaction on the skin, discontinue use.
• Take egg with white peppercorn. Open a small hole on an uncooked egg. Insert seven white peppercorns and seal it. Steam it until well done. Take two eggs before bedtime without water for one week. If your child is younger than 5 years old, only take one egg each time.

Food Therapy

• Eating dried litchi can help the bed-wetting. It is an Asian fruit and available at Chinese grocery stores.
• Drink corn silk tea: Place 1 ounce of corn silk in a pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add 1 Tbs. of sugar. Drink once a day for 10 days.

Chinese Massage

• Use your thumb and other fingers to gently grasp the muscles right below your child's bellybutton 10 times. Use your palm to gently rub counterclockwise around his or her belly button until he or she feels warm.
• Use your thumb to gently press and knead the points a little higher than the waist, two finger-widths on either side of the spine for one minute.
• You can do the following hand massage for your child:
  • Using the palm surface of your thumb, gently push along the outside edge of the child's thumb from the tip to the root of the thumb. Repeat 100 times.
  • Using the palm surface of your thumb, gently push the palm surface of the child's ring finger from the tip to the transverse (palm root) crease of that ring finger. Repeat 100 times.
  • Using the palm surface of your thumb, gently push the palm surface of the child's little finger from the palm root to the tip of that little finger. Repeat 100 times.
  • Using your middle finger, gently knead the child's hand at the depression between the ring and little fingers on the back of the hand for one minute.

Heat Therapy

Light a smokeless moxa stick, which is like a cigar and available at Chinese herb stores. Circle it one to two inches above the midline between the belly button and pubic bone for 10 minutes. Do this one to two times a day. Be careful not to let the stick or its ashes burn your child.

Breastfeeding Problem 1: Lack of Breast Milk

WHAT IS IT AND WHAT CAUSES IT?

The absence or insufficiency of breast milk during the period of nursing has two causes. If malnutrition and bad physical health are the causes, the breast milk would be very thin. If it is brought on by psychological stress such as anger and depression, breasts would be painful and over-swollen with no milk.

WHEN SHOULD YOU SEE A DOCTOR?

If self-treatments are not working, then you should see a doctor to determine if there are other conditions with mammary ducts.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IN DAILY LIFE?

• Before breastfeeding, massage the breast and nipples with a warm and moist towel. This will facilitate the flow of milk.
• When breast milk is plentiful, use a breast pump to extract milk for storage. This will increase the secretion of milk.
• Maintain good nutrition. Drink more soup-type food. Eating more shrimp, pig's feet, sesame seed, pumpkin seed, or dates can help.
• Take enough Vitamin E. It can expand the mammary glands and, therefore, increase the output of milk.

WHAT SHOULDN'T YOU DO?

• Don't give up on breastfeeding because of difficulty. This will only further decrease the amount of breast milk secreted. The act of breastfeeding will stimulate the release.
• Don't exhaust yourself and don't engage in activities that will interfere with your sleep pattern.
• Don't watch horror movies or TV programs that you know will frighten you a lot. Your psychological reactions will have a big impact on your body's processes such as breast milk secretion.
• Don't eat cold and raw food, or ice cream.
• Don't eat food that will decrease the secretion of breast milk such as prickly ash peel or germinated barley.

Folk Remedies

• Apply 6 oz. of self-raising flour dough to the whole breast. Cover with a warm towel for 30 minutes. Take the dough away and use a breast pump to draw the milk out. Massage from the root of the breast to the nipple to help milk flow if necessary.
• Boil 1 oz. of green onions with 2 cups of water. Use the fluids to wash the breast. Wash off with clean water afterwards. Then use a coarse hair comb to gently run it down the breast for 10 minutes, and periodically use the back of the comb to massage the breast. Do so two or three times a day. If your skin is allergic to green onions, don't use this method.

Food Therapy

• Drink fish soup:

  Ingredients: One crucian carp (available in Asian seafood grocery stores), 3 oz. mung bean sprouts, salt.

  Procedure: Add 3 cups of water to ingredients and cook as soup. Eat the fish and drink the soup. Do so once a day for three days.

• Drink seaweed with soybean milk:

  Ingredients: 1 oz. seaweed, 300 ml soymilk.

  Procedure: Soak seaweed in water overnight. Wash it clean. Add 2 cups of water to cook seaweed until it is soft. Take it out and mix with soymilk to eat. No salt or sugar. Do so for five days.

• Eat pig's feet:

  Ingredients: Two fresh pig's feet (available at Chinese grocery stores), 2 oz. soybeans.

  Procedure: Soak soybeans in water overnight. Place all ingredients in a pot with water to bring to a boil, then simmer for another two hours. Eat the feet and drink the soup every day for three days.

Chinese Massage

Choose the following and massage once a day:

• Use your palms to gently rub your left breast clockwise and your right breast couter clockwise for one minute.
• Spread your fingers and grasp the breasts. Then gently pull outward and release. Do so for two minutes.
• Use your fingertips to gently press against the point right between fourth and fifth ribs on the midline (Cv17) for one minute. Then gently press against the spots directly below each breast (St18) for one minute. Finally, gently press the point halfway between the belly button (navel) and the lower edge of the breastbone for one minute (Cv12).
• Gently press the depression four finger-widths below the kneecap edge and a thumb's-width outside of the shinbone for one mintute (St36).
• Gently press the point between the big and second toes, two finger-widths up the foot from the joint between the toes for one minute (Liv3).

Breastfeeding Problems 2: Trouble Stopping the Production of Breast Milk

WHAT IS IT?

You have stopped breastfeeding yet the milk still keeps flowing.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IN DAILY LIFE?

• Gradually have less frequent breastfeeding to see if the milk will decrease in quantity. If it doesn't, don't stop breastfeeding abruptly.

WHAT SHOULDN'T YOU DO?

• Don't eat much animal protein and fat.

Folk Remedies

• Boil 2 oz. of germinated barley in water. It is available in Chinese herb stores. Drink as tea once a day for three or four days.
• Eat prickly ash peel with sugar:

  Ingredients: 1/4 oz. prickly ash peel, brown sugar.

  Procedure: Add 1 1/2 cups of water to cook the prickly ash peel until only 3/4 of a cup of water is left. Strain and add sugar to drink. Drink once a day for three days.

• Eat dried black beans with rice:

  Ingredients: 2 oz. dried black beans (cooking seasoning, available in Chinese grocery stores), 2 oz. rice, 1 Tbs. Chinese cooking oil.

  Procedure: Cook rice first. Stir-fry rice with black beans and cooking oil for five minutes on low heat. Add a bit of salt to taste. Eat once a day for three days.

Chinese Herbs

• Boil 1/8 oz. of senna leaf in one cup of water. Drink as tea twice a day. This may decrease the amount of breast milk. Two days should stop production of breast milk. If you already have loose stool before the treatment, you shouldn't use this method. If you develop loose stool after taking it, stop using it.

Bronchitis

WHAT IS IT AND WHAT CAUSES IT?

It is an inflammation of the airways of the lungs. The symptoms are severe cough with green or yellow phlegm, shortness of breath, and wheezing. Bronchitis is mainly caused by viral or bacterial infection.

In Chinese medicine there are three types of bronchitis:

• Cold Type: Coughs after you are getting cold, plenty of phlegm, thin and white; running nose, and aversion to cold.
• Heat Type: Coughs that are frequently and severe, thick and yellow phlegm, shortness of breath or wheezing, and thirst.
• Dry Type: Dry cough, no phlegm (or very hard to cough up), and dry sore throat and mouth.

WHEN SHOULD YOU SEE A DOCTOR?

If your cough isn't getting better within three days, you have fever, blood in your phlegm, you are elderly, or you have chronic illnesses, see a doctor.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IN DAILY LIFE?

• Rest if you have fever.
• Drink plenty of water to thin mucus. Particularly, drinking strong green tea will help.
• Eat easily digested foods, such as radish, spinach, tomato, Chinese cabbage, winter melon, soybeans, kelp, orange, pears, dates, water chestnuts, lily bulb, and lotus seed.
• Keep regular aerobic exercise such as walking, jogging, and practicing Tai Chi. Swimming is the best choice for lung-related disease.
• If you have tendency to have bronchitis in winter, adjust yourself to increase the ability to resist cold weather. Wash your face or feet with cold water in summertime.
• Play a woodwind musical instrument to make your chest diaphragm move more actively. This can increase the function of your lungs.
• In chronic cases, you need to have more confidence to fight the disease. A bad psychological factor makes your immune system weak and susceptible to an attack.
• Quit smoking right away. A smoker has much higher risk of getting bronchitis than a non-smoker.
• Keep your room clean and vacuum frequently. Use humidifiers to keep adequate humidity. Keep the air in your room fresh.

WHAT SHOULDN'T YOU DO?

• Don't travel to areas with heavily polluted air.
• Avoid fried food. Avoid seafood such as fish, crab, and shrimp. Don't eat spicy food such as hot pepper, garlic, green onion, mustard, and cinnamon. Don't have milk and dairy products, which may cause more mucus. Don't eat food that is too salty or too sweet.
• If you have upper respiratory problems, don't delay treatments.

Folk Remedies

• Use a hairbrush to tap the lung meridians for three minutes before bedtime. They are found on the inner side, from top of both arms down to the tips of your thumbs. Tap only along this direction. Do it for a prolonged period. The brush's needles stimulate all the points on your lung meridian and make it like an acupuncture treatment.
• Inhale warm air from vinegar: Pour 1 cup of white rice vinegar into a pot and bring to a simmer on low heat. Pour the vinegar into a thermos. Use a funnel as a lid to cover the thermos. Sitting in front of the thermos, inhale the warm air from vinegar for 20 minutes. Continue to do it for a week. Take care not to burn yourself.

Food Therapy

• Drink green tea with egg:

  Ingredients: 2 eggs, 1/2 oz. green tea leaves, 3 oz. brown sugar.

  Procedure: Place green tea leaves into a pot. Add 2 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Add eggs and sugar and cook until the eggs are medium done. Use a spoon to break the eggshells. Let the tea totally penetrate into the egg. Continue to decoct until only one cup of liquid is remaining. Remove shells. Eat eggs and drink the soup once a day. Repeat this procedure everyday for a week.

• Eat egg with honey:

  Ingredients: 1 egg, honey.

  Procedure: Crack the egg into a bowl. Add 1/2 cup of water and 1 Tbs. of honey. Beat and mix well. Steam for five minutes. Eat twice a day, more frequently in wintertime.

• Eat radish with lotus and pear:

  Ingredients: 1/2 lb. radish, 1/2 lb. lotus root, 2 Asian pears, ginger, honey.

  Procedure: Place radish, lotus root, and pears into a juicer to make juice. Add 1 Tbs. of honey. Steam for five minutes. Add 2 to 3 drops of ginger juice. Divide into two portions. Drink twice a day for a week.

• If you have the cold-type bronchitis, take sweet apricot seed with sugar:

  Ingredients: 1/8 oz. sweet apricot seeds (available in Chinese herb stores), 1 tsp. brown sugar.

  Procedure: Smash into small pieces. Soak them in 1 cup of hot water with 1 tsp. honey. Drink it as tea.

• If you have the heat-type bronchitis, drink olive tea with radish:

  Ingredients: 3 oz. olive, 3 oz. daikon radish.

  Procedure: Add 3 cups of water and ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Drink it as tea.

• If you have the dry-type bronchitis, drink the following tea:

  Ingredients: 1 oz. fresh lily bulb, 1/2 oz. sweet apricot seeds, 2 oz. rice, 1 Tbs. sugar.

  Procedure: Cut the tip of the apricot seeds out. Add 3 cups of water and rice to a pot, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Then add lily bulb, apricot seed, and sugar. Cook for another five minutes. Divide into two portions. Drink twice a day.

Chinese Massage

Choose from the following and massage once a day:

• Use the tips of the index, middle, and ring fingers of both hands to scrub up and down the center of the breastbone for one minute. Gently press and knead the breastbone from the top to the bottom for one minute.
• Gently press and knead the point right in the middle between the nipples for men, and between fourth and fifth ribs on the midline for women (Cv17). Do this for one minute.
• Gently press the point located at the depression right above the top of the breastbone for one minute (Cv22). Use your fingers to gently squeeze the skin and muscles from this point up to the Adam's apple 20 times.
• With your thumb against the index finger, use your other thumb to gently press the webbing where it bulges up the highest for one minute (Li4).
• Gently press the point located two finger-widths up from the wrist crease, on the inside of the forearm, in line with the thumb, for one minute (Lu7).
• Gently press the point on the outside edge of the leg bone halfway between the tip of the anklebone and the middle of the kneecap for one minute (St40).
• Gently press the point four finger-widths up from the inside anklebone, right behind the leg bone for one minute (Sp6).

Chinese Herbs

• If you have cold-type bronchitis, take the patent herb Tong Xuang Li Fei Wan. Follow the instructions.
• If you have heat-type bronchitis, drink the patent herb She Dan Chuan Bei Ye. Follow the instructions.
• If you have dry-type cough bronchitis, take the patent herb Yang Yin Qing Fei Wan. Follow the instructions.
• Eat Asian pear with herb:

  Ingredients: 1 Asian pear, 1/8 oz. tendrilled fritillary bulb.

  Procedure: Cut a small opening on the pear. Remove the seeds. Place the herb inside. Steam for 40 minutes. Eat the pear once a day.