Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal Medicinals for Shingles

Shingles is caused by herpes zoster, the same virus that causes chickenpox. Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine can be an effective and safe natural remedy for this painful condition.

If you have ever had chicken pox, the herpes zoster virus lingers in your body for life. As we become older and our qi (lifeforce or basal energy) weakens, the herpes zoster virus can emerge again in the form of shingles. This process typically occurs after a period of chronic stress, illness, or a traumatic event. Shingles is a condition that can be experienced by many individuals for centuries, and Traditional Chinese Medicine has some very effective remedies for it.

After a person has chickenpox, the herpes zoster virus migrates to the nerve cells of the body and remains dormant for decades. When a stressful event brings the virus out of its dormancy, the first symptoms are typically pain or tingling in an affected area of the body. Next, a red rash appears over the area. This in itself is extremely uncomfortable, but it gets worse! The red bumps of the rash turn to virus-filled blisters. Like chickenpox, these blisters eventually dry, develop a crust, and turn yellow. Unlike chickenpox, however, the rash and blisters usually only occur on one side of the body. It is common to have them over the rib cage, side of the face, side of the neck, or one arm.

The final stage of shingles involves a neuralgia, which is pain due to temporary nerve damage. This nagging pain can be unbearable at times, and it can last several months. The conventional Western treatment for shingles is an antiviral drug, pain relievers, steroids, and topical creams. These are palliative forms of treatment that are not very effective for most people.

You should visit your acupuncturist in Del Mar, CA upon the first symptoms of shingles. Do not wait until the final stages and expect one acupuncture treatment to alleviate the neuralgia forever! Acupuncture is most effective during the first two weeks of shingles symptoms. Getting acupuncture in La Jolla, CA every day during the first two weeks of a shingles outbreak can prevent the post-herpetic neuralgia or decrease the amount of time that the length of the neuralgia to weeks instead of months.

Chinese Herbal Medicine is an effective remedy at each stage of the shingles outbreak. Your acupuncturist may give you tonic herbal formulas to strengthen your immune system so it can fight the virus. There are also herbal antivirals that are effective at fighting the virus without causing harsh side effects. Finally, pain-relieving topical and internal formulas can provide symptomatic relief. It’s essential during a shingles attack to eat a nutrient-dense diet and take supplements as recommended by your practitioner. Zinc and selenium are known to be beneficial, in particular.

According to the world-renowned herbalist Andrew Gaeddert, there are five “types” of shingles that may present clinically. The first type is characterized by lots of heat in the body, and the recommended treatment is Da Qing Ye & Ban Lan Gen, a heat clearing anti-viral formula, to be taken internally three times daily. The second type involves migrating pain, and a combination of heat-clearing, pain-relieving, wind-relieving, blood-moving, and mildly tonifying herbs are recommended. The third type of shingles most often occurs in elderly, immunocompromised, or otherwise weakened patients. Combinations of powerful medicinal mushrooms are given to strengthen the body’s qi and immune system. The fourth type consists of stagnation of blood in the body. A combination of blood-moving and pain-relieving herbs may be used. The final type of shingles includes both deficiency and stagnation. In this case, a combination of blood-building and blood-moving herbs are given. You may experience more than one type of shingles during your outbreak.

 

Acupuncture: Nibali’s Secret To Winning The Tour de France

Endurance athletes often turn to acupuncture as a drug-free way to boost performance because it works. Vincenzo Nibali, winner of the Tour de France, is no exception. 

Tour de France fans and anyone who’s an endurance athlete wants to know the secrets and training regimens used by top performers. Vincenzo Nibali, winner of this year’s Tour de France, took a cue from Chinese Medicine to help him optimize his endurance. He gets acupuncture nearly every day. Instead of going for illegal drugs and injections, Nibali takes an all-natural approach to performing at his best -- both during training and racing.

When a Belgian television station interviewed Nibaldi and inquired about the acupuncture treatments, Nibaldi said, “It’s those little extra details that can help us...Maybe now others will also use this technique.” Nibaldi isn’t the only top performing athlete to use acupuncture, but this summer Astana was the only team that employed its own acupuncturist for the Tour de France. Their private acupuncturist is a Belgian named Eddy de Smedt, who owns a private practice specializing in treating athletes outside Brussels. De Smedt worked last year for the Kazakh cycling outfit and last spring’s Giro d’Italia. The teams utilize De Smedt’s acupuncture services, as well as a team of medical doctors, osteopaths, and physical therapists.

During the Tour de France, De Smedt provided acupuncture for each of the Astana riders twice daily -- once on the bus before their performance and once at night back at the team’s

hotel. He reportedly uses only 6 - 10 acupuncture needles during each treatment, mostly in distal points in the riders’ feet, hands, arms, and legs, and one on the head for relaxation.

After placing the acupuncture needles, De Smedt stimulates the acupuncture points by twisting the needles in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Though many people are fearful of needles, and squeamish at the thought of getting acupuncture, once they see someone having it done it usually takes the fear away. The Astana cyclists were very open to trying acupuncture, and after seeing that it actually works and doesn’t hurt, they enjoyed the experience.

Considering the fact that so many Tour de France athletes tend to turn towards doping, there have been questions about whether Nibali is “all natural” or not. He’s been racking up the cycling victories since 2006. According to the director of Team Astana, Giuseppe Martinelli, Nibali repeatedly tests clean. The only needles he’s using are acupuncture needles.

According to De Smedt, acupuncture is a form of functional medicine rather than structural medicine. If there is a broken bone or torn muscle, acupuncture can provide palliative care, but it won’t “fix” the break or tear. On the other hand, it can enhance the function of the body, lower stress hormones, and balance the endocrine system.

If you’re an athlete seeking an edge on your performance, you should consider trying acupuncture in Del Mar, CA or acupuncture outside Encinitas.