It was red, swollen, possibly fractured, and very painful!
And, whilst my focus is on skin and anti aging I know a thing or two about inflammation, wound healing, tissue granulation, growth factors and my immune system. As these systems are the ones we activate for anti aging treatments.
So how does the Chinese medicine model of care treat injuries?
Acupuncture
The use of acupuncture needles around the injury speeds up the healing process by,
- Reducing inflammation and swelling
- Bringing more white blood cells (part of the immune response) to the injured area to clean up internal debris and initiate the wound healing response
- Stimulating an increase in red blood cells to the injured area and this delivers nutrient oxygen rich blood that will assist with the healing response
- Promotes growth factors responsible for tissue granulation and remodeling
- Encourages an organised cellular matrix that will prevent scarring and adhesions - when we are injured the collagen and elastin produced is created in a disorganised manner due to the injury, and that is how we get scarring (surface of the skin) and adhesions (bumps you feel under the skin)
BUT, that is not all this holistic model of care will look at.
It is imperative with any injury that we assess other structures that will be impacted. If you injure yourself with say a sprained ankle it will not just be the local area that is affected. The muscle groups in your legs will become tight and knotted due to the compensation of walking with a sprained ankle. If you do not treat injuries comprehensively ASAP then those injuries will turn chronic in nature impacting your entire musculoskeletal system and then it is a long slow process to recovery.
So what areas do we treat,
- Local muscles
- Local tendons
- Muscles and tendons on the opposite side of the foot
- Calf muscles
How do we treat these,
- Acupuncture needles into tight muscle bands
- Massage to release muscles structures that are tight and impacted by the injury
- Cupping along tight muscle bands
- Apply Chinese herbal medicine liniment to injury and affected muscles
I just think it is amazing that this model of care is so thorough, holistic and most importantly effective!
When you come into the clinic for a treatment, we never just look at your skin! We consider the entirety of you, including organ function, emotional health, spiritual health, digestive health, hormonal health, and sleep habits. All of these systems relate to your skin health.
This is what holistic healthcare means.
If you’re after more holistic support for your skin and total health you can either subscribe to my email list, subscribe to my YouTube channel, or book an appointment if you live in Sydney and can get yourself to Neutral Bay.
As a side note, wound care using bandages and herbs for disinfecting and tissue regeneration, along with bone setting has a long history in China. It was essential that warriors understood how to take care of their wounds and bones so they could keep fighting.
Isn’t that just amazing 🤩