Qigong healing: treatment of nerve-root type cervical spondylosis with acupuncture traction plus self-exercise of Qigong
Nerve-root type cervical spondylosis is usually caused by stimulation and oppression of the cervical nerve root due to retrograde degeneration of the small intervertebral jo ints and Luschka's joints (uncinate vertebral joints).It is a common disease in clinic. Cervical spondylosis patients may have symptoms of cervical stiffness, restrained, movement, arm pain and numbness of the fingers which may affect patient’s normal work and normal daily life. Combined therapies of traction, acupuncture and self- training of Qigong can achieve satisfactory results.
Combined therapey
1. Acupuncture treatment
Main acupoints used were Fenhchi (GB 20), cervical Jia ji (EX-B2 ) on the affected side and punctured with filiform acupuncture needles. After arrival of qi，the needles were removed immediately. For shoulder pain, Jianzhen (SI 9) and Jianneiling on the affected side were supplemented; for arm pain, Quchi (LI 11)，Shousanli (LI 10) and Waiguan (TE 5) on the affected side supplemented. Generally, uniform reinforcing and reducing manipulation was applied and the needles were retained for 15 minutes.
2. Mechanical traction treatment
The patient was asked to take a sitting position first, upward perpendicular traction and upper-posterior traction were then performed separately for 20一30 minutes with
an occipital-mandible belt till the patient underwent warm feeling in the local area, slight sweating in the palm and mild increase of the heart beat but without limb numb sensation. The traction angle was adjusted to the extent that the cervical physiological curvature disappeared under the guidance of X-ray.
3. Self exercise of Qigong
The patient was ordered to take a sitting position, relax his or her cervical and head muscles, and to perform head flexion, extension and rotation movement for a while, then to perform massage over the bilateral sides of the neck upward and downward repeatedly with the thenar and hypothenar part of the hand till the patient to have warm and distending sensations in the local area. The patient was also asked to avoid making over flexion activity and to pay attention to self-protection.
Acupuncture treatment and mechanical traction were given once daily, with 10 times (two weeks) being a therapeutic course; self-exercise of Qigong was conducted twice daily. All the patients were treated continuously for two courses at most. Then the therapeutic effect was assessed.
A typical case
Song , female, aged 48 years, an accountant.
She complained of having experienced cervical and shoulder pain with right hand numbness for 3 months, aggravating for 2 weeks. Physiological examination showed restrained cervical movement (leftward: 20o, rightward: 10o; flexion: 30o;extension: 10o)，tenderness on the right side of C6 and C7 spinous processes, and Spurling' s test being positive. X-ray films revealed disappearance of the cervical physiological curvature, hyperplasia of the C6 and C7 vertebrae andsharpening of the C6 and C7 uncinate vertebral joints. It was diagnosed as cervical spondylosis of the nerve-root type. She was treated with the methods mentioned above, one month later, her clinical symptoms disappeared and X-ray examination showed the cervical physiological curvature being normal.
In the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, cervical spondylosis is attributed to the category of Bi (arthralgia)-syndrome. It is often caused by invasion of pathogenic wind, cold and dampness. When these pathogens stay in the muscles, tendons and articulations, pain, numbness and limited movements (flexion and extension) will occur. Deficiency of the vital qi (hypofunction of the body resistance) is the fundamental cause of the occurrence of this disease. Fengchi (GB 20) and cervical Jiaji(EX-B 2) are used to remove pathogenic wind and cold, activate yang-qi and promote circulation of qi and blood in the local part. Mechanical traction serves to enlarge the intervertebral space, relieve muscular spasm and help the recovery of the cervical physiological curvature. To select proper clinical indication is the key issue of traction for achieving a good therapeutic effect, while the traction angle and force are also very important. Patient's self-exercise of Qigong is also important for strengthening the therapeutic effect of acupuncture in bettering circulation of qi and blood. Clinical practice demonstrates that the combined therapies of acupuncture, traction and practicing Qigong exercise are fairly effective in treatment of cervical
spondylosis
Writer: Li Qingwen, Guo Yi, Wang Huigin
