STORIES FROM THE FIELD – Never give up

 by Delphine Baumer, Registered Acupuncturist

• Female 56 years old
• Chief complaint: Frozen Shoulder
• Accompanying conditions: Edema, sudden loss of hearing, insomnia, stress, anxiety, migraines, sciatica, fatigue

In January of 2016, this patient was referred to me by another patient. She was in a desperate state with a lot of fear around her overall health. At that time, her biggest complaint was a debilitating Frozen Shoulder pain with burning neuropathy from her neck down to her right hand.

She had complete loss of mobility, as she was unable to use her right arm at all. Pain, burning and numbness was present along the whole right arm into entire hand; extending from her neck, through the shoulder girdle and down the arm into her hand. Her right arm was rendered completely useless, even light touch caused shooting pain in all directions.

Her accompanying symptoms where systemic. She had undergone chronic life stress, which then peaked in extreme stress of a divorce and total displacement from her community. I believe that stress was the CF (causative factor) for her long list of medical challenges. Thanks to the beauty of Eastern Medical Diagnosis, I was able to consider all aspects of her physical and emotional health in a unified picture and commence holistic treatment; of course with her shoulder in front and center.

Her list of health challenges included:

Sudden loss of hearing, insomnia, chronic migraines, eye pain and eyelid droopiness, incessant appetite, fatigue, neuropathy in both feet and right upper limb. While she had constant burning pain along her right arm, she lost sensation in her feet, but would yelp with shooting pain response to any palpation of her feet.  Both feet were swollen with Edema and inflamed with red eczema like skin over entire soles presenting up into her ankles. She reported that it felt like she was walking on clubs, with pain in every step. She had pain in both hips and sciatica presenting on both legs.

Emotionally, she was consumed with fear and unsettled at all hours of the day. She was existing in a chronic stage of agitation.

TCM Analysis:

*Root imbalance – Chronic Liver Qi Stagnation leading to Liver Yang Rising due to extreme emotional stress; causing systemic health troubles. Emotionally – irritable, easily startled.

*Pain and blockage along the Shaoyang Meridians – Frozen Shoulder, Migraines and Sciatica

*Stagnation in the wood attacking Spleen and Stomach – Digestive weakness compounding Qi deficiency, accumulation of Damp & Heat, causing incessant hunger and fatigue, emotionally chronic worries.

*Kidney Deficiency –  Adrenal fatigue-like symptoms, Yin Edema – fluids accumulating and trapped in the lower body and legs. Emotionally consumed with Fear.

Treatment & Schedule

Objective: Regulate & Tonify Qi to calm spirit, expel waste fluids, relieve pain.

Treatment Schedule: 2x weekly for 4 weeks, once weekly 5 months and still ongoing.

Modalities: Gentle Japanese style needling with some A-Shi TCM needling, moxabustion, very gentle Tui Na (Chinese Medical Massage) and acupressure (firm touch unbearable), fire cupping, listening/holding space.

After 6 months of treatment:

– Frozen shoulder is completely healed. There are no signs of pain, numbness, tingling. Range of Motion is up to 75%. Patient is ready for active healing for strengthening, stabilizing, improving Range of Motion and preventative care. (She is still waiting on the list for CT scans and Western diagnostics – I suspect that will show some degenerative change such as arthritis in the cervical spine and/or calcification in the shoulder. This will be good information for future management and preventative care).

– Hearing has returned by 50% – she is able to function efficiently with her cochlear implant. When we first met she had her cochlear implant; however, I still had to make eye contact, speak slowly, loudly and clearly and let her see my lips enunciate. Now, during treatment, I am able to sit at the end of the table out of her eyesight and speak in a regular voice, with music playing, and she is able to hear me!

We are both absolutely thrilled about this improvement! I am certain that her loss of hearing was very much linked to the stress which caused what we call liver yang rising complicated with kidney deficiency. By relaxing the liver qi and nourishing kidneys we have been able to open the channels to her ears and nourish the quality of qi reaching her ears.

– Emotions are much more stable and she is able to feel joy and plan for proactive life solutions to bring back an enjoyable quality of life.

*Update!! She found the courage and energy to leave a highly toxic and abusive workplace and has accepted a higher paying, less stressful position at another company!

– Migraines are reduced by 80 -100% in frequency, depending on her stress levels, intensity has reduced significantly.

– Feet have undergone a dramatic improvement. Edema is reduced by 80 – 95%,redness is 90% gone, sensation and feeling coming back to the soles of her feet. Skin is healthy with no signs of eczema. She reports that this improvement has given her unmeasurable hope and a new lease on life. She used to lay in bed terrified, unable to hear, unable to feel her feet, and in extreme pain through her right arm, hips, legs, and migraines on a nearly daily occurrence.

Before Acupuncture:

Swelling throughout feet. Lack of sensation; when laying down unable to feel her feet. Palpation/walking would send shooting excruciating pain with every touch/step.

After 3 months of Acupuncture Treatment

Swelling Significantly reduced, vessles and tendons are visible, some lingering redness/inflammation, sensation in feet starting to return. Markedly less pain response to touch.

After 6 months of Acupuncture Treatment:

Sensations in feet are normalizing. She is able to feel her feet again when she is laying down. She can see the natural curves in her ankles and feet. Redness is nearly gone. Walking is no longer painful.

Moving Forward

We continue to work together on a weekly basis and I have now referred her to one of Naturopaths for Bowen Therapy, which will help to continue to relax her nervous system and continue to heal. In her case, her sciatica was a deeper layer to her overall condition (blockage along the Gall Bladder Meridian from stagnation in Liver). As she was able to physically do more, she aggravated her hip/sciatic pain and we have been managing the flare up. We tried some massage but found that her tissues are still just too weak and massage would cause flare up.  In this case, Acupuncture and Bowen Therapy will be very suitable.

I have also referred her to our neighbours Movement 108 for some 1 on 1 guided movement with their personal trainer/kinesiologist,  to help restore strength, mobility, stabilization and preventative care.

This patient is a huge inspiration to me. Her dedication to healing and treatment blows my mind. She just needed an effective direction to follow. She always does her homework (simple, effective self care tips I give her) and always shows up to heal. I hope her story will inspire others to know that #healingispossible.

TAGS – Edema, Neuropathy, Sudden Deafness, Loss of Hearing, Sciatica, Eye Pain, Migraines, Hip Pain, Neck Pain, Frozen Shoulder, Arthritis, Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Japanese Acupuncture, Moxabustion, Fire Cupping