Gower Acupuncture

04/12/2024

Giving Your Headache The Heave Ho-Ho-Ho

Over my years of treating migraine and headache there’s one type of headache that pops up time after time in my clinic – the tension headache. At this time of year if peace and goodwill are usurped by chaos and stress its a good chance that a tension headache could become part of your unwanted annual festivities.

The root of a tension headache is stress or muscular tension... or stress that leads to muscular tension. Overwhelmingly its the upper trapezius that’s tight. This muscle slides diagonally down from the neck to form a bridge to the shoulders. Stress or poor posture often cause a tightening of this muscle which pulls the shoulders up to the ears.

Do You Have Tight Upper Trapezius?

An easy way to test to see if your upper trapezius is the root cause of your headache is to pinch it.
Pinch along the sloping line joining your neck to shoulder. If it feels tender or painful, or if pinching it refers pain into your head – celebrate the fact that you’ve found the cause of your headaches.

Another way of testing it out is to check out the range of movement of your neck. Rotate your head, as if trying to look over your shoulder. How far can you get and do you get pain? Now try laterally flexing your neck, bring your head down sideways on to your shoulder. How far can you go and do you get pain. If you can’t get far in either of these movements and the movements elicits pain you’ve probably found your culprit.

Acupuncture For Tension headaches

Acupuncture is great for headaches. Its recommended by NICE for treatment of both tension headache and migraine. In addition the Cochrane review into acupuncture for tension type headaches states that a course of acupuncture consisting of at least 6 sessions could be a “valuable option” for tension headache. [Cochrane reviews are widely regarded as the highest standard in evidence based medicine, based on results from multiple high quality trials].

If you'd like to see if acupuncture can help your headache, why not give me a call.

Acupuncture In Swansea with Tim Wright (MBAcC). I specialise in areas where acupuncture excels. Pain management, headaches, stress & anxiety.

02/12/2024

Knee Pain

If you’re over 45 and complain of activity related pain, with minimal morning stiffness, according to NICE, you can be given a diagnosis of osteo-arthritis of the knee by your GP – sometimes even over the phone. (https://www.nice.org.uk/.../ng226/chapter/Recommendations...). The subsequent treatment approach endorsed by NICE consists mostly of exercise, weight loss and medication where appropriate.

So What Can You do?
If the pain is mild and a doctor has been consulted to rule out serious issues, modifying movement is the first thing to try. Work out how much exercise can be completed before pain kicks in, then make sure to keep exercise or movement just below that threshold. To increase endurance and strength the exercise frequency can increase – two times a day rather than once a day for example – whilst keeping all activity under the pain threshold.

Also work out the movements that hurt the knee. Quite often pivoting to a new direction whilst walking can cause knee pain. The knee is a hinge joint with only small capacity for rotation. Get to know these movements and try to avoid them in the short term.

What if Nearly All Movements Are Painful?
If you’re limited to only a handful of yards or minutes on your feet then you’re functionally comprised. You can’t do the things you need to do. Then you need to seek an intervention to stop the potential slide into chronic pain. This is when you need to seek out a professional to assist you on your journey. I love treating knees as they are simple joints that respond well to treatment.

By relieving pain you can engage in the one thing that most forms of knee pain need – activity to strengthen the quads. With more exercise, blood flow is improved. Your mood will likely improve as you move more and feel less pain. So the virtuous cycle of rehabilitation starts. Improved pain levels improve ability to exercise and strengthen quads. Improved mood can lower perception of pain and then increase likelihood of stepping out the door to exercise. And so the virtuous cycle continues on a potential pathway to recovery.

If you'd like to see if acupuncture can help your knee pain, why not schedule a free 15 minute consult using teh bitton below...

Acupuncture In Swansea with Tim Wright (MBAcC). I specialise in areas where acupuncture excels. Pain management, headaches, stress & anxiety.

22/11/2024

Giving Your Headache The Heave Ho-Ho-Ho

Over my years of treating migraine and headache there’s one type of headache that pops up time after time in my clinic – the tension headache. At this time of year if peace and goodwill are usurped by chaos and stress its a good chance that a tension headache could become part of your unwanted annual festivities.

The root of a tension headache is stress or muscular tension... or stress that leads to muscular tension. Overwhelmingly its the upper trapezius that’s tight. This muscle slides diagonally down from the neck to form a bridge to the shoulders. Stress or poor posture often cause a tightening of this muscle which pulls the shoulders up to the ears.

Do You Have Tight Upper Trapezius?

An easy way to test to see if your upper trapezius is the root cause of your headache is to pinch it.

Pinch along the sloping line joining your neck to shoulder. If it feels tender or painful, or if pinching it refers pain into your head – celebrate the fact that you’ve found the cause of your headaches.

Another way of testing it out is to check out the range of movement of your neck. Rotate your head, as if trying to look over your shoulder. How far can you get and do you get pain? Now try laterally flexing your neck; bring your head down sideways on to your shoulder. How far can you go and do you get pain? If you can’t get far in either of these movements and the movements elicits pain you’ve probably found your culprit.

Acupuncture For Tension headaches

Acupuncture is great for headaches. Its recommended by NICE for treatment of both tension headache and migraine. In addition the Cochrane review into acupuncture for tension type headaches states that a course of acupuncture consisting of at least 6 sessions could be a “valuable option” for tension headache. [Cochrane reviews are widely regarded as the highest standard in evidence based medicine, based on results from multiple high quality trials].

If you'd like to see if acupuncture could help your headaches, book a free 15 minute consult using the buttton below...

20/11/2024

What if you don't need to suffer that pain?

How would it feel to leave the house, go to the cafe, meet your friends without feeling that pain.

Many of my patients come to me as a last resort. One last throw of the dice on a journey through multiple practitioners and therapists in an attempt to get better. But getting treatment soooner is better than later. Chronic pain is harder to treat and takes longer to resolve.

But the longer pain is allowed to progress, the more complicated the picture can become. Getting stuck in a negative cycle of chronic pain can predispose you to lower mood. Lower mood then increases perception of pain. Not going out and about and getting distracted. On top of this cocktail of disaster, pain can affect movement, which can shift more load up and down the kinetic chain or meaning that the other side of your body suffers more.

Acupuncture is great for pain relief. It is recommended by NICE for treatment of chronic pain. If you'd like to see if I could help you out of you pain you can read more and schedule a free consultation here...

Acupuncture In Swansea with Tim Wright (MBAcC). I specialise in areas where acupuncture excels. Pain management, headaches, stress & anxiety.

08/11/2024

At what is, for some, a stressful time of the year, BAcC member Tim Wright of Gower Acupuncture talks headaches and how acupuncture can help.
https://bit.ly/3WWnAzB

23/07/2024

When Plantar Fasciitis Treatment Fails…

The characteristic pain of plantar fasciitis hits when you first get up. Foot down on the floor and ouch! you know about it. The pain tends to ease as you get going and the tissue warms up. It is a pain that is easy to define because it hurts so much in one place – just in front of the heel on the underside of your foot. A change in exercise or training habits can trigger it, as can a change in footwear or standing for prolonged amounts of time.

Plantar Fasciitis can be a difficult condition to treat because its stubborn and oftentimes it isn’t even plantar fasciitis at all but something else causing the pain on the underside of your foot or heel. Tight muscles on the lower leg can refer pain onto the heel and underside of the foot, nerves can get trapped as they make their way under the foot and poor circulation can all create issues similar to plantar fasciitis. Some of these potential causes are explored below:

Calf Muscles
The calf muscles (soleus and gastrocnemius) run down the lower part of the leg and insert into the heel via a common tendon – the achilles tendon. Tightness in either the gastrocnemius or soleus can refer pain into the heel. This is likely a problem if you stretch your calf and feel pulling in the back of the leg, especially if it refers lower down to the heel.

Pain is often worse in the morning. Overnight, most people sleep with feet slightly pointed – putting the calf muscles in a contracted position. As you get up and stand on the foot the calf muscles stretch triggering the pain after a night of rest.

Flexor Hallucis Longus

A long name for the muscle that pushes (flexes) the big toe down. This is the movement just before your foot leaves the ground when running or walking– the toes pushes down to help propel you forwards.

If flexing your toe against resistance (place finger under big toe whilst pushing it away from you) replicates your pain this is likely your culprit. The pain is typically felt running underneath the foot on the big toe side.

Its a common pain for ballerinas who have to regularly push up on to point (tip toes). Also if you over-pronate as a runner you end up putting excessive force through the big toe as it takes the brunt of the force as you push off to propel forwards.

Tibialis Posterior

This muscle runs up the inside of the leg and helps to invert the foot – pulling the inside of the foot up. This muscle is strongly stressed when running – particularly with over pronation as the muscle is stretched. In the acute phase (first few weeks) the muscle becomes inflamed. Left untreated and the original stressor still present, chronic cases lead to degeneration of the muscle or tendon. Pain can be felt on the inside of the ankle running under the inside of the foot (where the muscle inserts) in the instep.

Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome

There’s a thick ligament on the inside of the ankle – running between the ankle and the achilles tendon on the back of your ankle/ foot. Tendons, the tibial artery and posterior tibial nerve all run under this ligament. The area under this ligament can become congested, sometimes from scar tissue from repeated injury. This can compress the nerve and refer pain into the arch/ instep of the foot.

This needs treating quickly. Leaving any nerve compression for a long period of time may lead to permanent nerve damage, resulting in chronic weakness, numbness or pain.

Medial Calcaneal Nerve

The nerve which detects sensation in your heel and bottom of foot in the area where plantar fascitis is found is the medial calcaneal nerve. By modulating this with acupuncture we can reduce intensity of plantar fasciitis.

Heel spurs & Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fascia runs on the underside of the foot, connecting the toes to the inside aspect of the underside of the heel. It’s fibrous and acts like a spring when pushing upwards off the foot. Damage to this fascia is typically caused by overuse.

Repeated over time the continual trauma near the heel causes the body to create a bony protrusion, known as a heel spur. This is the bodies way of trying to protect an over-stressed area.

Its tempting to think that the heel pain is coming from the heel spur, but according to some studies over 50% of patients who have heel spurs removed still suffer the pain (Surgical Treatment of Calcaneal Spurs – A Three Year Study, J AM Pod Med Assc, 1991:81:68-72)– because the pain originated in the damaged plantar fascia. The heel spur was a symptom of the plantar fascia, rather than the cause of the pain.

In longstanding cases of plantar fasciitis there is a high prevalance of necrosis of the tissue around the heel, due to poor blood flow from the medial plantar artery. This artery can be impinged by the muscle which moves the big toe outwards and downwards (abductor hallucis longus). Excess strain can be placed on this muscle when the big toe points inwards excessively (as can occur with bunions), or with excessive pronation of the foot (which stresses the big toe through excessive flexion forces).

How Can Acupuncture Help

Given the multiple presentations of what can apparently be just plantar fasciitis, a thorough assessment is necessary prior to treatment, where I asses range of movement, strength and get a full history. Treatment times can vary from as little as 3 treatments for recent onset in a fit and healthy patient to 10-12 treatments for patients who have long standing pain and are in relatively poor health.

If you'd like to see if acupuncture can help your pain, why not book a free 15 minute session below.

Schedule your appointment online Gower Acupuncture

16/07/2024

Are You As Healthy As You Think?

The World Health Organisation define Health as follows:

"Health is the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease".

Using this definition, would you define yourself as healthy?

You could probably argue that the majority of the population are not healthy. Most people carry around niggling injuries, some form of anxiety and few are still unfortunately persecuted within society for race or beliefs.

As an acupuncturist and someone interested in holistic health; that is health in its entirety - health of the body, emotions and spirit - I am constantly amazed at how wealth is constantly valued over health. I don't mean to say this in a judgmental way - like people who value wealth over health are somehow bad people. They aren't. I watched first-hand as my own father prioritised work over health. He wasn't necessarily focused on making lots of money, but he definitely had the, quite common mindset, that health could be sacrificed to get the job done. This is wrong. There is nothing more important or satisfying as living a life free from disease, injury and discomfort.

I'm not saying that living a healthy life will guarantee you live to a century or insure you against serious disease. The human body is just too complex to give glib assurances. What I can say is it will improve your chances of not getting ill. And you'll feel good. So why not make a healthy change now? Be it a change of diet, calorie restriction, more exercise, less stress. Nearly all these changes are enjoyable if you give the new routine a chance to lodge in and become habit.

If you're on board here are some healthy things you can investigate to lead a healthier life.

1. Stand Up for your health
Studies by Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden have shown that getting off the couch and standing can be more beneficial than moderate exercise. Standing appears to lengthen telomeres - an indicator of health and longevity.

2. Floss
Or rather clean between the spaces in your teeth. Flossing has now been discredited and can harm the gums. Inter-dental cleaning , on the other hand, is allegedly good for your heart. Your mouth can harbor up to a thousand different types of bacteria. These bacteria can get into your bloodstream and cause inflammation and hardening of your arteries, leading to heart disease.

3. Sleep
Good sleep is essential for both your ability to think clearly and for your body and immune system. A study by Carnegie Mellon University in the US shows that people who get less than seven hours of sleep a night are more likely to get ill. The deep state of non-REM sleep is critical for effective functioning of the immune system. Conversely REM sleep, where your eyes are twitching and body muscles often paralysed, enables the brain to effectively process memories and emotions from the day. Disruption of this REM sleep can cause emotional, cognitive and memory impairment.

4. Slow Down
A tough one this. We all mostly lead a life we weren’t designed to cope with. The modern phenomena of being available 24/7 via phone, tablet, laptop means we have negligible downtime. Coupled to a work hard play hard ethic we constantly stress the sympathetic nervous system. This stimulates the brains survival mechanisms, which diverts energy away from essential bodily functions towards a “fight or flight” state. You may feel more alert and sometimes more energetic, but at the expenses of a well functioning digestive system, regular blood pressure and feeling of relaxation.

Counter this. Take some time out each week to just be; walk in nature, sit by the sea. You’ll feel relaxed and more importantly you’ll be dis-engaging the part of the nervous system that makes you feel stressed and ultimately leads to illness.

5. Fast
Research by university of California suggests that fasting for up to 3 days regenerates the immune system. Faulty white blood cells are destroyed and replaced by healthy cells. It’s not surprising when you look at nature – ill animals don’t generally eat.

Whilst the research is new the knowledge isn’t. Gandhi instinctively knew this 100 years ago – often fasting whenever illness struck. It allowed him to outlive many of his contemporaries in a time when disease often claimed the lives of the ill. Who knows how long he would have lived were he not assassinated aged 78. (Bear in mind that some research links intermittent fasting – ie restricting the amount of time you eat every day – to increase in heart disease).

6. Acupuncture
Whilst the common perception of acupuncture is for treating pain, nausea and migraines, it has also been shown to have a positive effect on the immune system. Tokyo University carried out research on professional cyclists and found that acupuncture boosts both cortisol and Salivary secretory immunoglobulin A (indicators of a healthy immune system) post vigorous exercise.

7. Detox
A tricky one this. No one product, diet, supplement will actually detox your body. Your organs, skin, liver and kidneys do a great job of this on their own. But you can support them all by lowering the load – eliminating alcohol, processed food and look into the possibility of fasting to give your digestion a rest.

8. Exercise
Exercise. Everyone knows that they should exercise but why?
a) Exercising speeds the blood flow through your blood vessels and so can stop clots building up and damaging your heart.
b) Exercising releases feel good endorphins which can keep low mood and depression at bay – both indicators of lower lifespan.
c) Gentle exercise keeps the joints mobile and muscles and tendons flexible.
d) The impact of exercise can help keep bones strong. Bones are a living organism and need some level of impact to remain strong into old age.

9. Nutrition
Try to eat 7 fruit and veg a day. Try to cut out all processed foods and refined sugars. Whilst eating this healthy food, try to make sure you’re chewing the food sufficiently. Digestion starts in your mouth so break that food down before you swallow. Want to know if you’re chewing enough? Buy a pack of water biscuits and eat one without the aid of water. You need to be chewing your food as long as you’re chewing those biscuits.

10. Stay married
Its a sad fact that on average lonely people die younger. Relationships can be difficult but often working at them yields a more positive outcome than simply letting it go and living a lonely life. Having said that living a life in a poisonous relationship does not confer any health benefits.
If you’ve lost a loved one, try to remain engaged with your friends and community. It lifts your spirits and has a positive impact on health.

11. Believe In A Cause
A bit more contentious this but get a belief or a cause to get behind. Many studies show that people who have a reason to live and fight live longer – stands to reason doesn’t it? All that stress involved in the cause isn’t harmful if its perceived as worthwhile…

Acupuncture In Swansea with Tim Wright (MBAcC). I specialise in areas where acupuncture excels. Pain management, headaches, stress & anxiety.

09/07/2024

What if you don't need to suffer that pain?

How would it feel to leave the house, go to the cafe, meet your friends without feeling that pain.
Many of my patients come to me as a last resort. One last throw of the dice on a journey through multiple practitioners and therapists in an attempt to get better. But getting treatment sooner is better than later. Chronic pain is harder to treat and takes longer to resolve.

The longer pain is allowed to progress, the more complicated the picture can become. Getting stuck in a negative cycle of chronic pain can predispose you to lower mood. Lower mood then increases perception of pain. Not going out and about and getting distracted. On top of this cocktail of disaster, pain can affect movement, which can shift more load up and down the kinetic chain or meaning that the other side of your body suffers more.

Acupuncture is great for pain relief. It is recommended by NICE for treatment of chronic pain. If you'd like to see if I could help you out of you pain you can read more and schedule a free consultation here...

Schedule your appointment online Gower Acupuncture

02/07/2024

Now the hot weather is here go get out and explore. If you're fit and healthy go running. Not only will you feel good from the dopamine rush, you'll also get a boost of endocannabinoids - the bodies natural pain killer. If you're not fit unfortunately you're not going to experience this rush - you'll just feel terrible from the lactic acid build up in your muscles. So what can you do?
Go walking. Walking apparently works but only if there is some element of exploration, so all your senses are absorbed. So make the most of this wonderful weather and get out exploring.

Read more here.. https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2016/nov/03/the-joy-of-steps-why-you-dont-need-to-be-usain-bolt-to-get-a-runners-high-dopamine?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3oXIdFbFqPG8O3U5IiryhkkWEQksplRUK3yn5cnlXWlu4gGWl8yM68dtQ_aem_AdUBrFcz4D8kWoUbYeQMRK6FzRKNMH_Mckycy8Wm8CaE9hDcP-Ag3hYaK8ctG1gEFSjmSWw1uTobWHCnbXzXAI3K

27/06/2024

📣Acupuncture treatment for pain progresses in a reasonably predictable pattern from the red light phase of crippling pain through to the green light of getting your life back...

📌The red stage of treatment. Pain is so acute that movement is problematic. And the pain may be impacting things you used to enjoy – sports, going out, mundane tasks at work or in the house. Acute or chronic its important to get your pain treated to stop it progressing. The earlier you catch it, the easier and quicker it is to treat.

📌The amber stage of treatment. As treatment progresses, pain levels drop, movement improves and many activities that were previously problematic become possible again. The pain may have gone, but often pressure on the previously painful area elicits pain. It's important not to drop treatment too early as this latent pain can lurk, just waiting to be triggered again.

📌The green stage of treatment. The end game of treatment. Normal movement is restored. The area is no longer sensitive to touch or pressure. Previously painful activities can be enjoyed pain free.

How long it takes to progress from red to green, depends on numerous factors; age, health, chronicity of pain, mental health. To find out if acupuncture can help your pain and to get an idea of the timeframe for treatment book a free 15 minute consultation here...

Acupuncture for pain management in Mumbles, Swansea with Tim Wright. Getting you out of pain and back to your best.

21/06/2024

Fascia & Back Pain... The Specific reason for your non-specific back pain?

If you go to your doctor with back pain you’ll more than likely get a diagnosis of “non-specific” lower back pain. This is the majority diagnosis – approximately 90% of lower back pain is diagnosed as non specific. Non-specific is a technical term meaning “we’re not quite sure what’s going on”.

The number of nerve fibres can actually increase in chronic pain, making it more painful. Additionally the fascia itself can stiffen by up to 20%, just like a muscle tightening when injured. Initial research suggests that the sympathetic nervous system (responsible for the fight or flight mechanism) may trigger inflammation in the fascia, causing it to stiffen and compound the problem.
Could it be then that fascia is responsible for a large part of the 85% of non-specific lower back pain? Scientifically this can’t be answered yet, but maybe.

Acupuncture in Swansea and Mumbles. I practice acupuncture for pain management in Swansea.

09/06/2024

As the days grow longer and the temperature hopefully warms up a bit, it’s time to start thinking about getting more active and fit for the summer months. As the years advance you may justifiably be worried about weighing up potential injury versus exercise’s numerous benefits for mind and body.

The natural reaction may be to stop exercising. In my opinion this is possibly the worst thing you could do for a number of reasons:

1. Exercise is fun. OK this may be pushing it for some, but the fact is that exercise makes you feel better. It releases feel good endorphins keeping low mood at bay. Particularly useful for middle-aged men & women who are more at risk from depression and su***de.

2. The impact on bone from exercise increases bone density and strength. Bone is a dynamic organism the more impact it receives the denser it becomes. This means you’re less likely to break bones and suffer osteoporosis than someone who spends all day sat glued to the TV.

3. Exercise keeps muscle wastage at bay. As we age we naturally loose fast twitch muscle fibres responsible for power and strength. To stay feeling at optimal fitness it’s a good idea to swap lengthy exercise regimes with short high intensity sessions aimed at replenishing this muscle. By using your muscle you can prevent muscle wastage associated with ageing.

4. As you age your lung capacity reduces. Try exercising to get more oxygen into your body. In addition yogic breathing exercises such as pranayama can increase blood oxygenation and lung capacity, meaning you’ll feel more sprightly.

5. Exercise can improve joint flexibility. As we age we loose flexibility in our joints This can transfer stresses to parts of the anatomy not designed to cope with high levels of stress. Counter this – join a yoga class and get stretching.

6. Staying active combats the wobbles. As you age your balance naturally declines. This can make you more susceptible to accidents. Counter this by cultivating exercises that promote balance and stability such as yoga or tai chi.

A word of caution: As you age you’re more prone to injury. If you get injured rest. You can’t take liberties like you did in your youth. Injuries are more easily sustained and last longer in the ageing athlete. Acupuncture can be particularly effective. It can free up stubborn contractions in muscles. The needles break down the tightened area and improve local blood circulation. In addition the micro trauma caused by each needle promotes the bodies own natural anti-inflammatory & healing responses.

Invest in your body, stay active and you’ll be rewarded in old age. After all, wouldn’t we all like to be as active as Faujar Singh… he completed his last marathon in Toronto aged 100.

Acupuncture for pain management in Mumbles, Swansea with Tim Wright. Getting you out of pain and back to your best.