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ConditionsBack, neck and nerve painArthritis and widespread pain

Back, neck and joint pain

Back, neck, nerve and joint pain, read through anatomy and movement first, with the classical channels alongside. Start here to find the page closest to what you feel, then book an evaluation that works out where the pain is really coming from.

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Read through

Two lenses, one plan

Water 水 is the phase it is most often read through. Here the Western lens leads, with the classical lens alongside.

The Western lensAnatomy, physiology, biomechanics

Finding the source

Back, neck and joint pain usually has several layers: muscles guarding a sore joint, tissue that has stopped gliding, an irritated nerve and a movement habit that keeps loading the same spot. The evaluation sorts out which layer leads.

Sciatica is a symptom
Pain down the back of the leg can come from a disc pressing on a nerve root, from the piriformis muscle squeezing the sciatic nerve in the buttock, or from pain referred by the sacroiliac joint. Each is treated differently, so the evaluation finds which one it is first.
Pinched nerves
A nerve can be pinched at the spine, a radiculopathy, or further along its path, as in carpal tunnel, piriformis or thoracic outlet syndrome. Nerve-glide work moves the nerve relative to the tissue around it instead of pressing on it.
Neck, shoulder and jaw
The neck and shoulder are assessed together, for desk posture and overhead sport alike. Jaw pain involves the chewing muscles, the masseter, temporalis and pterygoids, and the neck in nearly every case.
Muscle guarding
Muscles tighten to protect an injured area and can stay that way long after they are needed. Trigger points in them can refer pain well away from where they sit.

The classical lensChannels, patterns, the five phases

The house of the Kidney

Classical medicine reads pain as obstruction: qi, blood or the tissue itself has stopped moving. The low back is called the house of the Kidney, and chronic back and knee pain is often read through the Kidney, which governs the bones.

Back pain by pattern
Pain that is worse in cold, damp weather; fixed, stabbing pain that is worse at night; hot, heavy pain; and a dull ache that eases with rest are each read as a different pattern, and the points and herbs change with it.
Tendons and joints
Tendon pain is read as Liver blood failing to nourish the sinews, often with stagnation layered on top. Arthritis is read through the classical types of painful obstruction, 痹證.
Points beside the spine
The Huatuojiaji points run in a line just beside the spine and are often used where a nerve root or a narrowed spinal canal is involved.

Patterns we often see

  • Qi stagnation and blood stasis qì zhì xuè yū 氣滯血瘀
  • Wind, cold and damp obstruction fēng hán shī bì 風寒濕痹
  • Liver and Kidney depletion gān shèn kuī xū 肝腎虧虛

Patterns are examples of how this is often read, never a diagnosis. Yours is read at your visit.

How we work: one plan

Dry needling and orthopedic acupuncture of the involved muscles, Active Release Techniques where tissue has stopped gliding, nerve-glide work and corrective exercise to change the load, with classical points for the pattern underneath and distal Master Tung's points when the area itself is too sore to needle.

Find the page closest to your pain

Pain rarely respects tidy categories, so start with where you feel it and follow the link.

The spine and its nerves

The whole group lives under back, neck and nerve pain.

Joints, tendons and sport

Shoulder pain, frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, tendonitis, hip pain, knee pain, plantar fasciitis and sports injuries. See joints, tendons and sport.

Head, jaw and widespread pain

Headaches and jaw pain, plus arthritis and fibromyalgia under arthritis and widespread pain.

What the first visit sorts out

We ask when it started, what eases it, what sharpens it and what time of day it is worst. Then a movement screen, strength and range tests and hands-on palpation of the muscles involved. Pulse and tongue fill in the classical picture. The evaluation decides which methods belong in your plan, so two people with the same diagnosis on paper can leave with quite different treatments.

How we work with it

Methods are combined in the same visit, chosen from that evaluation and explained as we go: needling, hands-on release, movement corrections and, when the pattern calls for them, herbal formulas, moxibustion or cupping. We agree on what to track: a movement you could not do, how long you can sit or walk, how you sleep, how your worst activity feels. The goal is a plan with an end point, and a clear word from us if it is not working.

Questions people ask

What kinds of pain do you treat?

Mostly musculoskeletal and nerve pain, such as low back and neck pain, sciatica, disc and pinched-nerve pain, shoulder, elbow, hip, knee and foot problems, headaches and jaw pain, and arthritis. If your pain is new, severe or comes with other symptoms, your physician should see you first.

Do I need a referral or a scan before I book?

No referral is needed. If you already have imaging, X-ray or nerve test reports, bring them; they help, though the plan is built from what we find in your movement and tissue as well.

Can Chinese herbs help with pain?

Herbs are often part of pain care, especially when pain is worse in cold and damp weather, stabbing and worse at night, or tied to fatigue. A classical formula is chosen from your pattern and checked against every medication you take.

Can I keep seeing my physical therapist or chiropractor?

Yes. Our work fits alongside physical therapy, chiropractic and your physician's care, and it helps to know what they are working on.

From the journal

This is general wellness information, not medical advice.

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