Cruciate ligament

Self-treatment is possible for such unpleasant trauma as rupture of Cruciate ligament at least for faster recovery after surgery having joined the torn parts if this is the case.

The acu scheme is very close to scheme for tennis elbow:

http://acupuncturefortennis.blogspot.com/2010/10/tennis-elbow.html

Harmful energies involved in this trauma are:
--- Cold - basic energy of trauma, chronic pain and all long-term degenerative effects
--- Dryness - , sharp, twisting pains

--- dull constant pain  - Dampness
--- inflammation - Heat
The scheme for men, left knee and women, right knee:

Wind (ligaments)--->Heat (knee)--->Light (cruciate ligament): Cold, Dryness sedate (pain and movements restriction), Heat sedate (inflammation), Wind, Burn (opposite energies) tone up:

The scheme differs just with additional point corresponding to the ligament itself.
  Such schemes are very comfortable for self-treatment (compared to schemes in classic acupuncture)
--- the points are on skin touching nailsfrom outside at 45* to each other, size 2 mm
--- colour of is the colour for natural crystals to tape on

--- numbers indicate sequence of work

For a non-professional self-treatment is:

--- to mark the points by felt-tip pen
--- massage points by something like round tip of a pencil

--- to tape natural crystals of the same colour and size 2-3 mm onto points

--- moxibustion - heating by cigar sold in acupuncture shops or just by 3 incense sticks tied together - in a sequence of numbers, this is critical! – holding them perpendicular to points, 20-30 sec up to 1 min each for 1 session.

If inflammation is already not a problem, one removes points 3 and 4 from the scheme.

The above scheme is good to promote circulation and restore every function in the ligament for post-op period, which implies surgery has already done it's job to restore ligaments integrity.

There can be also scheme to help ligament parts join, though I'm not sure this is much needed considering present level of surgery in sports medicine.

Tennis elbow II

Muscles/tendons/ligaments are controlled by energy of Wind.
This energy also controlls liver and gall bladder.
To strengthen ligaments system in general one can work on liver and gall bladder zones:

Standard Correspondence system
on palm, liver and gall bladder
zones.

The Insect System on every finger except thumb
(there it is a bit different)

Treatment was described earlier; most obvious is massage by finger or any massage tool.

Emotional correction, energies and meridians II

referring to the post:

http://acupuncturefortennis.blogspot.com/2010/10/emotional-correction.html

For example, depression in straight terms is:

--- excess of Dryness

--- lack of Heat

thus one expects to sedate excess Dryness and tone up insufficient Heat to regain balance.

In reality this may be much more complex.

1. Lack of Heat may be caused by too much spending of Heat energy - joy, because of excessive partying and similar.

If there's too serious lack of Heat energy, there will not enough energy to work on it and toning up Heat will fail. In such case, one needs to do special "collecting" of Heat on "local" Heat meridian to the level this energy can participate in general healing of depression.

But this is more about severe clinical depression seemingly not a case for playing tennis pro.

2. Energy Circulation sequence gives another links between energies and emotions:

 Wind-->Heat--->Burn--->Dampness--->Dryness---Cold

Lack of Heat may be caused by two neighbouring energies:

--- lack of Wind, which can't give enough energy to Heat in a sequence

--- too strong Burn - "happiness" which may be seeking for pleasures to exceed the reasonable limits

Lack of Wind is usually disturbance involving anxiety-anger, so the clue to treat depression may be in very different area.

3. It is possible one can experience excess of both "polar" emotions related to Dryness and Heat

at the same time: constant low-mood or too low self-rating = Dryness accompanied by constant impatience and "uncooperative" joy which can make shots inaccurate etc.

4. More, as general stability of everything including emotions is controlled by main energy of Dampness, this is also to be taken into account.

The above was to demonstrate the situation may really be as complex as player may feel
and "my problems are too complicаted to solve" are by no means to be viewed as "freaky".


In acupuncture:

every emotion has it's basic energy---> energies are attributed to meridians---> meridians contain points for every energy to correct

which gives acu recipes to correct whatever complex situation is
--- if the recipe was composed right
--- if not expect any situation can be solved in 3 days (though this also happens).

Emotional correction, energies and meridians

 Classification and link of emotions and 8 Qi energies in Su-jok:
--- happiness - Burn
--- joy - Heat
--- anger - Wind
--- anxiety - Dampness
--- depression, grief - Dryness
--- fear - Cold
can give basic recipes to correct any emotional energy as the 8 Qi energies make
pairs of polar energies:
--- Wind - Dampness
--- Heat - Dryness
--- Burn - Cold
Thus if one needs to control anxiety the obvious recipe is

--- sedate Dampness, tone up Wind

to control anger this is reversed:

--- sedate Wind, tone up Dampness

and similar to other pairs.

The 8 Qi energies have many ways to be described as systems of meridians:

The Universal Joints system:

1. Cold: bladder- fear

2. Dryness: colon - depression, grief
3. Dampness: stomach - anxiety

4. Wind: gall bladder - anger

5. Heat: small intestine - joy

6. Burn: spinal cord - happiness

7. Light: - controlling energies

8. Darkness - the same

1. Cold:  kidneys- fear

2. Dryness: lungs - depression, grief

3. Dampness: spleen- anxiety

4. Wind: liver - anger

5. Heat: heart - joy

6. Burn: brain - happiness

7. Light: controlling energies

8. Darkness - the same

This shows detailed mapping of 8 Qi energies on fingers joints

and organs linked to each. Every meridian goes around joint and contains4, 6 or 8 points corresponding to the system chosen to work.

This shows in addition how much more simple is Su-jok meridians

system compared to classic Chinese acupuncture meridians.

Mapping of points is the same much more simple: 
Mapping of 8 points, left hand:  


Points at 45* to each other,colours show a particular energy: 
green - Wind etc.


 

Work on points in details seems too special for this blog, however:
--- one may find the meridian corresponding to a problem emotion
--- massage it by smth like round tip of a pencil
--- even do simple moxibustion going around joint line with moxa cigar or even an incense stick. 
In fact, this is a bit too "advanced" system for non-specialists as gives options for
acute and chronic cases:
--- meridians on left hand - acute or fast-developing disorder, like "fever" right before a match
--- right hand - chronic deep-rooting emotional disorders.     

Unfortunately the real situation as a rule is not that simple, because there are other types of links between energies and emotions.
That's the reason non-specialist is better to restrict himself to those 2 methods of emotional correction
recommended for everybody.

More on this to follow.

Emotional stress and long-term effects

All basic emotions have links to body's organs which is one of basics of
Chinese medicine and classic Chinese acupuncture:

Liver+gall bladder - anger(negative emotion)/kindness (positive emotion)

Heart +small intestine - hatred/love

Spleen/pancreas + stomach - anxiety (tranquility, comfort)

Lungs + colon- grief, depression (courage, will-power)

Kidneys + bladder - fear (tenderness, vigilance)

Constant anger will have influence on liver, depression - on lungs and so on.
In time energy of these organs may get disrupted to an extent they'll in return
begin causing corresponding negative emotions, becoming constant source of trouble.
Such vicious circle may drag one in for long time.
Additionally, one may show exellent physical, emotional and mental tests off-court as body may be able to compensate this energy disturbance but:
--- playing on court
--- getting into similar situation
when situation requires more energy sources, the hidden energy problem begins creating corresponding emotional state.
Psychological help can work only to extent one's mind has direct path to emotions, and quite often
shows itself not able to make a breakthrough.


Acupuncture can solve this the way one erases unnecessary info from his computer
because regaining normal energy balance will automatically eliminate this source of trouble.

2 easy ways, basic energy points and massage of organs zones, have been already described:
http://acupuncturefortennis.blogspot.com/2010/10/basic-energy-points.html
http://acupuncturefortennis.blogspot.com/2010/10/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html


In Su-jok acupuncture there is more advanced system of emotions linking to basic 8 energies which 
are "elementary bricks" to describe any disease and compose an acu recipe:

--- happiness - Burn
--- joy - Heat
--- anger - Wind
--- anxiety - Dampness
--- depression, grief, frustration - Dryness
--- fear - Cold
This allows to treat directly on emotional level in any meridians system and eliminate the problem relatively quickly.
This may be discussed in more details in next posts.

 

Basic energy points - exhaustion during a season

 http://acupuncturefortennis.blogspot.com/2010/10/basic-energy-points-ii.html
http://acupuncturefortennis.blogspot.com/2010/10/basic-energy-points.html


Tennisplayers especially those in high ranks play a lot of tournaments during long and exhausting season. 
It often happens the burden of this exceeds body's capacity and energy to play is being borrowed from body's structural elements: tendons, ligaments, even inner organs like liver. This is not easy to detect by standard Western diagnostics but is quite detectable by for example Voll electropuncture diagnostics.

Besides, what makes things worse compared to biathlon or race cycling is many tournaments are played
on artificial surfaces which disconnect player from "Nature's energies". This may also explain widespread complains for a particular surface found causing feet pain and problems, which may appear rather harmless for an amateur player playing on the same surface.



Third harmful factor is constant travelling and need to adapt to time zones change.

Basic energy points raise energy and first of all, inner energy which often gets depleted by the end of a season. They also balance energies and help avoid overstrain and everything related to it.

Trouble sleeping

This will discuss trouble sleeping caused by too much "social" activity like overwork, 
nagging emotions caused by it, too much partying and similar.
For insomnia caused by specific illness this may not work!

Basic version of treatment.
 Points touch nail from outside at 6.00 and 12.00.
Treatment for non-professionals:
--- marking both points in black
--- massaging both by smth like round tip of pencil: upper point anticlockwise, lower point clockwise
--- taping 2 black natural stones (even glass will do) size 2-3mm onto both, may keep up to whole night.
--- heating by incense stick (easy version):  perpendicular for both
points for 30-60 sec each or until pleasant warm sensation in each


There are lighter and stronger versions of the previous:

First has only Neito tone up and Neitro
as harmonization.
Second makes the action stronger by adding
Gomo point.
Treatment is the same, just crystals of corresponding colour.


The strong scheme was composed for the right thumb, chronic case.
Acute case is usually treated on left thumb (especially for women), and the scheme will
be just mirror-like i.e. the blue point goes to 9.00 instead being at 15.00 on the pic.

Self-treatment methods and tools

1.Marking tne points by a colour pen. This "colours" the light radiating

on point to the colour of the spot determining the action: red - usually 
(but not always!) tone up, blue - sedation, green - harmonization.

Mildest method for children.

2. Massage of points and zones, can be done by a round tip of a pencil.
This is also good to do if points have crystals or plant seeds taped on them, right
by massaging the crystals/seeds.

3.Taping natural crystals or plant seeds onto. For the first, there's a specific

way the crystal alters ones energy at the point to make it work.

Plant seeds do the same and also give in the energy stored inside for their growth
making one generally stronger.

Very valuable methods for chronic conditions as both work 24/7

so far they're taped onto skin. However the seeds are to be changed

for fresh ones after 12-24 hours, and crystals after use treated in salted water, 1 teaspoon
for a glass, for 24 hours.

4. Small magnets. The magnetic field not felt by a human begins
being felt (and somtimes strongly, up to fainting) when atached onto

acu point. South pole tones up, North -sedates. Sold in Su-jok

acu shops.

5. Moxibustion, heating by moxa cigar or just an incense stick, most versatile
and powerful method (my opinion).

Very good in case of bad energy lack;  moxibition of basic energy points

(earlier posts) is standard treatment for the first several acu sessions.

Many techniques, only the simplest recommended for non-specialists.

Especially valuable for "Cold" diseases like kidneys stones, traumas,

drug addiction.

Stroke

Transfered from another blog to illustrate what may be helpful for Rod Laver, 
legendary tennis player.

2 types of stroke:
--- ishemic stroke
--- hemorragic stroke

First involves mainly Yin or Gomo pathogenic energies:
--- Dryness - spasm
--- Cold - severe lack of circulation, possible necrosis, all types of loss of function
(paralysis is ultimate Gomo = Yin energy of Darkness)
--- formation of blood clots is harmful Dampness
--- on the other hand, artherium embolism is harmful energy of Burn

Second is a combination of Yin and Yang energies:
--- hemorrage - energy of Heat, if massive and fast developing - energy of Burn
--- energies of Dryness and Cold like was written above.
--- energy of Dampness (or Burn if fast developing) - compression
of tissue because of bleeding, also blood clots .

This means both show a complex combination of Yin and Yang type of energies 
to access in each case.
In general treatment needs to include all pathogenis energies; in case of rapidly developing
life-threatening symptomes one should focus on them.

An example of treatment for hemorragic stroke based on general symptomes:

Treatment is in order of numbers,
description of Nail system and points has been given earlier.






Heat (circulation system)--->Heat (cardiovscular system)--->Burn (nerv. system)--->Light (brain): Cold, Heat, Dampness sedate, Burn tone up
Points describe:
--- 0,1, 2 - path to brain vessels
--- 3  - sedation of Cold - main stroke energy
--- 4 - sedation of Heat - stopping bleeding
--- 5 - sedation of Dampness - balancing fluids and reducing intracranial pressure
--- 6 - tone up Burn - opposite energy to Cold.
Burn also increases bleeding and intracranial pressure, used after these problems 
have been solved.

There exist mapping of brain on palm, virtually every zone can be treated:

This allows local action on the zones of bleeding.















There is also reflex zone for brain on 1-st phalange of thumb:

Treatment methods are described in:
http://acupuncturefortennis.blogspot.com/2010/10/self-treatment-methods-and-tools.html


For non-professionals:
--- one goes all over the zone for the organ or all over the phalange by a round tip of a pencil  to find sensitive and painful points
--- does massage by round tip of pencil or special Su-jok massaging tools
--- applies crystals (of the colour of points), plant seeds
--- massage can be done by crystal which then is taped onto a spot
--- application of remedies
--- moxibustion by incense stick, holding it perpendicular, until pleasant warm sensation at each point or at treated location.


Professionals also use needles for points and zones, coloured light, laser radiation,
electropuncture etc.

Massage to strengthen body and correct emotions

On every finger there exist very convenient mapping for body organs and zones

(thumbs have a bit different mapping):

Using this diagram it’s easy to locate every zone for a body and treat it there.

Massage of organs zones in a special sequence will harmonize and strengthen body energies (known in Chinese medicine, Chi-Gong and martial arts):

Lungs--->Kidneys--->Liver--->Heart---->Spleen+Pancreas

Massage may be done:

---  by finger nail

--- anything like a round tip of a pencil

--- or get heated by muxibustion like already described

--- each zone equal time or according to the feelings.

Organs are known to have links to emotions in Chinese medicine:

Liver+gall bladder - anger(negative emotion)/kindness (positive emotion)

Heart +small intestine - hatred/love

Spleen/pancreas + stomach - anxiety (tranquility, comfort)

Lungs + colon- grief, depression (courage, will-power)

Kidneys + bladder - fear (tenderness, vigilance)

This massage balances emotions through work with organs.

If there’s a problem with particular emotion, one can give more massage to the corresponding organ.

Simple Energy/Emotional Correction

This corrects an imbalance of energy in upper/lower and left and right side of body:

There is a point in the centre of a palm which makes triangles:

--- with 2 points in centre of last phalanges which correspond to legs – dark green points

--- with 2 points in centre of last phalanges which correspond to

arms  - light green poins

First triangle is used to correct imbalance felt in lower region of a body and second for upper part of a body:

--- moxibustion for all 3 points making a triangle, first the point in centre of a palm then 2 poins on the phalanges.

--- time for each point may be 20-30sec up to 2 min, or until a pleasant warm sensation

at each point.
Best to do on both hands:
--- men - first right then left
--- women - first left then right
but this sequence is not too critical

This is simple and can possibly be done even on court.

Basic energy points - location and treatment methods

Basic energy points are special points used to raise energy in the body (pics below),
to balance energies and emotions and as great prophylactic tool.


Location of points:

Points are about 2-3 mm size and easy to found:
 on the palm:

3 - in the middle between 1 and 5
2 и 4 - at 1/3 of a distance to the nearest point 1 or 5
6 - equal distance between 5 and 7
on the outer side of the hand:
2 - equal distance between 1 and 3
5 - equal distance between 4 and 6

One can massage the points by smth like a round tip of a pencil but best is

moxibition - heating by a special moxa cigar sold in acupuncture

and Chinese medicine shops, actually a burning coal will do.

Sequence of work:
--- for the palm - in the sequence from 1 to 7
--- on the outer side of a hand - in reverse order i.e. 6,5,4,...1.
One starts with left hand for men and right hand for women for the first session;

next time on another hand and so on alternating hands, but this is not strict rule.

The cigar is hold above the point at a distance to give a constant flow of heat
not burning, until a pleasant warmth at the point.
One may heat all the points equal time, usually 20 to 30 sec, or a specific
time for each to get that feeling of warmth.
In some while one may get the feeling what particular points need treatment.


The same location of points for right hand.

  

Basic energy points a great preventing tool

Moxibustion for basic energy points is probably the best preventing cure

for all ages. These points are known to raise energy in the body thus raising

immunity in general.

The most widely used treatment is moxibustion which is especially effective for all conditions 
caused by harmful energy of Cold, i.e. 

--- the cold itself and seasonal flu
--- traumas because their main energy is also Cold

Will definitely be a good preventive for the swine or bird flu as here the action is not

on a particular type of virus but on the energy it thrives on and strengthening immune 

system at the same time.
Especially  valuable for children, "officially certified" for age 5 and older.

Good option is to rub garlic or onion pulp into the points - this works well for the acu points,

and the same for plant extracts, aroma oils etc. 

Tennis elbow

Known among tennis players this condition is rather similar in treatment to  tendinitis 
regarding musicians problems:
http://acupunctureforsingers.blogspot.com/2010/01/for-musicians-fingers-problems.html 

As this takes place in ligaments from elbow region, the scheme in Su-jok to locate elbow:
Wind (tendons, ligaments, muscles)--->Dryness or Heat (elbow)
--- right elbow - Dryness for men and Heat for women
--- left elbow -Heat for men and Dryness for women
So for men right-handed it will be:

Wind--->Dryness: recipe for harmful energies

for women right-handed:

Wind--->Heat: recipe for harmful energies

Harmful energies involved in tennis elbow are:
--- Cold - chronic pain, calcification and all long-term degenerative effects
--- Dryness - degeneration and restriction in movements, sharp, twisting pains, 

fibrosis

--- dull pain  - Dampness
--- inflammation - Heat
The scheme may look as (men right-handed):

Wind (ligaments)--->Dryness(elbow): Cold, Dryness sedate (pain and movements restriction), Heat sedate (inflammation), Wind, Burn (opposite energies) tone up

For women the same is:

Wind--->Heat: Cold, Dryness sedate Heat sedate , Wind, Burn tone up

  





Such schemes are very comfortable for self-treatment (compared to schemes in classic acupuncture)
--- the points are on skin touching nailsfrom outside at 45* to each other, size 2 mm
--- colour of is the colour for natural crystals to tape on

--- numbers indicate sequence of work on them

For a non-professional the self treatment is:

--- to mark the points by felt-tip pen
--- massage points by something like round tip of a pencil

--- to tape natural crystals of the same colour and size 2-3 mm onto points

--- moxibustion - heating by cigar sold in acupuncture shops or just by 3 incense sticks tied together -  
in a sequence of numbers, this is critical! – holding incense stick perpendicular to points,

20-30 sec each for 1 session.
Professionals do this with moxa at certain angle which sedates and tones up energies at points.

Interesting fact demonstrating simplicity and versatility of Su-jok methods is that the same schemes do the same for knees problems, which are quite common among sportsmen.