HanBang Acupuncture

01/18/2023

Astragalus is a flowering plant native to China and Korea. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the root of the astragalus plant is used as a tonic and adaptogen. The root is sliced and dried, then it's ground into a powder, steeped as tea, or even added to the stock in stews. Research today finds

09/30/2022

09/02/2022

Two Rotator Cuff muscles, both Infraspinatus and Teres minor are together mainly involved in external rotation of the shoulder, but there is a difference in the movement.

08/17/2022

LONG TERM RELIEF FROM FORWARD HEAD POSTURE

Your cervical spine has 7 vertebrae ⛁ stacked on top of each other. There are two muscles that act as opposing guy wires, ⚖ balancing tension front to back. These are the Sternocleidomastoid (SCM) and Levator Scapulae.

In Forward Head Posture, you often feel pain and tension starting at the base of the neck and creeping upwards towards the top. A commonly prescribed remedy is the ↕ stretch you see on the bottom left for the Levator (which is a good stretch in the right situation), but it often leaves you constantly needing to stretch your neck for relief.

When we look at the guy wire system, we see why. The SCM gets posturally shortened from over-recruitment and postural habits. This pulls the neck forward. But 🔎 look what happens to the Levator Scapulae.

It gets pulled forward as well, effectively lengthening it and placing it under eccentric load (meaning it's keeping your head from falling over into your 📲 phone right now). So stretching it further isn't going to give long term results. You need to slack the SCM instead, as well as a few other things that we'll go over, and let the Levator come ⏮ back to a normal resting length. Start with the chin tuck exercise shown here.
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www.healthy-street.co.uk

06/22/2022

A POT BELLY? IT MAY BE A TIGHT PSOAS!

A chronic short Psoas will have its greatest impact on the groin, forcing the pelvis down in front. There is a concurrent loosening of the normal tone of the Re**us Abdominis. One very common result is lordosis and a pot belly.

SOLUTION?

Manual therapy, stretching, postural re-education, core stability training.
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https://healthystreetlondon.wordpress.com/

06/17/2022

The hot weather may cause significant damage to your qi, blood, fluids and yin. During the hot summer, one of the best foods is apple. According to TCM nutrition principles, apples are cooling property and the flavor is sweet /sour. The resultant actions are to tonify qi and nourish yin. Apples also have the special properties of clearing heat and eliminating toxins from the body.
So "eat at least one apple daily during summer".

06/08/2022

Neck pain is the third most common chronic pain condition, and the fourth leading cause of disability worldwide. The pain often accompanied by tenderness at sensitive points. In addition,
several other types of sensitivity manifest at sensitized points, including pain sensitivity, heat sensitivity and form sensitivity (appearance changes).
The latest research (BMJ Open 2019;9:e029194. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-029194) has reported that acupuncture at sensitive points may provide the most effective treatment.

05/28/2022

IT MAY NOT BE SCIATICA, THOUGH SYMPTOMS ARE ALMOST THE SAME.

The piriformis is a small muscle located deep in the buttock, behind the gluteus maximus. It runs diagonally from the lower spine to the upper surface of the femur, with the sciatic nerve running underneath or through the muscle. The piriformis muscle helps the hip rotate, turning the leg and foot outward.

As a result of overuse, injury, or strain, the piriformis muscle can tighten, swell, or spasm. Sports that involve repetitive forward movement of the legs, or problems in surrounding joints like the sacroiliac joints are typical causes of piriformis syndrome.

The location of the piriformis muscle near the sciatic nerve means that when the piriformis muscle is irritated or injured, it can affect the sciatic nerve as well.

Symptoms of piriformis syndrome include tenderness and pain in the buttock area, accompanied by sciatica-like pain, numbness, and weakness that runs down the back of the thigh, calf, and foot. Pain from piriformis syndrome is often worse when walking up stairs, after sitting, or while walking or running.

Piriformis syndrome is often confused with other conditions, especially lumbar spine conditions. Attaining a proper diagnosis of piriformis syndrome is important when considering treatment for low back and leg pain.

Piriformis Muscle Self Release Ball Technique:

After finding the piriformis muscle place the release ball onto it. Then straighten the leg and lean over with your weight on the muscle and roll onto it. Roll slowly back and forth on the ball finding that Sweet Spot. Continue rolling for about 2-3 minutes and then switch over to the other side doing 2-3 sets.

04/20/2022

What’s the Difference Between Myofascial Pain Syndrome and Fibromyalgia?