Chinese Sports Medicine: Anatomy of an Ankle Sprain

Chinese Sports Medicine: Anatomy of an Ankle Sprain

One of the most common sports injuries is a sprained ankle, and 75-80% of the time, it's a lateral sprain. This means the tendons and ligaments that stabilize the ankle joint and are located on the lateral side of the foot become stretched too far and tear. This usually happens when the foot is inverted (when someone “rolls” their foot to the outside), and the most common ligament to be torn is the anterior talofibular ligament. Usually there's pain, swelling, and often bruising.

Pathomechanisms:

From a Chinese medicine prospective, not only has the patient damaged the local tissue during the injury, but he has also damaged one or more Meridians that cross the area. Just as when a blood vessel is damaged, circulation is impeded when a Meridian is damage. Qi and Blood cannot flow through the area properly and becomes stagnant. When there is a blockage and no where else for Qi and Blood to flow, it will travel outside the Meridians and blood vessels where it moves chaotically before stopping and clumping. Since Qi is not moving, there is pain. Naturally, damage to the tissue causes Blood to move outside the vessels, as well, and there is bruising. The lack of free flow also causes a build up of heat, thus there is inflammation.

Treatment:

To treat an ankle sprain, we will use acupuncture both at the sight of the injury and away from the trauma. Needling into the area of the injury breaks up the static Blood that is clumping in the area while needling distal to the injury along the affected Meridians draws Qi and Blood away from the area. Additionally, points that have specific actions of invigorating circulation in the lower body or lower extremities may be used. Both needling techniques aim to promote greater circulation and free up the flow of Qi and Blood. This immediately reduces the pain level as the cause of the pain is the congestion in the area. This also works to continue to relief pain as circulation improves over time. Once normal circulating is restored, Qi and Blood can properly move to and through the area to nourish and repair the damaged tissue and Meridians.

Adjunctive Treatments:

Ice is a popular treatment for sports injuries, particularly immediately after the trauma. It is used mostly to prevent or reduce swelling, but swelling is actually a normal and helpful part of the healing process. Swelling is a rush of healthy blood cells to the area to began the repair process. Ice will impede that process. In fact, according to Chinese medicine, cold constricts the flow of Qi and Blood. Compare the flow in the Meridians to water flowing in a stream; in the winter, the stream will freeze and stop flowing. Ice will cause cold to penetrate directly into the site of the injury, often lingering long after the ice is removed. Its constricting and stagnating influence complicates the injury, and treatment will required warming techniques in addition to standard invigorating and circulation-improving treatments.

Bird's Nest: The Ancient Chinese Beauty Secret

On a recent trip to Los Angeles Chinatown, Robert and Karen purchased Yan Wo (燕窝), one of the most exotic and precious herbal medicinals in the Chinese Materia Medica. Yan Wo, also called "bird's nest," is a very strong tonic and such a pervasive part of Chinese culture that the Beijing National Stadium was built to look like it.

The nests are made from the nutrient-rich saliva of swiftlets, which build their nests on high ocean cliffs. The difficulty of harvesting the nests and the amazing restorative properties of the enzymes in the saliva make Yan Wo quite expensive - it is sometimes referred to as "the caviar of the East."

(Isn't Russia in the East...?)

Why do the Chinese pay top-dollar for birds nest? Well, traditional claims and modern research show that it increases vitality, aids digestion, restores sex drive, strengthens immunity, prevents stroke, attacks cancer cells, restores respiratory function, sbenefit pregnant mothers, facilitates normal body function, and repairs damaged tissues.  That's a pretty impressive list, but Yan Wo is most popularly used for its uncanny ability to revitalize and repair the cells and tissues of the face. Wealthy Chinese women (and men) drink soup made from birds next to retain and restore their youthful appearance, firming and brightening the skin.

From a strictly Chinese medicine prospective, Yan Wo is characteristically sweet in flavor, which is typical of Qi and Blood tonifying medicinals; it's also warm in flavor, which allows it to rise up and promote circulate in the head and face. It enters the Lung, Spleen, Kidney, and Stomach Meridians. The first three are the organs primarily associated with vitality as they are the systems which store Essence and generate Qi. The Stomach meridian is also called the Foot Yang Ming Meridian, and it is the Yang Ming Meridians which are more abundant in Qi and Blood. The Stomach Meridian in particular starts just below the eye and descends around the mouth and jawline before plunging down the neck, so it's pathway makes it an ideal channel to tonify in order to restore facial vitality.

Cooking the bird's nest is an all-day process. There are numerous recipes, and at Meridian we add Gou Qi Zi (Goji Berries) and Long Yan Rou (Longan Fruit) to strengthen it's restorative function. Both Gou Qi Zi and Long Yan Rou are typically included in formulas we give to our Facial Rejuvenation clients due to their ability to restore facial cells and tissues. The bird's nest, however, really represents our most powerful herbal tool for Facial Rejuvenation. An order of our Yan Wo soup will run you $80.00, and it's generally taken all at one time once a week.

 More photos of our bird's nest soup, as well as traditional Chinese preparation methods of Yan Wo, can be found on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.429515153800552.1073741826.211970382221698&type=3