Sinus Trigger Points

By Body

Sinus Trigger Points

There is nothing quite like the beauty that comes with spring in Atlanta. However, along with it comes a heavy dose of pollen leaving behind in it’s wake runny noses, watery eyes, congestion, and nasal stuffiness.

Acupressure has effectively been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Acupressure uses pressure points to send a signal to your body to activate and establish balance and improve health throughout the body. For years I have been sharing trigger points for the sinuses that help to drain the sinus cavities and alleviate some of these symptoms. They are easy to perform and effective in helping to reduce sinus pressure.

Sinus Trigger PointsTo make use of these trigger points I have enclosed the following diagram to make it easier to locate where to apply pressure. The pressure that you apply need not be forceful or hard enough that it causes significant pain. That said your pressure should be a gentle yet firm touch. It may feel slightly uncomfortable but should not cause significant pain.

To perform the treatment, you will start by applying pressure to point one by placing a thumb on each side of the top of the nose and apply an upward pressure for about ten to 15 seconds.

Next apply pressure to the 2nd point but this time the pressure is directed in towards the center of your head. This point is found easily by locating the outside of your eye and dropping down to just under your cheek bone. One or both sides may feel tender.

The third and last point can be located at the outside of the nose where it meets your face. You will again apply pressure in towards the center of your head.

After you have applied pressure to all three points next locate what would be analogous to the “adams apple” in a man and gently wiggle it back and forth for about 5-10 seconds.

You may start to feel drainage in the back of your throat and this is normal. These are the sinus cavities draining the mucous which is what was causing your congestion and pressure.

Other things that may help with your symptoms include Netty Pot nasal wash, Allerplex, Antronex and many others oral supplements. As always talk to your doctor before starting any new program to avoid conflicts with other treatments or medications.

Despite whatever symptoms you may be experiencing I hope you are able to enjoy the glory of what we are privileged to witness as spring in Atlanta.

Wishing you a joyous and beautiful spring, Dr.Pat

Pain and Your Brain

By Body, Mind

Pain and Your Brain

Chronic pain can influence every aspect of your life. It will dictate what you are able to participate in as well as your ability to enjoy that which you do participate in. There has been significant research done to find options for managing chronic pain aside from the standard medications, exercises, and rehabilitation.

Chronic pain is defined as that lasting longer than six months and is one of the world’s most costly problems estimated to affect one in every five people.

It turns out much of our pain is affected by what is happening in our brain. Fortunately, techniques have been created to harness the way we can learn to mitigate the neurons involved in our pain and are easily incorporated into our daily routines.

To effectively make the changes in the way we deal with pain it is essential to understand the basic mechanisms of what happens in our brain when we experience pain. Neurons are the messengers that send signals along your nervous system to whatever part of your body they are communicating with. In the past twenty years research has uncovered that the culprit creating chronic pain comes from the part of our nervous system called glia cells. When working optimally the Glia provide support and protection to the neurons, maintain homeostasis, clean up any debris and assist in forming myelin which is the coating on the neurons.

With chronic pain the glia doesn’t respond normally and redirect the neurons to create disruption in the way we feel pain. Normally when we feel pain, we mitigate it by taking a medication, using bracing or supports or removing ourselves from the origin of the pain. With chronic pain a false pain signal is sent that never ends creating an endless cycle of pain. Pain then is no longer a warning signal, but it becomes its own disease.

Techniques such as meditation, positive imagery, symbolic imagery, breathing and more have all been shown to be very helpful in managing your pain. Rather than review each of these I have found a program that is designed to take you through an in depth look at each of these in an eight-week course. It is free and filled with education, tools, and tips for managing your pain. Each course is 35-40 minutes long and was designed to be explored one course per week. The program was created by a group in Australia and has proven to be very effective at helping to educate people to manage their pain.

The link is: paintrainer.org

In addition, “Healing Back Pain” and “Mind Over Back Pain” are two books written by John Sarnos MD that will give you take a deeper scientific dive if you want to explore more about this.

There are many tools available to help you mitigate your Pain. I hope you will explore some of these tools presented and take charge of your pain in whatever way feels best to you. I wish you all a truly fabulous start to your new year.

With Gratitude,
Pat

Fall Allergies

By Body, Spirit

Fall Allergies

It’s that wonderful time of year again when we start to feel a little chill in the air with the promise of all the festivities that fall brings. We smell the occasional whiff of someone sitting outside with friends around their fire pit and finally have comfortable temperatures to do just about anything outside. Unfortunately, this is also the time of year when as the leaves fall and the ragweed propagates fall allergies descend upon us gracing us with runny noses, leaky eyes, coughs, and sneezes. As if you didn’t feel bad enough with the allergies you now have to worry about the judgement and side glances as people assess whether or not you are a that covid threat.

There are a few things to consider in helping to minimize the effects of fall allergies and I ask you to consider the following suggestions to help ameliorate your symptoms or prevent them before they get started.

  • When working outside wear a mask. This is especially true when doing tasks such as raking leaves where you are likely to disturb all the mold and allergens laying on the leaves or ground. The good news/bad news is you are likely to have a mask handy and at the ready.
  • Rinse your hair before going to bed. During the day your hair is exposed to the environmental allergens and lay on the surface and throughout your hair. Rinsing your hair helps you to avoid inhaling the allergens that fall out onto your pillow at night while you sleep.
  • Keep your car and windows closed when driving. Even though the weather begs you to open the windows and/or put the top-down riding along especially at higher rates of speed is like force feeding the allergens up your nose.
  • Rinse your animals periodically if they are exposed to the outside for any length of time. This will prevent them from tracking allergens through the house and minimize the amount that is released as you pet them.

Treating your Allergies

If you have the misfortune of developing an allergic response, consider using a Neti pot with a salt solution to flush your nasal passages. This has proved to be highly effective in reducing the inflammation of the nasal passages.

Acupuncture has also been helpful in treating and reducing your Symptoms. Orally consider Quercetin which is a natural antihistamine that can be taken in tablet form.

For those with severe reactivity immunotherapy shots or allopathic medication may be needed.

Hopefully some of these suggestions will be able to mitigate most of your symptoms leaving you to enjoy the beauty and fun of fall.

With Gratitude,
Pat