A 62-year-old man came to Raleigh Acupuncture complaining of severe tingling fingers in his right hand for the past six years. MRI’s, CT scans, physical therapy, and chiropractic had not helped. He took 2400 mg of Gabapentin (a nerve pain medicine) daily, but the pain still bothered him throughout the day and disturbed his sleep nightly. This tingling fingers acupuncture case study describes how we identified his condition’s root cause and resolved his pain for good in seven treatments.
What Causes Tingling Finger Pain?
Several different underlying conditions can cause tingling fingers, but most of them involve nerve impingement. Most commonly, impingement occurs at the neck, shoulder, elbow, or wrist. Chinese medicine explains the root cause differently. Channels run through the body, including the torso, arms, and legs. Qi energy flows through the channels, nourishing the organs, circulating the blood. Any blockage of Qi in the channels will cause pain.
Our patient was suffering from Qi stagnation in the channels of his arm, causing tingling pain in his hand. Our job was to identify where the stagnation was occurring, remove the blockage, and restore proper Qi circulation. If we accomplished this, we could resolve his pain.
Tingling Fingers Acupuncture Case Study
An MRI had identified arthritis in his cervical and upper thoracic vertebrae. But neither steroid injections nor chiropractic adjustments of the neck had lessened the tingling finger pain. Likewise, a carpal tunnel test had been negative, ruling out a common cause of tingling fingers of the thumb, pointer, and middle fingers.
Our patient described the pain sensation traveling from his neck, across his shoulder, down the side of his arm, and into his hand on the dorsal side. A careful examination of this pathway revealed that his pain followed the Triple Warmer channel, one of the twelve main meridians on the body.
These pathways are very distinct. For example, each arm has six channels, three on the front and three on the back. And the route our patient’s pain took as it traveled down from his neck to his hand was following the path of the Triple Warmer channel.
Acupuncture Treatment Plan
Once we identified the correct channel, we could implement the exact treatment needed to reopen the blockage causing his pain. It was not necessary to know the precise location of the blockage. We needled acupuncture points all along the Triple Warmer channel, from his neck, down his arm, all the way to his wrist. By opening the channel from start to finish, we allowed his own body to reactivate the Qi energy flow that had been stagnant for the past six years.
Acupuncture promotes the human body to heal itself. The treatment described in this tingling fingers acupuncture case study is an excellent example of how this concept works. We applied acupuncture points along a blocked channel, and our patient’s body kicked into gear, reactivating Qi circulation. After just one treatment, his tingling pain began to recede.
Tingling Finger Pain Resolved
With each additional treatment, our patient’s pain lessened. After three treatments, we resolved his pain by 40%. We treated him once a week. At this point, under his doctor’s supervision, he began decreasing his pain medications.
Two treatments later, his pain decreased an additional 30%. It took just two more treatments to resolve his pain completely. A month later, he had weened himself entirely off his pain medications. A six-month follow-up revealed that no problems had returned. His channels had remained open, and he was pain-free.
Next Steps
If this tingling fingers acupuncture case study describes an issue you or a family member are going through, try acupuncture. Our treatments are safe – needles are sterile, single-use, and hair-thin. You will hardly feel a thing. And sessions are relaxing. Patients often fall asleep during their treatments.
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