Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis can be described as a ‘wear and tear’ (degeneration) of your joint cartilage.
It often causes significant pain, tender, stiff, swollen, and sometimes red joints, which can greatly affect your quality of life.
In Chinese Medicine, this dense type of pain is often categorized as ‘Wind-Damp’.
It enters the body and sticks to areas that are often overused, such as
the spine
shoulders
hips
knees
fingers and toes
Sometimes the area can feel cold, almost icy, sometimes it is hot. When a joint is ‘blocked’ by these pathogens, Energy (Qi) and Blood cannot flow freely and pain & often puffiness follow.
Acupuncture and herbs focus on tonifying these weak areas and removing whichever pathogen is dominant, be it Wind, Damp, Heat, or Cold.