FIX EAST LONDON, TIPS, ACUPUNCTURE
FIX ACUPUNCTURIST, MELANIE HACKWELL EXPLORES THE ROLE ACUPUNCTURE CAN PLAY IN TREATING POST-VIRAL FATIGUE.
While I am normally a Fertility Acupuncture Specialist, I could not help but read the ongoing newspaper articles about those suffering from post-viral fatigue after contracting Covid-19. There is even a term for those individuals – “the Long Haulers”. Feeling lucky to have avoided a spell in hospital, only to be hit with flu-like symptoms such as chronic fatigue, joint pain, headaches, nausea, and bowel trouble after the virus has allegedly left the body. One of the “long haulers described the feeling as having a tank full of petrol and running out but there is nothing to keep the engine running.
This is quite consistent with the symptoms of post-viral fatigue where often the patient will appear to recover from symptoms only to feel unwell again, with various symptoms persisting for many years. The main symptoms can be pronounced muscle fatigue and ache, poor memory and concentration, exhaustion and persisting or intermittent feeling of flu-like symptoms.
From a Chinese medical perspective, any type of post-viral fatigue can be interpreted, diagnosed and treated according to the principles of Chinese Medicine.
One of the main conditions leading to post-viral fatigue is that of a “residual pathogen”. So a pathogen will enter the body and it is not cleared properly or if the person just continues as normal, then the pathogen can remain in the body and continues to produce symptoms and signs. Additionally, it can predispose the person to further invasions and therefore it can establish a pattern of the pathogen staying in the body, causing further deficiency of Qi.
I won’t go into depth about Chinese Medicine as it can be very contradictory to Western Medicine and I can often get eye-rolling when I try to explain things.
If I suspect a residual pathogen I ask my patients if they have a heavy sensation in their arms and legs and whether they have burning muscles and feel heaviness walking up the stairs. I also ask if their head feels muzzy and whether the head feels disconnected from the rest of the body.
In cases like this, I use acupuncture points to remove damp from the body (that heavy sensation people are feeling), and further points to strengthen the immune system. Moxa is also very useful to remove damp, which is the herb Mugwort. It grows like a weed in China and is picked, dried and used in various forms such as a moxa cigar, or loose moxa used in a moxa box. Moxa is lit and placed on the patient’s abdominal area or used on the spleen channel. If heat is present (patient feeling hot, red tongue, very thirsty) heat is cleared first through various acupuncture points and then I use moxa in subsequent treatments. Moxa is especially useful when a patient has a long-term deficiency and they are cold all the time. Often their tongue will be pale, swollen, scalloped edges.
Additionally, Gua Sha is used to stimulate the person’s immune system. Gua Sha is translated as “skin scraping” and that is exactly what it is. By scraping the skin with a specific tool, which produces petechia, it can release unhealthy body matter and allow the body to stimulate newly oxygenated blood which helps boost the immune system.
Chinese Herbal Medicine is another tool that is very effective in releasing pathogens and boosting the immune system. I know some people may be sceptical but they are a powerful form of medicine.
The reports that I read from China used a combination of acupuncture, moxa and herbs to help those with Covid-19 to heal more quickly. It’s certainly food for thought!
If you are suffering from these symptoms, please seek out some help, either by our practitioners here at Fix or contact the British Acupuncture Council to find a certified practitioner near you.