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Posted on July 20, 2019 by mettaphysiotherapy

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Giving the lumbar spine some TLC today. There can be many underlying physical reasons for lumbar back pain; disc injuries, facet joint dysfunction, radiculopathy, hypomobility ect However in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) back issues have a link with the ‘water element’ and its 2 corresponding channels’s; urinary bladder and kidneys. In Western physiology the kidneys are responsible for the filtration and purification within the body. In TCM however, they are our reservoir of our vital source in other words they are our reserve of Ki. With the consistent demands of family life and work life there is often no time for the kidneys to restore and there is a continual depletion of kidney reserves. This is the prime cause of lumbar back pain according to TCM philosophy. There are also psychosocial issues related to imbalances in the water element. One example is fear. Fear is part of the survival instinct, in TCM fear causes a release of our source ki from the kidneys. You can think of this in western physiology as the adrenalin rush you get when you’re in that ‘fight or flight’ (sympathetic nervous system) response. Sometimes our response to stress is to drive ourselves even harder, which draws further from our energy reserves. Have you ever had back pain and could relate to these TCM connections? #lumbarbackpain #waterelement #kidneymeridian #kidneychannel #traditionalchinesemedicine #tcm #trust I recently got re-acquainted with the teachings of #pemachodron specifically on how to develop trust. She talks about that having trust isn’t about trusting in a particular outcome but rather trusting in the present moment, whatever that may look like. It’s about growing your confidence that the nature of things is to change and fall apart and become something else and being able to resist a freak out about that fact is trust. Ah so difficult at times or maybe all the time 😂 can you relate? #trust #waterelement #fear #fearintofearlessness #presentmoment #mindfulness #buddhistteachings 👂🏼Some sound advice 👂🏼 Recently in my studies of CraniosSacral Therapy (CST)and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) I’ve started to see some similarities. TCM encompasses the five element theory, one of which is the ‘water element’. When we think about water, we see it’s ability to be fluid in nature, when it meets an obstacle it adjusts by going around, moving through, sinking below or eventually eroding the obstacle. It moves fluidly, in fact the only time it loses its ability to move is when there is no flow. When we treat the ‘water element’ we are inviting the body to find its flow again. I feel that we have a similar intention with CST. Learning the art of CST involves developing finely tuned abilities to sense where there is movement of cerebral spinal fluid and when there is not. There is an invitation to return flow into areas that are restricted. As in nature when there is flow of water there is life and similar thing happens in our bodies .... when there is flow we feel vibrant and vital. #craniosacraltherapy #cst #traditionalchinesemedicine #tcm #waterelement #fortitudevalleybrisbane Besides the intention of providing joints more freedom of movement and releasing myofascial restrictions, there is something deeper that happens with therapeutic touch. Here is an example ... Field et al (2014) studied the effects of massage therapy on 84 depressed pregnant women. The researchers put the women in three groups;1️⃣ a massage group that received hands on massage twice a week for 16 weeks,2️⃣ a relaxation program and 3️⃣standard prenatal care alone. The researchers found that the women who were in the massage group had a 23% decrease of cortisol in the saliva, a 25% increase of dopamine and a 23% increase of serotonin in their urine. There is power in therapeutic touch .... If you’re on a healing journey and you’re addressing your physical health through diet and exercise, have you ever thought about adding regular manual therapy to improve your emotional and physical health? Learn more about the benefits of therapeutic touch in my recent blog (link my bio). References: doi:/10.1080/01674820412331282231 If you are looking for a sign ..... this is it 😜 Qualified physio offering Zenthai Shiatsu and CranioSacral Therapy. Thank you @brushandpenstudio signs are looking 👌🏼

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