Chest pain is one of the most common reasons people call for emergency medical help. The first thing that crosses our mind with chest pain is that we may be having a heart attack. Fortunately, chest pain doesn't always signal a heart attack and it is often unrelated to any heart problem.
There are many conditions that can cause chest pain, from cardiac causes such as heart attack, angina, and pericarditis, to non-cardiac causes such as heartburn, panic attack, pleurisy, esophageal spasms, sore muscles, injured ribs, or pinched nerves, shingles, and gallbladder or pancreas problems. If your chest pain has been evaluated by your doctor and determined to be non-life-threatening, acupuncture may offer a safe treatment option for addressing this problem.
In Chinese medicine (TCM), chest pain is characterized by a feeling of oppression and pain in the chest, extending to the shoulders. Chest pain is broken down into three broad categories: pain in the chest, pain in the chest with cold limbs, and in severe cases, pain in the chest with bluish colouring of the face, arms, and feet.
Chest pain can be caused by exposure to cold when the body is already weak or vulnerable; poor diet including irregular eating and over-consumption of fats, sweets, dairy food, or cold raw foods; emotional stresses such as worry, overthinking, frustration, anger and depression; and decline in health due to old age. The heart plays a central role in the pathology but the lungs and stomach may also play a role in the development of chest pain. The improper functioning of these organs leads to an obstruction of the flow of blood through the blood vessels, leading to chest pain.
Chinese medicine treatment typically involves two levels: treatment of the root (the underlying cause) and the manifestation (the symptoms). Because Chinese medicine recognizes that every disease has both root and manifestation and because both aspects are important factors in treatment, Chinese medicine has become very effective for not only dealing with symptoms but for also resolving the actual cause of a condition. Depending on the disease or condition an acupuncturist is faced with, we may decide to focus treatment on the root (cause), a combination of the root and the manifestation, or the manifestation (symptoms).
Chest pain is an example of when an acupuncturist will choose to deal with both symptoms and root cause, focusing early stages of treatment on resolving the symptoms. As symptoms improve and resolve, treatment can delve deeper into the causes of the chest pain, in order to strengthen the body, correct imbalances, and improve health. Lifestyle factors are also an important part of treatment and prevention, including regular, moderate exercise, quitting smoking, and avoiding excessive dairy or greasy foods.
Chest pain can be slow to treat with acupuncture, with treatment typically taking several months to resolve the condition, and sometimes longer. However, as is the case with any condition that has developed over many years, there is no instant fix.
With acupuncture, consider that treatment is working to improve health and can play an important role in prevention of more serious conditions developing further down the road. Regardless of how we choose to approach a problem such as chest pain, it is our responsibility to ourselves to make changes to our habits and lifestyle when warning signs arise.
James Kaufman is a Registered Acupuncturist at Okanagan Acupuncture Centre, 1625 Ellis St, downtown Kelowna, BC.
