This is the blog of Kory Kapitke, Seattle acupuncturist and allergy-removal specialist. « FAQ About Seattle Allergy Relief | Home | The Autism and Allergy Connection »
The Connection Between Allergies and Pain
By Kory | January 18, 2008
How often have you heard someone say, “I reached this way and tweaked my back”?
It’s common for us to assume that the movement or repetitive action (such as typing or playing tennis) is responsible for our pain, when, actually, one or more allergies may be to blame.
Now, you may be thinking, Allergies? How in the world could my eating cheese give me lower back pain?!
Let me bust out some Eastern medicine wisdom to explain:
Whenever we’re exposed to something we’re allergic to (be it food, environmental or other), what’s happening is our chi, or vital energy, is being blocked in one or more of our twelve energy pathways. This blockage often results in physical pain like neck tension, lower back spasms, carpal tunnel syndrome, etc.
Wow, ok, so my back pain wasn’t caused by moving my couch…now what do I do?
Disciplines like acupuncture and NAET can help resolve physical pain by identifying the allergens you’re reacting to and then quickly removing the vulnerability.
Topics: allergies, eastern medicine, energy | 2 Comments »
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I see this relationship between pain and allergies in my practice all of the time! Traditional chinese medicine uses the term \”stagnation\” to describe a condition of blocked chi or blocked vital energy. This concept of stagnation fits very well with what we know about connective tissue. Connective tissue surrounds and is in contact with almost every cell in our body. If you imagine a brick wall, the bricks are the cells and the mortar is the connective tissue. Whenever there is an irritant such as an allergen, the inflammatory response comes from our connective tissue. Water causes swelling in the \”mortar\” as it moves from inside our cells to outside the cells where it resides in connective tissue. This swelling can put pressure on the tiny blood vessels that supply nerves thus depriving the nerves of valuable nutrients and oxygen and reducing our nerve cells ability to remove toxins. When the nerves become irritated they send pain signals to our brain.
-Dr. Jake
October 28th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Thanks for your comment, Dr. Jake.
I am glad to have this additional information on my site so that we continue to raise awareness on the link between inflammation and disease.