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Mycin
05-14-2001, 03:02 AM
Hello all. I am a neophyte to CMA and had a question that you guys/gals can probably answer.

I'm 39 years old. When I was in my early 20's, I received nerve damage in my right shoulder from an improperly administered ultra-sound treatment. Due to this, I have practically zero function of the posterior head of my right deltoid muscle and partial impairment of the medial and anterior heads.

Western medical treatment has been limited to initial diagnosis, followed by physical therapy and a prognosis of, "Some functionality will return, and some won't. Deal with it." Over the years, the medial and anterior heads HAVE improved (but still aren't 100%), and the numbness I originally had in the area has decreased, but the posterior head is still useless. This seldom affects my daily life, being a minor irritation at worse. However, it IS an obstacle in my martial arts training.

Is this sort of injury typically responsive to TCM treatments? I'm still recovering from knee surgery to repair an old knee problem that I re-injured last year in a tournament. Once that's behind me, I thought I'd see if I could get something done about the shoulder.

Thanks in advance,

Mycin

joedoe
05-14-2001, 05:47 AM
You'll never know unless you try it. I have heard that acupuncture has a lot of success with things like this, but I am no expert so don't take my word as gospel.

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You have no chance to survive - make your time.

origenx
05-14-2001, 07:35 PM
mycin - wow, u could get nerve damage from bad ultrasound? I would have thought ultrasound was extremely safe!

Mycin
05-14-2001, 08:21 PM
origenx,

They called it an ultra-sound "burn". As I understand, it was due to either using too much power or keeping the ultra-sound probe in one place for too long (or both). Basically, the person doing it screwed up.

Think about it. Ultra-sound is basically transmitting energy (in the form of high freq sound waves) into soft tissue. If the energy level is too high in a specific location for too long, damage can occur. That's why lots of aging rock and roll stars are going deaf - too much exposure to high-energy sound for too long. This was the same sort of thing, only more intense.

ABandit, I realize the only way to know for sure is to try it. I thought I'd just see if anyone here knew of any cases where TCM helped this sort of thing or, alternately, knew of research indicating that nerve damage doesn't respond to TCM any better than to Western medicine. I have enough trouble finding time to train without wasting lots of hours pursuing this if it's useless.

And don't worry, I won't take any responses as gospel. I'm just beginning to research this, and thought this forum might be a good place to get some candid opinions.

Thanks for your reply. Mycin

premier
05-15-2001, 01:28 AM
Wow.. didn't know that. Why is it then that they do ultrasounds to pregnant women?

joedoe
05-15-2001, 06:44 AM
My father is an acupuncturist and has had a lot of success with things like stroke cases, sciatic nerve problems, and muscular-type problems. I have never asked him if he has treated any nerve damage cases, but based on his track record of the abovementioned ailments, I would think that it may help.

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You have no chance to survive - make your time.

Mycin
05-15-2001, 07:38 PM
Premier, you're thinking about a sonogram, which is not the same thing as an ultrasound treatment. A sonogram is used to "see" soft tissue in the body via a sort of sonar. Ultrasound is a treatment used by physical therapists and chiropractors. High-frequency (ultrasonic) sound waves are passed into the body in the area to be treated. I'm not sure exactly what sorts of things can be treated with it, but I was experiencing a bout of joint inflamation in my shoulder, and my dad's chiropractor suggested the ultrasound would help. He screwed up, and here were are.

ABandit, thanks for the info. I plan on asking Sigung his opinion the first chance I get, but he always seems to be swamped during the times I'm in the kwoon. I'm hoping he can recommend an accupuncturist in our area that I can go and talk to.

Mycin