update on my fingers

[TenTigers]

update on my fingers..

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ok, so the bone is not broken-swelling has been reduced a great deal-
but-there is still swelling and tightness. The swelling is thick, tight, hard almost. Chao-Sifu went from massage with dit-da jow and wrapping with wood-lock yao to using massage and a dit-dar type soak-with vinegar added, to break up and remove the stasis. The injury is then wrapped with wood-lock yao and bandaged. Not tight, however, as he wants some movement. He says vinegar is a potentiator for the herbs in the formula, or in most jow formulas for that matter, and when used externally, breaks up stasis, and relaxes tendons. But if taken internally, will hinder this process. I find this facinating. You would think that since it is absorbed into the body, this wouldn't be true, but I have heard this before from other practitioners.
Views?

[herb ox]

Funny how Chinese medicine works like that... it's like the Tao - it's there, but you can't see it... fills everything, but has no form...

There are two factors at work here - the physical application (external) and the energetic effect (internal)

My take on this is that vinegar has a known action on dissolving calcium and can soften an egg or a bone soaked in it. This is likely the action which softens the tendons / ligaments, while invigorating the blood in the area when applied directly to the skin.

If taken internally, the vinegar, which is sour, is directed energetically to the liver. Excess sour taste can damage the liver qi. The liver controls the tendons, therefore, if the liver qi is disrupted, it will have an eventual negative effect on the tendons as well. Also, vinegar's strongly astringent quality would likely cause a 'drying' of the 'liver blood' which would lead to 'dry' tendons.

Thanks for the update on your progress - keep us posted on your healing process (if it doesn't hurt too much to type :o)

peace

herb ox

[TenTigers]

I am a master at Hunt and Peck Style Type-Fu.
Looking at vinegar, funny how there are so many benefits to taking apple cider vinegar. I know people who have disolved, or absorbed heel spurs by drinking cider vinegar. Isn't this a bit of a contradiction?

[PlumDragon]

The real benefit is in making sure your body has what it needs to balance itself and maintain that balance. The truth of statements like "there are so many benefits to taking Apple Cider Vinegar" tend to be map to a Gaussian Distribution (Bell Curve).

Apple cider vinegar is not anything specal, it only helps if your body needs something that is in the vinegar. And perhaps for the Gaussian Distribution above, that most Americans are lacking something in their diet that the Vinegar makes up. My wife tried the Apple Cider Vinegar thing and encountered significant multiple problems after only a few days of use. This doesnt make it bad, only illustrates that you only do what is necessary, and for her it only worked to imbalance her based on her "point on the cirlcle" and her current diet, etc.

As for absorbing the heel spur, this is not really a contradiction but there were likely some other bodily processes going on that allowed the vinegar to do its job, act as a catalyst, etc.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

How's the fingers doing?

[TenTigers]

well, one of my former students (still a good friend) is an orthopedic surgeon. So he looks at the x-rays, examines my fingers and says to squeeze them closed so I have full flexion. The pain is excruciating, but after two days,the are now closing at more than ninety degrees, when before they weren't. They still look like sausages, but he says the swelling and stasis will reduce as the range of motion continues. Keep moving them. I have had broken fingers before, and I did the same thing-hurt like a moferthucker, but they both have full range of motion.
So...I'm doing what I need to do. Everyone who's seen it says I'm looking at a few months, as it is ligament, and volar plate damage-not the bone.
So, the plaster Sifu first gave me-caused a burn on my skin, then using wood lock oil, didn't help, so the soak-with vinegar-well, you can guess. So I laid off the soak, to allow the skin to heal. Then a massage therapist and a martial artist used some homeopathetic sh1t-like zheng gu shui and dmso-so now the burns are back. -stupid,stupid,stupid. (but the stuff was great on my lower back-might pick some up anyway)

[lhommedieu]

Rik,

Sounds like the Zheng Gu Sui is too hot for your injury. I'd try the blood-moving soak from Kamwo herbs. Use a 5 gallon pot, bring the herbs/water to a boil, allow to cool until warm/hot, and then add 1 cup vinegar and 1 quart rice wine. At these proportions you shouldn't have an issue with buring your skin - but if you do just omit the vinegar and rice wine the next time.

Best,

Steve