Acupuncture for lung problems?

[Broken Fist]

Hello,

Ever since I was young I've always had alot of lung infections, prolly about 3 each year that lasts a month and a half each and have also had pneumonia. Doctors have also told me I have a condition can't recall what it's called but they I know they said it's not asthma, every time I inhale or breathe hard my airways spasm and close off tight

This makes it very hard to do any sort of cardio to increase my lung capacity. Would acupuncture be able to help? Would there be a blockage somewhere in my body causing my lungs problems?

thanks!

[herb ox]

yep...

peace

herb ox

[cjurakpt]

Hello,

Ever since I was young I've always had alot of lung infections, prolly about 3 each year that lasts a month and a half each and have also had pneumonia. Doctors have also told me I have a condition can't recall what it's called but they I know they said it's not asthma, every time I inhale or breathe hard my airways spasm and close off tight

This makes it very hard to do any sort of cardio to increase my lung capacity. Would acupuncture be able to help? Would there be a blockage somewhere in my body causing my lungs problems?

thanks!

first off, I would strongly suggest to nail down precisely what the diagnosis is - having only some vague idea of what it's called might possibly be related to some sort of denial about it (no criticism, just statement of probability), and if so, that's perfectly reasonable and common; but to consider that, if one has have a chronic, lifelong condition, it stands to reason that knowing as much about it as one can, including etiology, pathophysiology, treatments, etc. would be very useful info: one could readily know as much as any MD about what is going on, and no reason why one can't - and since you are your own best advocate, knowing the details about what's up gives you the ability to self-manage your situation much more effectively; second, I would specifically go find a good pulmonologist and / or exercise physiologist and go through a comprehensive battery of pulmonary function testing, for 2 reasons: 1) just to have a reliable baseline in general to help you guide your cardio regimen (which you might want to do under the supervision of an exercise physiologist or a cardiopulmonary physical therapist, for example), and 2) to have a relatively objective frame of reference to see if any treatments you attempt (such as acupuncture) are actually leading to functional improvement (although just feeling better may be enough for you, and that's certainly important);

as for acupuncture, I say go for it, but remember, all acupuncturists are not created equal - some are great, some are ok, and others are...well, you can just imagine; also, consider that treatments such as cardiopulm. PT, osteopathic / chiropractic manipulation, even deep tissue massage can be potentially beneficial (again, depending largely on the skill of the practitioner), if not to treat the underlying lung disorder, at least to optimize the functional capability of associated structures such as the respiratory diaphragm and / or rib cage, both of which are usually screwd up in most people to varying degrees anyway...

good luck

[Broken Fist]

Thanks for taking the time to reply I really appreciate it. :)

[mawali]

Lung infection does not necessarily mean a lung problem but again which association are you using? Lung according to TCM principles or the allopathic lung per western physiology!
The TCM association may be stomach/spleen manifesting in the lung area (upper jiao).

[dougadam]

Just a thought.....

Camphor