Ginger Compress
Lower back pain is all too common an ailment.
Some researchers say that 80 percent of all Americans older than
thirty suffer from chronic lower back pain at some point in their
lives. Sitting too much—especially in chairs with a forward tilt—is
the biggest cause, but incorrect lifting and poor posture also
contribute.
One of my patients, Mike, injured his back so badly that he
couldn’t get out of bed. At work, he had been building walls,
lifting heavy blocks and bending over to cement them in place. One
morning as he was vigorously brushing his teeth, he felt something
“go”—a burning pain shot through his lower body. He managed to drag
himself to the couch, where his wife found him at noon, still
moaning and rubbing his back in an attempt to loosen it up.
The next day he called my clinic. I don’t usually make house
calls, but Mike sounded desperate, so I stopped by his place on my
way home. He was still on the couch and looked antsy. “I’m more
than ready to go back to work,” he said, “but my back is definitely
not.”
Chinese bag of tricks
When I examined him, the back of his tongue had a greasy yellow
coating and his pulse was tight, meaning that I could feel tension
in it. According to Chinese medicine, this indicates that he had
internal “stagnation,” or inhibited blood flow caused by pain, a
state that’s especially common after an injury. “Moving the blood”
helps remove pain-producing toxins and speeds tissue repair, which
is why herbalists emphasize paying attention to the internal
balance of all the organs, tissues, and fluids, even when the
injuries are external.
I opened my bag of tricks and pulled out an herbal liniment, an
herbal cream, a porcelain spoon, and a moxa stick (a cigar-shaped
bundle of powdered mugwort). I managed to get Mike on his side with
his back toward me and his knees bent and cushioned by several
pillows. On the inflamed muscles in his lower back, I vigorously
applied the aromatic herbal liniment, which contained warming and
dispersing essential oils such as ginger, cinnamon, wintergreen,
and American calamus (Acorus calamus, also called sweet flag). For
about ten minutes, I worked it in with moderately deep, long
kneading motions to encourage the circulation of blood and qi
(vital energy). I used an alcohol-based liniment, which is best
for acute conditions such as Mike’s because the alcohol evaporates,
helping eliminate heat and promote good immunity and blood
circulation for quick repair.
Next, I firmly scraped Mike’s back with the porcelain spoon for
a few minutes to further encourage blood circulation, “pull up”
toxins to the surface, and relieve congestion. This left long,
dark-red marks where I had scraped, which meant that his back area
had substantial blood stagnation.
Mike suffered the treatment with good humor, but when I lit the moxa stick (short for moxibustion) and blew on it until a bright
red smoking ember was produced at the end, he looked doubtful. I
explained to him that the moxa stick is made from mugwort
(Artemisia vulgaris latiflora) and that the Chinese have been using
it for centuries as both a stand-alone treatment and in conjunction
with acupuncture to help heal injuries and relieve pain. A healer
waves the moxa closely over the painful area, but not close enough
to burn. It’s thought to be absorbed through the skin, stimulating
the immune and nervous systems. (Note: Don’t use moxa during the
first two days of an acute injury.)
A slow recovery
After we finished the massage, scraping, and moxibustion, I
encouraged Mike to try and sit up. He swung his legs over the side
of the couch and slowly stood. After a few tentative steps, he
said, “This is awesome. I can actually walk without biting my
lip.”
I was happy to see his enthusiasm, but I knew it would be a few
days before he could return to work. Before I left, I told Mike how
to make a ginger compress that would keep the blood circulating and
encourage continued healing. I also left him a moxa stick
(available from many herb shops) and a jar of the warming salve
Tiger Balm to apply vigorously several times a day. Within a week
he had made a full recovery.
Christopher Hobbs’s case studies are gleaned from his thirty
years of studying and practicing herbalism. Hobbs, a
fourth-generation botanist and herbalist, is an Herbs for Health
Editorial Advisory Board member and licensed acupuncturist. He is
the author of St. John’s wort: The Mood Enhancing Herb (Botanica,
1997), Stress and Natural Healing (Botanica, 1997), and many other
books.
“Case studies from an herbalist’s notebook” are not intended to
replace the advice of your health-care provider.