At Tao to Wellness, we’ve helped many patients suffering with gout. Gout is a type of arthritis that causes severe pain and swelling in the joints, usually in the first toe. It’s caused by a buildup of uric acid, which forms crystals in the joints, the crystals lead to inflammation..
From a Chinese medicine perspective, gout is mainly caused by a Liver imbalance. The Liver in Chinese medicine plays a role in managing stress, detoxification, blood flow and blood pressure.
When the Liver organ becomes out of balance, it becomes stagnate, stagnation leads to excessive heat or fire, which becomes inflammation, when the body is inflamed it has difficulty regulating itself and in this case uric acid increases in the joints. As mentioned before, the most common joint that is effected seems to be the first toe and it just so happens that the big toe is the location of the first acupuncture point on the Liver meridian. It is called Da Dun or Liver 1.
Some thrilling news is in recent research studies show that acupuncture and Chinese herbal wash was more effective then the drug usually prescribed for gout, diclofenac sodium.
Here are 7 things you can do to help heal Gout:
- Limit purine-rich foods.
- Eat more low-purine foods.
- Avoid drugs that raise uric acid levels.
- Maintain a healthy body weight.
- Avoid alcohol and sugary drinks.
- See an acupuncturist ASAP.
- Get a proper consult for an herbal medicine formula.
If you are battling gout, not to mention repeated flare ups, let us help. At Tao to Wellness, we have experience in working with gout successfully, regardless if it’s in a flare or for prevention. We use acupuncture, Chinese herbal remedies and nutritional guidelines and are happy to be of support.
