Shoulder Pain Protocols

You have a lot of options for shoulder pain. Try to determine what it is linked to. For
instance, if there are signs of Kidney weakness, this could very well be the cause of the
shoulder pain. Frozen shoulder often occurs in women going the through Kidney
deficiency associated with menopause. In that case Shen Guan would be a most excellent
choice.

Explore the points and what their reaction areas are. Palpate the channels affected. Make
your intelligent choice based on that.

*Another fun thing to know: there are also “fashion” causes that can contribute to neck
and shouler pain. The major offenders are wearing flip flops and going out with wet hair,
especially if the hair is shoulder length. Wet hair keeps the neck and shoulders too cool
and can cause cold invasion and therefore constriction in the muscles.

Impingement Syndrome

Impingement in the shoulder is a dull ache at the top of the shoulder. At first, it just occurs
after activities that have a lot of motions involving putting the arms above the head –
basketball, volleyball, painting ceilings, putting up ceiling fans, swimming, etc. As the
condition progresses, there will be pain during activities with overhead motions.

Impingement syndrome is generally divided into stages 1 and 2.

Stage 1:
This is the early stage of an impingement syndrome. Pain is generally felt during over
head motion. There will also be tenderness at the insertion point of the supraspinatus
tendon (the tubercle of the humerus around Si 10) when you palpate, and sometimes even
without palpation. There will also be a painful arc of motion when the arm is abducted
between 70 and 120 degrees.

Here’s what that looks like in case you don’t remember:

 Shoulder Adduction and A…

You can generally reverse Stage 1 completely with treatment.

Stage 2:
You usually see this in people between 25 and 40. In stage 2 the condition has
deteriorated. You may not be able to reverse this one because the subacromial bursa has
likely thickened and the supraspinatus and biceps tendons have experienced fibrotic
changes. These patients will have limited range of motion in abduction and external
rotation and will have significant pain through the arc of motion described above. Body
mechanics will probably be modified due to the pain.

Regardless of the stage, you can get the best effect by needling this combination:

1. Ling gu and Da Bai

Needle on the unaffected side.
2. San Zhong / Three Weights
3. Qi Hu / Seven Tigers

Herbal Suggestions

The Evergreen formulas Neck and Shoulder is great for this. It comes in and acute and a
chronic version. Arm Support, Traumanex, Flex (Spur), and Flex MLT would also be good
options also. You can get 701 patches at most Chinese herbal stores or you could use
topical patches like Salon Pas or Tiger Balm patches. Zheng Gu Shui topical would be
great for an acute condition also.

Dr. Robert Chu’s Die Da Jiu topical would also be an excellent choice. You can find the
recipe for this on the Neck Pain Protocols page.

Quick Master Tung links:

Master Tung Main Page

Master Tung Point Locator

Master Tung Treatment Protocols