Presented at the 1994 Conference of the American Academy of Pain Management, Vancouver

EAST-WEST SYNTHESIS: A Superior Approach to Pain Control

INTRODUCTION: Western treatments, based on a chemical-mechanistic model of disease, are superior in controlling symptoms. Eastern treatments, on the other hand, concentrate on correcting the causes of diseases which were believed to be the result of abnormal energy and blood flow in the body. The goal of this article is to validate the energy concept and to demonstrate the superiority of combining western and eastern modalities in the management of pain. The author calls this approach: NEURO-BIOENERGETIC TREATMENT (NBE).

The Chinese discovered the bioelectric energy in all living organisms which flows in different electrical pathways called meridians. The existence of the acupuncture points and meridians have been verified by Becker, Darras, and others. This paper provides additional confirmation through successful clinical application involving both eastern and western concepts.

MATERIAL METHODS: Nerve blocks, anesthetic injections, epidurals neurolysis and other western modalities are used to control acute symptoms. Acupuncture and herbs are added to restore energy and blood flow to reverse the diseases. In the past 5 years, 700-800 patients, most with multiple disorders, totaling over 2000 diseases were treated. Improvement is monitored by periodic PROGRESS REPORTS completed by the patient. All patients treated in the last 5 years were subjects in the study. Patients who discontinued treatment without an adequate trial were excluded. Those discontinue treatment due to dramatic relief were also excluded if there is no verification of the improvement by the patient.

TREATMENT RESULTS: 1) Over 90% of the patients reported significant improvement. The majority of them have exhausted other treatments elsewhere. Some have been treated at well known institutions, such as the Mayo Clinic, Stanford and UCLA. 2) Of those who improved, ALL except two patients felt that our treatment was either BETTER or MUCH BETTER than their previous treatments. 3) Improvement is usually obtained within a few treatments. However, patients with complicated illnesses usually require prolonged therapy. 4) Most disorders treated are degenerative diseases such as arthritis, migraines, musculoskeletal pain, collagen disorders, and physical trauma. Neuropathic pain such as trigeminal and herpetic neuralgia are also frequently encountered. Two cases of RSD have been greatly improved without stellate ganglion block. 5) Many patients suffered from the failure of surgeries:back, neck, knee surgery, etc. In other cases, surgery was recommended but has proven unnecessary because of our therapy. This includes cases of nerve entrapment, carpal tunnel and thoracic outlet syndrome. 6) Visceral pain such as angina, hiatal hernia, colitis, etc. are also amendable to this method. Cases of leiomyomas, endometriosis, and uterus prolapse were successfully treated, avoiding the hysterectomies recommended by other physicians. 7) Cancer pain can be treated effectively. In one case, elimination of pain was associated with suppression of cancer! This patient has non-resectable lung cancer and went through five months of radiation and chemotherapy. She ended up more sick with alopecia, cachexia, neuropathy, nausea, chest pain, constant cough, and a continuous fever of 102-104. These symptoms disappeared along with regrowing of her hair with four weeks of treatment! 8) Improvement of pain is associated with improvement of systemic disorders. 9) Quite a few patients have tried acupuncture elsewhere without success but were able to obtain dramatic relief with our treatments. 10) Participation of patients in preventive measures to nourish the body energy will produce the best results.

DISCUSSION: 1) Pain and discomfort are indication of organic dysfunctions. Eradication of the pain through NBE leads to restoration of the organic function. One patient suffered from non-union of a tibial-osteotomy which failed to heal six months after surgery. The pain was quickly controlled with NBE. Complete healing of the fracture was confirmed by X-Ray with six weeks of treatments. Another patient suffered from multiple leiomyomas with her uterus enlarged to 5 months pregnancy size. Elimination of her symptoms was accompanied by gradual reduction of the uterus back to normal as confirmed by serial sonograms. 2) All pain and symptoms are interrelated. A patient with Bells Palsy suffered from facial pain and paralysis, inability to close her left eyelid, hiatal hernia, left breast and foot pain. The facial pain was quickly alleviated. However, the sensory and motor deficit of the face was not restored until the hiatal hernia, the left breast and foot pain were improved. The multiple symptoms of this patient can be explained by the energy flow of the left stomach meridian which connects these different areas. Another example is a patient with five years of facial and neck pain. She has been treated in several medical centers with diagnoses of TMJ, trigeminal neuralgia, and thoracic outlet syndrome. A pituitary tumor and a maxillary cyst were removed in separate operations. She also had oral reconstructions, TMJ surgery, and various medications and therapies, all to no avail. Ten weeks of NBE reversed most of her symptoms. All her problems described were interrelated and could have been avoided by NBE at the early stage of her illness. 3) Not only is the body a complete unit, in most cases, emotional stress is the culprit which weakens the body and renders it susceptible to disease. Optimal healing of any ailment must include correction of energy and circulatory abnormalities caused by stress. Finally, correction of these abnormalities through NBE will lead to the improvement of systemic functions such as immunity, blood pressure, energy, depression, insomnia, etc. In a separate paper, the author will explain the mechanisms of NBE treatment for systemic diseases.

CONCLUSION: The validity of the energy concept of disease has been verified by the efficacy of acupuncture treatment for various diseases. This concept is further substantiated through NBE technique. The term "Neuro-BioEnergetic" is useful to explain the mechanism of this treatment. Moreover, acupuncture alone is NOT effective in dealing with most severe disorders which may be readily controlled with NBE. The author advocates combining western and eastern modalities to achieve optimal results. Future research is encouraged.