Feeling stiff in the neck and back, and experiencing lower back pain? The "old cold legs" that usually occur in winter are now bothering you in summer too? Summer is a peak period for neck, shoulder, waist, and leg pain, and the culprit is the air conditioning. So what should we do when we experience shoulder pain from air conditioning?
Why does air conditioning cause neck, shoulder, waist, and leg pain?
Western medicine perspective: pain caused by blood vessel and muscle contraction
From a modern medical perspective, during the hot summer, the patient's body temperature is higher after outdoor activities, causing the skin's blood vessels to dilate. When entering an air-conditioned room with a sudden drop in temperature, the skin's sweating function becomes imbalanced, resulting in reduced sweating and the retention of metabolic waste inside the body.
Moreover, there may be poor blood circulation in the painful or affected area. Once exposed to cold, the skin's blood vessels contract sharply, affecting local blood circulation, nervous system function, and leading to the retention of waste inside the body, thus triggering lower back pain, muscle swelling, and stiffness.
Not only blood vessels, but muscles also contract and expand due to temperature changes. When exposed to cold, muscles tense up and contract, causing pain. Even without exposure to cold, muscles that are in a tense and contracted state for a long time can also cause pain. Pain, in turn, causes muscle tension and contraction, further intensifying the pain. This creates a vicious cycle.
Traditional Chinese medicine perspective: coldness causing contraction and blockage of meridians, leading to pain
From a traditional Chinese medicine perspective, this is related to coldness. Traditional Chinese medicine believes in the unity of nature and humans. Throughout the four seasons, there is a proper order of coldness and warmth, and each person's body condition also changes with the climate.
Summer is the time when yang energy flourishes. The body's yang energy rises and expands. However, when the air conditioning is turned on, the cold air comes in, and our body's yang energy cannot disperse, contradicting the natural order. Traditional Chinese medicine calls this blockage of the skin's pores, preventing sweating. Therefore, even when we are in an air-conditioned room, we don't sweat.
How to treat and alleviate the pain
For mild pain, apply heat to the affected area
Traditional Chinese medicine treatment is also simple and direct. If neck, shoulder, waist, and leg pain is caused by coldness, it is treated by warming, dispelling coldness, promoting meridian flow, and reducing pain. The most direct and simple method is to apply heat to the affected area. There is no need to pay special attention to specific acupoints.
Method: For example, for neck pain, you can use a hot water bag wrapped in two layers of towels with a temperature of 80-90 degrees Celsius, and apply it to the neck for heat therapy.
Note: It is important to note that applying heat will definitely provide temporary relief, but for some patients, the pain may return after the heat therapy. This is because the cold pathogen is too strong, the affected area is too deep, and the symptoms are severe. In such cases, it is recommended to consult a professional doctor for faster and more effective treatment.
Massage the neck regularly to relieve pain
At home, you can also massage the affected area to relieve pain.
Generally, the pain caused by air conditioning mainly affects two areas: the cervical spine and the lower back.
Method: For the cervical spine, you can use your fingers to gently move the muscles on both sides of the neck, specifically the upper trapezius muscle. It is important to move horizontally.
For the lower back, you can tap, knead, and massage the area where the pain is located, and also around the surrounding areas.
It is important to note that these massage techniques are only simple auxiliary treatments.
Scraping therapy for shoulder and neck pain while sitting
First,
apply scraping oil evenly to the neck. Then use a scraping board to rub the skin until a warm sensation is produced. The person receiving the scraping therapy must remain relaxed.
Next,
start scraping from the middle of the neck. Use a buffalo horn scraping board and scrape from the Fengfu acupoint on the upper neck down to the Taodao acupoint below the first thoracic vertebra. From the sides of the Yaomen acupoint, scrape down to the Fengmen acupoint. The scraping board should be held at a 45-degree angle and applied uniformly and consistently, gradually increasing the pressure from light to moderate. During the entire scraping process, the scraping board should exert a penetrating force into the skin, and each scraping stroke should be repeated 15-30 times.
Finally,
scrape from the bilateral Fengchi acupoints to the Jianjing acupoints, using pressing and kneading techniques. For the neck, use a light scraping technique and scrape 15-30 times.
Patting the arms to relieve shoulder and neck pain
The Small Intestine meridian of the Hand Taiyang is one of the twelve meridians in the human body. Its main branch originates from the ulnar side of the little finger, passes through the palm and inner side of the forearm, goes around the shoulder blade, turns forward to the supraclavicular fossa, and deepens into the body cavity, descending to the Small Intestine. In addition, it also branches into the eyes and ears. This meridian is mainly used to treat ophthalmic diseases, as well as diarrhea, abdominal distension, and shoulder and neck pain. For sedentary individuals, patting along the arm to the shoulder can relieve shoulder and back soreness and stiffness. In daily health care, the Houxi acupoint and Yanglao acupoint are particularly important.
Prevention is the best method to prevent shoulder and neck pain
Especially for white-collar workers who sit in front of a computer for a long time, when working in an air-conditioned room, it is important not to maintain a fixed posture for a long time. Stand up and move your joints, such as the cervical spine, lumbar spine, and shoulder joints, every 40 minutes to 1 hour. This is the simplest and most effective preventive method.
1. Minimize the use of air conditioning.
2. Set the temperature of the air conditioning to a higher level, such as 26 degrees Celsius or above.
3. When using air conditioning, do not let the cold air blow directly onto the body.
4. Ensure a certain amount of exercise to enhance physical fitness.
