Addressing “Long-COVID” with Acupuncture
By Sy Cloud, MAc, LAC, Anchorage Acupuncturist
A person that contracts COVID-19 has approximately a 50% chance of experiencing symptoms over 6 months later, according to some studies. Shortness of breath, brain fog, digestive upset, exhaustion and tachycardia (heart rate over 100 beats per minute) are some of the more common symptoms people report.
“Dysautonomia” refers to a group of medical conditions caused by problems with the autonomic nervous system, and seems to explain much of what patients are reporting from a western medical point of view. Functions like breathing, digestion and the heartbeat are controlled by the autonomic nervous system and can cause the symptoms listed above.
A Chinese Medicine Perspective
In Chinese medicine theory, external pathogens like viruses and bacteria, including COVID-19, work from the exterior to the interior, traveling from the skin, to the channels, then to the organs. If the pathogen lodges itself at the level of the organs, Zheng qi (also known as “righteous energy”) can be compromised, and patients will frequently not readily recover. Qi, whose job it is to animate, nourish and protect, can no longer provide these functions, and fatigue becomes a daily reality for the patient. Deficient qi at the level of the organs affects not only a patient’s ability to be active, but also their digestion, lung, kidney/adrenal and heart functions, as well as their ability to think clearly.
Diagnosing the Root of the Problem
With patients experiencing such a wide range of symptoms for “long-COVID,” Worsely’s Five Element differential diagnosis is an effective tool to find the core issue of the patient’s imbalance. It’s easy for a practitioner to chase symptoms that may change in severity from week to week without ever addressing the core imbalance or root of the patient’s problem. Much like a game of whack-a-mole, symptoms may improve for a short time only to reappear down the road.
Using Worsely’s differential diagnosis indicators (color, sound, odor and emotion), a Five Element acupuncturist can discern subtle imbalances in the patient and formulate a path to health that allows the patient to recover as quickly as possible.
Custom Treatments for Long-COVID Patients
Utilizing acupuncture points and potentially herbs and moxa (a dried herb applied to the skin and slowly burnt), a Five Element acupuncturist will create custom treatments for each of their patients, focusing on the levels of body, mind and spirit. After beginning treatment, patients frequently report feeling more like “themselves,” with thought clarity and energy returning, usually with a difficult-to-define general sense of wellbeing.
Long-COVID symptoms are diverse and unique to each patient, making a one-size-fits-all treatment all but impossible. A tailored approach is necessary to adjust to the specific presentation each patient comes with. Five Element acupuncture has this customization inherent in its diagnosis of a patient, making it an extremely useful tool in combating the effects of this virus.
Hope for Patients with Long-COVID
If you or a loved one are suffering from the effects of long-COVID, and would like to see if acupuncture makes a difference, please contact Natural Health Center to learn more and schedule an appointment with one of our experienced acupuncture providers.
About Sy Cloud, MAc, LAC, Anchorage Acupuncturist
Sy Cloud is an Anchorage acupuncturist at Natural Health Center, where he helps his patients using Five Element acupuncture, dietary recommendations, and herbal medicine. Learn more about Sy and his approach, or contact us to schedule an appointment.