Qigong and Chronic Pain - Part 1

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Anyone who makes it through their entire lives without any form of musculoskeletal pain at some point or other are either an exemplar of health or possibly cannot feel pain at all. Musculoskeletal pain covers issues from neck and back pain to tension headaches, muscle cramps and sprains. A lot of these will be short-term injuries that heal, but there are many that can persist for months, years or even longer. Any pain lasting longer than 12 weeks is considered to be chronic pain and can persist if not treated. As an example of how common this type of pain is, CDC research showed that in a 3 month period, around 25% of Americans were experiencing lower back pain at some point. Given how susceptible we all are to these types of injuries, from a Qigong perspective we should better understand what causes them and how we can treat ourselves.

Causes - There are a few main causes of musculoskeletal pain. Some are more acute and are ones we easily recognize:

  • Broken bones

  • Joint dislocation

  • Impact damage

All of these are immediate and often involve medical treatment. Cause and treatment are easily identified. But there are also causes of musculoskeletal pain that are harder to pinpoint:

  • Bad posture

  • Stress

  • Lack or exercise

These causes have a cumulative effect and so are hard to identify. small aches can develop into more serious problems as our bodies tense up and overcompensate for any misalignments in our structure. Whichever it is, the end result will be persistent pain. So what do we do about it?

In Qigong, musculoskeletal pain all comes from the same root cause. Whether through injury, posture or tension, we have a blockage which is affecting the flow of blood and energy (Qi) to the given area. That blockage causes the pain as our body is unable to clear it. When we practice Qigong in relation to managing pain or injury, we are doing the following:

  1. Release tension in and around the affected area

  2. Stimulate the flow of blood and Qi to the injury

  3. Strengthen the area to keep the blockage from returning

Qigong exercises work to let go of tension that builds up around the site of musculoskeletal injuries as this can slow the recovery time. By then exercising the muscles, tendons, ligaments or joints, we begin to create heat and draw blood and Qi to the injury to begin repairing the damaged tissue. Finally, we strengthen the affected tissue so that it can support itself correctly and not lapse back into a closed or tense state. The specific exercises for certain injuries take time, but by understanding how to think about treating chronic pain, we begin to understand how to look at treating ourselves