Blog & Columns
Useful information about health and Korean medicine.
Total 207 posts
When you make a resolution every year and it fizzles out in a few days
They bought workout clothes, made a plan and even signed up — and quit within a few days. Several years like that have piled up. They come in seeing themselves as people with weak willpower. Many bring that up first in the consultation room.
When you say that once you start eating, it's hard to stop
Once they start eating, the bowl is empty in no time, and afterward they're left with regret. The next day they start their diet again, but the same thing happens. They also say hunger suddenly floods in, yet drops off sharply when they're stressed.
When your lower back keeps hurting even though you never injured it
They've never lifted anything heavy or fallen, yet their lower back aches as if it's being crushed, and rest doesn't make it better. It's not just the lower back. They also mention headaches, a stiff neck and shoulders, and even an upset stomach.
When you ask, "Is surgery my only option?"
First, we sort it out. There are clearly conditions where surgery comes first, and conditions where it doesn't. Our job is to check with you which one you're in now. We don't tell you not to have surgery. That decision is made by the doctors who perform surgery; we tell you what we can see.
When getting up in the morning is hard and your legs feel weak
If your legs are so weak that your foot drags, it's hard to lift your ankle, or there's a spot where sensation has dulled, get tested by a neurosurgeon first. When we hear "I'm scared I'll fall at work," we check right then.
When you've put up with it for years, and one day your back won't straighten
They were sitting on the floor doing something, and the moment they got up, their back locked and wouldn't straighten. They come in barely able to move on their own. When we ask, it's not that their back never hurt before.
When walking has gotten hard and you've started using a cane
If your legs are so weak that your foot drags, you're having trouble controlling your bladder or bowels, or both legs are numb at once, see a neurosurgeon before coming to us. These signs mean the pressure on the nerve has reached a different stage.
When you sit all day and your lower back hurts
They spend most of the day at a desk, and now their lower back hurts and they've even started to feel pain shooting down their leg. They can't cut down on sitting, which makes it all the more frustrating. They don't come in just to talk about their back.
When you sit at work all day and your shoulders feel heavy every afternoon
As they sit and work, the back of the neck gets as hard as stone, and by the afternoon the whole upper body feels heavy and drooping. Many also say that the exercise they started for their health made their knees ache, and now they're afraid of exercising at all.
When your shoulder makes you give up a sport you loved
Their shoulder hurts, so lifting heavy things is hard, and their knees hurt too — so one by one, they've given up the sports they enjoyed. They also say that after one session of exercise, their knees swell for days and stairs are hard. So many cut back on how often they play, and eventually stop.
When you've been told you have a damaged shoulder tendon
If the tendon is completely torn, or you suddenly couldn't lift your arm after an injury, you may need surgery. See an orthopedic doctor and get imaging first. People come to us after those checks are done. If you bring your test results, we'll explain what we can and can't do.
When you've become afraid to move your shoulder at all
The pain is one thing, but they've stopped using the shoulder altogether for fear it will hurt. Even in the treatment room, when we ask them to raise their arm, they hesitate first.