Beginning of spring, the first of the 24 solar terms, is the beginning of a new year. The beginning of spring heralds the beginning of the revival of everything. In this season, plants and animals feel that the sun is getting warmer and wetter. The branches are soft and the animals are active. People's body and emotions change unconsciously, which is the expression of "the correspondence between man and nature" in the theory of traditional Chinese medicine.
First, we must get up early to exercise: "Huangdi Neijing": "The spring of March is called Chen Zhisheng, the world is born, and everything is glorious. We lie down at night, get up early, stride around the stadium, slow down and let our ambitions grow ... this spring should be the way to keep fit. On the contrary, it hurts the liver ... ". In spring, everything in nature has yang. Proper exercise can mobilize the yang of the human body, make the qi flow upward and outward, make the qi flow smoothly, and relieve the yang, which is conducive to promoting the essence and blood sealed in winter to reach the meridians of the limbs and improve the joint function of the limbs. We have all heard that "a year's plan lies in spring, and a day's plan lies in the morning". In fact, this sentence not only expresses the meaning of encouraging people to work hard. It is also pointed out that the selection time of spring exercise should be different from that of winter: it is recommended to exercise in the morning in spring. After the sun rises, although the temperature is still low, it is different from the biting cold in winter. The sunshine in spring is full of yang. As long as you take appropriate measures to keep warm, you will feel the feeling of "warm spring in bloom". At this time, the human body is more likely to absorb the essence and yang of nature. Therefore, try not to sleep late this season. I suggest you wake up as soon as possible after getting up, and do some similar stretching actions, such as "Raise your hand to support the triple energizer" and "open your bow left and right like a vulture" in Baduan Jinli. These two movements are beneficial to the expression of human qi and the stretching of tendons. Meridian can nourish qi and blood, so it is resilient and powerful. It is very suitable for friends suffering from cervical spondylosis, shoulder and back myofascitis and lumbar muscle strain pain. In the morning, you can do a few simple actions while waiting for the bus and elevator, and you can feel the strong stretching of your spine and limbs, which is refreshing. If you have more time, you can do something you can, such as jogging, cycling, hanging the horizontal bar and leg press stretching your muscles and joints, which can make you full of energy all day.
Second, we must have a stable mood: the liver governs the discharge, likes the tone, and hates depression. In this season, people will have obvious mood swings. Friends with hyperthyroidism, liver disease, hypertension and other problems should pay more attention to the fact that the constitution accompanying these diseases is often insufficient liver yin. In this season, you are impatient and irritable, so you can eat some fruits and vegetables with plenty of water. On the other hand, don't hide unhappy things in your heart, don't say them, and don't express them. These unhappy and depressed emotions will be suppressed in the body, which will lead to qi stagnation and liver disorder. In severe cases, it may lead to liver depression and qi stagnation, endogenous phlegm, and prone to neuroma and osteoma. Here, we recommend some scientific and reasonable methods to vent, guide and adjust these emotions, such as sweating, shouting and singing, breathing with qigong, pouring out expressions to express liver qi and unblocking qi.
Third, spring should be sheltered from the wind: among the six evils of nature, "wind, cold, summer, dampness and dry fire", spring is the most prosperous evil, and wind is the length of all diseases, which is easy to attack by the opening and closing of the human body in spring. "The wind is changeable", "easy to attack the yang position" and "the head is the meeting of all yang", and the gallbladder meridian runs on the head, face, ear and behind the ear; The liver meridian runs in the ankle; The head, face, knees, ankles and other parts are often vulnerable because of their thin muscles and relatively weak qi and blood. "Spring covers and autumn freezes", paying special attention to covering the head, face, knees and ankles. For friends with cervical spondylosis, headache, dizziness, hepatitis, knee osteoarthritis and knee pain, we should pay more attention to "spring covering". Don't take off your winter clothes just because the temperature rises temporarily in spring, because the temperature is still low in the morning and evening. When the temperature drops suddenly, more attention should be paid to adding clothes to keep warm, especially the head, face, neck, knees and ankles.
Fourth, we should eat a reasonable diet: it is recommended to eat as little as possible too sour food, such as dark plum, wild jujube, sauerkraut, vinegar and so on. Because of acidity, it is not conducive to the performance of liver qi. You can eat some properly germinated foods, such as leeks, bean sprouts, onions, garlic and so on. You can also choose some beef, mutton, peppers and other foods. But to avoid pepper and alcohol, it is easy to get angry. I would like to remind friends with skin itching, rash desquamation, hepatitis and other diseases to follow the advice of specialists to prevent the recurrence of skin diseases and liver diseases.
In addition to the above reminders and suggestions, in clinical work, the orthopedic surgeons of Oriental Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine also summed up some experiences, sharing commonly used Chinese medicines and simple and easy methods: 1, acupoint tendon adjustment, massage guidance: point opening, Taichong point and Fengchi point; Comb your hair with five fingers and rub your palms on both sides. It can promote the circulation of qi, relieve depression, dredge qi and blood, and reach Yang Qi. 2. Use some common Chinese medicines instead of tea or soak them for external use. Such as chrysanthemum, rose, dried tangerine peel and a small amount of cassia twig instead of tea, can play the role of soothing the liver and regulating qi, relieving depression and relieving annoyance. You can also use Lycopodium, Spatholobus Spatholobus and Ramulus Cinnamomi to decoct in a proper amount, wash joints with medicinal soup or soak feet in foot bath, which can relax muscles and promote blood circulation and dredge joints.
When preparing to enter the spring, we must adapt our body to the climate characteristics of spring, protect the liver by using the yang in spring, stimulate the vitality of the five internal organs, strengthen the muscles and bones, warm the joints, and smooth the qi and pulse. Let the body have a good state all the year round in the new year that has just begun.
Text/Han Liang, Attending Physician of Orthopaedics, Oriental Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine