An acupuncture adventure in Harbin China.

There has been a lot to think about on this trip. As well as meeting some new lifelong friends, you cannot come on a trip like this without it changing how you view the world. I have travelled to many places in the past but in a sightseeing capacity. To see a country in a hospital and see its sick and vulnerable is to really see a country. I have learnt more about China and it's people than I ever could visiting tourist sites. We have an image in the west of China and what it is like but it's people are warm, friendly, loving of their families and welcoming of foreigners. Yes I will be glad to leave behind the squat toilets, spitting on the floor and being pushed and jostled wherever you go and even the odd unidentified object in your dinner, but I will miss the people. China is changing rapidly. It is becoming more Western and consumerism has taken over despite the government trying to slow it down. Chinese Medicine hospitals are an excellent way of treating those with less mo

We all were quite in the dark about what to expect when we got to Harbin so thought I'd write some tips for anyone who is planning to come on the trip in future years. You need to apply for a Visa F - Cultural Exchange Visa online at one of the visa centres. You then have to make an appointment at one of the centres and take your passport to get the visa. You can either pick it up after a few days or get it posted to you for an extra charge. When you go you'll also need your invitation letter from the University, a photocopy of your passport, another passport photo and the fee for the visa (the take cards). Our course ran monday to the following week thursday so flights need to get there the day before and leave the day after finishing. The university do one pick up and one drop off so as many of you as possible need to be on the same flight from Beijing. If not you have to make your own way to the University from the airport. Takes about 50 mins and is about £20 in a taxi. Roo

We have been looked after this week by our fabulous translators Chen Xin (XinXin) Ma Xiaoqing (Juli) and Cherry. These 3 girls have volunteered to look after us for 2 weeks as part of their training to become doctors. They are wonderful girls with big hearts who have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome. The three of them will go far in their careers and will make wonderful doctors. We are so grateful to them. 

Today was our last day on the wards with Professor Liu Gang, an extremely experienced Dr on Acupuncture ward one. He gave us a lecture on using the sinews for recovery after stroke. If the patient I'd able, he uses low frequency, high intensity electroacupuncture on pairs of sinews points combined with scalp acupuncture for recovery, particularly after stroke.  The patients are have MRI, ECG's. Blood tests and are treated with a combination of western drugs, herbs and acupuncture and adjunctive therapies.

Today we were on the massage ward with Professor Zhang Honkun. This ward and the style of acupuncture felt similar to the way we do things at home. Patients have a variety of MSK problems. They are massaged, have acupuncture, have fire cupping, moxa on needle, infrared lamps, herbal baths. I was fascinated that people can be in hospital for up to a month with a bad back or insomnia. However it appears Chinese employers are happy to give people time off, paid for up to a month. 

Today was an amber pollution warning in the city. You.could see it resting in the air. 

This morning we were with Professor Jin Ze on his ward and this afternoon we were in his outpatient department. He showed us the long needling and fire needle techniques that he showed us in his lecture on friday.  He treated every patient on the ward with acupuncture in an hour an a half. The patients were either post stroke with a variety of hemiplegia, dysphagia and dysphasia, cerebral haemorrhage and facial palsy. He used a combination of scalp acupuncture, body acupuncture, long needling (often 2 needles at once) and fire needling (where a special needle was put into an extremely hot flame and then used to prick the various zones of the head to stimulate movement). The treatment was done in front of the nurses station with the patients that were mobile queueing either side to see him. There was little communication and he worked solidly till all the patients were needled. They then mobilised up and down the ward for the 40 mins that their needles were left in.  The relatives seem

Today we were in the 2nd affiliated hospital of the Heilongjiang University. This hospital is in another district. We spent the day on the rehabilitation department, the morning on the ward and the afternoon with a physiotherapist on their department.  The ward was mainly for patients who had had stroke or cerebral bleed. They spend their initial period at the western hospital having thrombolysis, surgery or whatever treatment they require and are then discharged to the rehab unit. Here they have daily intensive therapy till they are recovered. In the initial stages they have acupuncture on the wards (often with electrotherapy) and then they begin.a programme of rehabilitation in the physio department. This combines treatment similar to our own in the UK but the physios also use treatments like Chiropractors/Osteopaths whilst Scalp Acupuncture needles are in stimulating the various zones of the brain. Whilst the department is to my eyes chaotic, it seems to incorporate treatment that w

The only downside of the festival is that the temperatures are low. For us it was -21deg. They can be as low as -30deg and add some wind chill and they can feel like -30deg. It all adds to the fun and excitement. My hair froze, my eyelashes froze and I have never had so many layers on....ever!!! 

Today we visited the annual 36th Snow and Ice Festival which is the biggest in the world. It attracts 18 million visitors in the month that it runs, this year starting on the 5th Jan. It has 4 different sites which include Sun Island Snow Sculptures, Ice & Snow world, Songhua River Snow and Ice Valley and Zhaolin Park Ice Lantern Fair. First we visited the Sun island snow sculptures which features a park full of enormous snow sculptures which vary in size. They include castles, faces and animals and there is a variety of ice slides and fun things to do.  We then visited Ice and Snow world (better visited when it goes dark). This consists of massive structures out of ice blocks that are taken from the frozen surface of the Songhua river and constructed into massive structures. When it gets dark they use lights to light them up. The effect is like Blackpool on Acid and is probably one of the most unreal experiences I have ever had.  A day I will never, ever forget. 

In China, it takes 5 years to train to become a doctor of chinese medicine but then they do a further 3 years training for an MSc or PhD where they specialise in the area they are interested in. They learn a combination of western medicine, chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture, tui na and other adjunctive therapies and depending on the speciality they choose depends on the combination they use. For example dermatology uses more herbs and cupping, neurology uses more acupuncture and pain uses more tui na massage, moxa, gua sha and acupuncture. 

We had a lecture with Professor Jin Ze about long needling. He uses up to 25cm (yes really!!!!) needles, threaded along a number of points to treat pain. We will be with him in clinic on tuesday to see this in action. He used 4 cun needles on one of our colleagues Mandy on the left shoulder to treat her right shoulder pain (possibly small fracture, possibly tendon damage). Her range of movement increased significantly while the needles were in. 

Today we were in the ophthalmology department with Professor Sun He. She saw a range of conditions including this lady with glaucoma whose pressures had significantly reduced using acupuncture. We also saw patients with maculopathy, retinal infarction and granulomas who received a combination of acupuncture and herbs.

This afternoon we were in the dermatology outpatients clinic. In a small room about. As someone who used to work on ENT outpatients it is very interesting to see the quite major differences. In a 3mx3m consulting room there were 20 people (very hot and not much oxygen) which included a patient and 2 relatives, a consultant, 5 overseas students (us) and 11 medical students. The Chinese seem very used to this and don't really bat an eyelid! It made me think about how indulgent we are in the UK and how obsessed we are with privacy, personal space and dignity. With 1 billion people, the Chinese can't afford to have these luxuries. For them medicine is a necessity where they are on a conveyor belt. They just get on with it. Maybe if we didn't have these demands our outpatient clinics wouldn't be so chocca block. Our egos demand so much attention in the west. 

This morning we were with Professor Shi in the neurology clinic. We had a long discussion on the treatment of stroke. In China, the patients attend a western hospital for initial treatment and then after a couple of weeks begin acupuncture treatment. The results and improvement to play, weakness, dysphagia and dysphagia are dramatic when it is used so close to the stroke. So many times in the UK we see patients a year or more after their stroke when it is so much more difficult to treat. Professor Shi uses a combination of scalp and body acupuncture to improve motor and sensory function. He encouraged us to go home and spread the word about this important treatment. He also saw patients with facial palsy, insomnia, peripheral neuropathy, tinnitus and interestingly OCD. In the UK OCD is always put with psychiatric illness where he sees it as more of a neurological issue.

Deep fried tarantula, scorpion, giant wasp or grasshopper anyone?

This evening we had a visit to the tourist district of Russia St. Built surprisingly by....the Russians. Lots of ice sculptures, night food markets, restaurants and tourists!

The temperature had dropped massively today. -19deg....it is biting....can really feel how cold penetrates!

Mandy having tui na massage for her fractured head of humerus 

Today we had a tour around the preventative medicine department. On the twelfth floor. This is a very tranquil department that felt more like our own practice at home. This department works with acupuncture, tui na and adjunctive therapies to try and prevent disease occurring. We saw patients receiving tui na massage for various MSK problems. We saw the therapist who inserts cat gut into acupoints if they cannot visit on a daily basis.  We also visited the paediatric room and saw a 2 1/2 month old baby having tui na on its neck for SCM shortening. We spend  lot of time worrying about baby's heads in the UK. I don't think I will ever worry again after seeing this baby almost have its head twisted off!! It wasn't happy! Mind you the poor mum having 13 observers with no consent! We then went to the preventative medicine outpatients clinic where they are given a lot of lifestyle advice. They have to fill in a form of 60 symptom questions and then it the answers are fed into a c

Burning needles to help with hearing loss

Bleeding cupping for shingles pain

This lady had tinnitus. A needle was inserted deeply (about 1 - 1 1/2 cun) into SI 19 and SJ 17 directed towards each other. Dr Jin  used a tuning fork before and afterwards and the patients tinnitus improved significantly. 

This patients had vitamin B12 injected directly into acupuncture points of the face for nourishment and to help facial paralysis.

Floating needle technique involves inserting a needle and cannula into the large intestine channel of the arm and then moving it vigorously to move the qi in the channel. The patient visibly had more movement (particularly abduction and flexion) immediately after treatment. 

Gua sha moves the blood & circulation in the area of pain. Areas of petichiae appear in the area that the blood flow is weakest. A tool is used to scrape the area and cause redness. It feels very pleasant. 

Facial paralysis is very common in Harbin due to the extremely cold winters. One of the treatments is using electroacupuncturists. Dr Jin used some copper handled needles with a circle on the end and then threaded another needle through the circle to create pressure on the needle.

This morning we were with Professor Jin on the inpatient ward in the brand new building of the first affiliated hospital of the Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine. This building has only been open here for a year. Patients have daily acupuncture and are an in patient if they cannot have daily outpatient treatment because their condition is too severe (e.g. stroke or rehabilitation) or they live too far away to come in every day. Some of the treatments they have are fascinating and some are nothing but toe curling! Us westerners wouldn't be able to stand some of them....the Chinese don't even flinch! We had a session on ear acupuncture and a demonstration on inserting small cat gut threads into acupuncture points to stimulate them to aid weight loss.