Acupuncture For Cold Hands and Feet

By Y.C. Chan, OMD, Dipl Ac

Hands and feet are among our hardest working and most visible parts of our body. Keeping them strong, healthy and attractive is an important healthcare issue. Many people have cold hands and feet. Most people do not complain and feel they have no reason to worry. Cold extremities are actually common.

According to conventional medicine, cold hands and feet can be the result of one or more underlying conditions. The first condition could be an overactive nervous system. During times of severe stress, the body conserves its resources by channeling blood flow away from extremities, and forward to the vital organs, therefore helping reduce the high level of stress. The second cause may be a physical intolerance to cold often combined with poor circulation and lack of exercise. A third reason could be Raynaud's syndrome, a less common condition that affects blood vessels in the extremities, particularly the fingers and the toes. These conditions all occur more significantly in women.

According to Chinese medicine, cold and heat are an elementary concept. Cold and heat can refer not only to the patient's symptoms, but also to the causes of factors that created the disease. The Chinese medicine practitioner treats the patient as a whole system, not only for symptom relief.

If healthy people have cold hands and cold feet, an accurate diagnosis must be made prior to Chinese medicine treatment. Some people wear far-infrared fiber socks in the winter to keep their feet warm. The socks work by reflecting the body's heat back to the body. They may improve the body's circulation temporarily, but their feet still remain cold when they stop using the product.

Acupuncture may have the ability to treat cold hands and feet. Regardless of the cause if the correct meridians (points) are stimulated properly, some patients may get satisfactory results. In acupuncture it is believed that acupuncture meridians have connection with the vital organs, muscle nerves, as well as blocked vessels. Clinical records have shown that some patient's cold hands and feet got warmer after acupuncture for back pain, headaches, arthritis, insomnia, as well as smoking cessation. However, the practitioner cannot promise nor guarantee results for any diseases or illnesses.