October 7, 2025 • 28 mins
Think your “sinus headache,” tight hamstring, or random insomnia is unrelated to your head? We trace surprising symptom chains back to the nervous system and show how hidden concussions often sit at the center of stubborn pain, sleep issues, tinnitus, and gut flare‑ups. With returning guest Dr. Clayton Shiu, we unpack real cases where elbow or knee pain turned out to be brain-driven—and why delayed symptoms after a fall or car crash are more physiology than mystery.
We walk through the moment-to-moment clues that shift a diagnosis: eyes that won’t track smoothly at check‑in, speech that slips into transient aphasia, a neck moving like a bobblehead, or balance that subtly lags on stairs. You’ll hear how adrenaline masks pain for days, why the autonomic system can scramble circadian rhythms, and how vestibular-ocular issues make braking at a stoplight feel like your body keeps going. Then we get practical: document every accident even if you feel “fine,” recognize the pattern when “allergies” don’t behave like allergies, and understand when rehab stalls because the system—not just the sore part—needs care.
If you’re stuck chasing symptoms, this conversation offers a new map: test what matters, treat the mechanism, and let the nervous system lead your plan. Subscribe, share this episode with someone who needs clarity, and leave a review to help others find their path forward.
Dr. Clayton Shiu Instagram: @jadeshaman, @the_shiu_clinic
Clinic Website
Get 20% off your first order of Puori protein with code LIFEAFTERIMPACT by following this link.
Dr. Wolf's book Concussion Breakthrough: Discover the Missing Pieces of Concussion Recovery is now available on Amazon!
What topics do you want to hear more about? What questions do you have? Email us at lifeafterimpact@gmail.com
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Website: lifeafterimpact.com
Medical disclaimer: this video or podcast is for general informational purposes only, and does not constitute the practice of medicine or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advice. No doctor patient relationship is formed. The use of this information and materials included is at the user's own risk. The content of this video or podcast is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice diagnosis or treatment. Consumers of this information should seek the advice of a medical professional for any and all health related issues.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Someone may feel like their allergies are acting
up or they have sinusitis, youknow, but that same pressure
area could be related to like aconcussion-like headache, too.
SPEAKER_00 (00:12):
Welcome to Life After Impact, the concussion
recovery podcast.
I'm Dr.
Ayla Wolf, and I'll be hostingtoday's episode where we help
you navigate the oftenconfusing, frustrating, and
overwhelming journey ofconcussion and brain injury
recovery.
This podcast is your go-toresource for actionable
information, whether you'redealing with a recent
(00:33):
concussion, struggling withpost-concussion syndrome, or
just feeling stuck in yourhealing process.
In each episode, we dive deepinto the symptoms, testing,
treatments, and neurologicalinsights that can help you move
forward with clarity andconfidence.
We bring you leading experts inthe world of brain health,
functional neurology, andrehabilitation to share their
(00:55):
wisdom and strategies.
So if you're feeling lost,hopeless, or like no one
understands what you're goingthrough, know that you are not
alone.
This podcast can be your guideand partner in recovery, helping
you build a better life afterimpact.
(01:17):
Hello there.
Dr.
Clayton Shu, welcome back toLife After Impact.
How are you today?
SPEAKER_01 (01:25):
I'm feeling good.
I'm so honored to be the firstuh guest to return to your
podcast.
I I think um I should get aspecial t-shirt or some kind of
button or something.
SPEAKER_00 (01:40):
All right, I'll work on the swag.
A mug.
I'll I'll send you a coffee mug.
How about that?
SPEAKER_01 (01:47):
A beige or blue mug would be fine.
SPEAKER_00 (01:50):
All right.
Well, so today we were gonnatackle a certain topic, which is
that many people, when they haveconcussions, they don't
necessarily seek out acupunctureor Chinese medicine as their
first or their second or eventheir third kind of uh, you
know, healthcare practitioner.
And so we are in an interestingposition where uh A, when people
(02:15):
come to see us uh forconcussions, we're we're
sometimes kind of the end of theroad.
Like we're like the last hope,right?
But then we've also, because wespecialize in concussions, we
see a different side of thecoin, which is that some
patients come to us with thingslike neck pain or maybe even a
(02:35):
hamstring injury or uh GIsymptoms, gastrointestinal
symptoms.
And when they walk into ouroffice seeking help for those
types of things, when weactually just observe some
aspects of how they're they'refunctioning, we start to clue in
on maybe there's something elsegoing on.
(02:56):
And then when we do get, youknow, start asking more
questions, we realize, oh wow,this this person has had a
concussion or maybe more thanone.
And we recognize that that mightactually be driving some of
these other symptoms that theydidn't even put two and two
together.
So um you've had a couple ofinteresting kind of situations
like that recently.
SPEAKER_01 (03:16):
Yeah, I think it's quite common actually, what
you're what you're uh portrayingum, and that a lot of patients
they for some reason forget theyeven had a concussion or
suffered from a concussion fromeven two weeks or a month ago.
Um and we, you know, forinstance, one person um she came
(03:40):
in and she was complaining aboutlike elbow pain.
Um, but as she was signingherself in to the office visit,
her neck looked like abobblehead moving back and
forth, back and forth.
And the person actually, itwasn't until halfway through our
initial interview process thatshe remembers that she did hit
(04:04):
her head at the airport on astairwell.
But for some reason, concussionpeople tend to like kind of like
let it go or bury it orcompartmentalize that something
happened.
You know, they brush themselvesoff and they want to get going
and get to what they have to do.
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (04:22):
There, I mean, there are times when somebody gets a
concussion and they they can'tjust walk it off.
They've got a lot of immediatesymptoms, but you're right,
there are there are some peoplewho get a concussion and they
are able to kind of in themoment continue on with what
they're doing and then not evenrecognize the severity of what
just happened.
SPEAKER_01 (04:43):
Right, exactly, exactly.
So it, you know, it takes us amoment to, even though they're
coming in for one thing, to thenguide the patient towards
thinking about how they've beenum moving through life the last
couple days, and try to pointout that, okay, well, this is a
(05:05):
little abnormal for you, or youknow, this took longer than
expected, or you know, maybemaybe your balance should be
better going, you know, up anddown stairs or walking down the
hallway and you know, stuff likethat.
Um, but yeah, that was that wasum that was just one example.
Another example I had someonewho had um who had uh like a
(05:29):
like a pulled hamstring, or shethought she had a pulled
hamstring, you know, butactually like her sacrum and her
neck were super tight.
And then um it was actuallybecause she she also had a
concussion.
Um, but she was riding a horse.
Um, and equestrians tend to ridea horse and that horse stance on
the saddle, you know, whichmakes them engage um the sciatic
(05:52):
nerve pathway with all thosemuscles.
And then she got flu she gotthrown off the horse and she hit
her head, you know.
So she her leg hurt a lot, butshe just wasn't paying attention
to the concussion symptoms.
Um and her um, you could tellthat her eyes uh were not
behaving well, they weren'ttracking well.
Another interesting one was thisperson who also had knee pain,
(06:16):
but it took her like 10-15minutes just to book the
session.
And then when she came in, shekept saying different words, you
know, and everyone, I don't knowwhy, but everyone had kind of
ignored it, and then her husbanddidn't say anything, and and we
were like, let's check yourneck, and oh, there's a little
bump here, you know, to the leftside of your head, and we were
(06:37):
like, We think you had aconcussion, and like you're
getting like a little bit oflike speech aphasia right now,
too, you know.
She was even going to physicaltherapy getting her knee
treated, but no one just pointedout that okay, you may be having
some central nervous systemissues and some vocal issues.
SPEAKER_00 (06:58):
So she had fallen and injured her knee, and quite
a while, like there's quite abit of time that had passed, but
while she was doing all thisknee rehab and she had developed
the speech aphasia, but nonobody was shedding a light on
that.
The way so yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:16):
She was she even didn't believe us as we were
trying to explain it to her.
SPEAKER_00 (07:21):
This this hadn't been there before the fall?
SPEAKER_01 (07:23):
No, it wasn't there before the fall.
So so that was that was a prettyinteresting one, you know.
So so uh it's kind ofinteresting how because a lot of
times what happens withconcussions or even someone
that's in a car accident, right?
Um like even symptoms likewhiplash and headaches can
appear one week later, right?
(07:44):
That's very common.
Like most people get up from anaccident, they're like, Yeah, it
was perfectly fine, and nothingwas wrong.
And a week or two later, youknow, they're they're getting
migraine headaches, right?
And migraine headaches can besomething that can be confused
too.
SPEAKER_00 (08:01):
Well, and I think especially with car accidents or
falls, people's adrenaline goesway up.
And because their adrenaline ishigh, they don't feel pain in
the moment.
And it can take a while for thatadrenaline to calm back down,
and then all of a sudden, yeah,it's like three days later, oh
wow, my neck really hurts, myhead really hurts, or you know,
all these injuries kind of riseto the surface, which honestly
(08:24):
is why a just public serviceannouncement, like if somebody
gets in a car accident, um theyshould always get the other
person's information and notjust say, Oh yeah, I'm fine, you
know, because if you then ifsomeone then documents that you
say you're fine, but then threedays later, all of a sudden your
pain flares up, you know, thenall of a sudden it's like that
(08:47):
this turns into a big argument,right?
Over, well, no, you said youwere fine.
Honestly, I think when I turned16, my dad said that to me.
He's like, Hey, if you get in acar accident, don't don't ever
just say you're fine and driveaway.
Like, you know, and admit admitnothing.
Good advice.
It is good, it is good advice.
Thanks, Dad.
SPEAKER_01 (09:10):
That's very funny.
Yeah, definitely gotta get theum the insurance policy number
and the driver's license.
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
The license plate.
SPEAKER_00 (09:19):
Well, you know, one of my concussions happened when
I was mountain biking, and I hadbeen mountain biking on this
really long nine-mile screamingdownhill trail that's just an
absolute thrill ride the wholeway down.
And so, yeah, my adrenaline wassuper high.
And at the very end, I I wipedout and I hit the I hit the
(09:42):
ground hard and definitelywhiplash, concussion, and I
didn't feel anything.
I didn't feel any pain becausemy adrenaline was so high.
And so I didn't realize that Ihad had a concussion, but I
definitely got back on my bike.
And then a little bit later, Icome around a corner and there's
a bear in the middle of thetrail eating like raspberries.
(10:05):
But and I think I was sodisoriented that I was just kind
of like, oh, look, a bear.
I just I just kind of keptriding, right?
I mean, okay.
I know I was kind of like moreexcited about the bear and just
also maybe a little disorientedthat uh I was going so fast and
I didn't even like react to thefact that this bear was like on
(10:27):
the trail.
Like, oh, let me just outrunthis bear real quick.
SPEAKER_01 (10:31):
Maybe that's an example where the concussion may
have worked to your advantage.
It kept you calm.
Exactly.
You're in a like a catatonicstate.
Oh man.
SPEAKER_00 (10:44):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (10:45):
Wow, that's intense.
I didn't know that.
I never heard that story.
It all happens so fast.
So yeah, I think I think alsolike a lot of cases of insomnia.
Yeah, right.
Um, a lot of patients, we'reseeing a lot more insomnia cases
in general across the country.
I think it's a it's a biggerproblem.
(11:06):
But like the other symptoms thatappear later, like insomnia can
be related to a concussion aswell.
So and that's because of the uhthe dish, it's one of the
dysautonomias that may occur,correct?
With uh a sequili ofpost-concussion.
SPEAKER_00 (11:27):
Yeah, I mean part of part of the autonomic nervous
system is to help regulatecircadian rhythms.
So when that is affected, thatcan definitely throw off sleep
cycles.
SPEAKER_01 (11:37):
Yeah, exactly.
So so I think um I think that'spretty interesting too because a
lot of it it would change alsothe herbal approach to treating
that kind of case as well.
Instead of using all thesecalming, sedating kind of herbs,
(11:59):
you know, we might want toactually get more circulation
through the area too.
SPEAKER_00 (12:03):
So well, and I think that's the beauty of Chinese
medicine or especiallyspecifically the herbal
component of it, is that youcould have 10 people with
insomnia, but they might all get10 different herbal formulas
based on what else is going on.
Um, and uh I know you use a lotof herbs in your in your clinic
(12:23):
and with your patients.
So, do you want to talk a littlebit about some of your approach?
Because I know you've um you'vementioned different formulas
that you use that are like maybetraditionally used for sinus
issues, but they actually workvery well for headaches.
SPEAKER_01 (13:50):
Yeah.
So because there's so manysinuses in the head that like
it's pretty interesting withwith um concussions, like there
can be like sinus blockages thatappear.
Someone may feel like theirallergies are acting up or they
have sinusitis, you know, butthat same pressure area could be
(14:13):
related to like a concussionlike headache, too.
And then the funny thing, thefunny thing is that the herbal
formula, like one of the mostfamous um herbal formulas for
headaches, is actually all sinusclearing herb, herbal flowers
and plants and stuff.
So the idea that phlegm andblockage can block the sinuses,
(14:38):
create headaches, or in both aconcussion and with like an
allergy presentation is ispretty interesting.
So we that's where like ourexpertise comes in, and we have
to tease through, right?
Like what's in what category andwhat's in another category, and
then and then like sometimeswhat I'll do is I'll mix that
(15:02):
classic sinus herbal headacheformula with like other other
like liver, liver movingformulas too, or blood-moving
formulas that we call it inChinese medicine, which which
helps promote healthier bloodflow, which which is kind of the
name of the game in in medicinetoday.
(15:23):
I think I think almosteverything I I look at, whether
it's red light therapy, youknow, or PEMF or stem cell or
PRP injection, everyone's uhhijacking the whole precept of
Chinese medicine, which is wherethere's where there is no
blockage and flow, there's nodisease, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (15:45):
Right.
Right.
We we were the OG experts oncirculation.
SPEAKER_01 (15:50):
Yeah, that was like a 4,000-year-old poetic comment.
They they teach us that like inthe first semester of Chinese
medicine school.
Now you have like the highest,most sophisticated uh you know
equipment.
They're like, and they justsimply say, well, it's going
where it's needed, and there'sgonna be healthy blood flow
there, you know, and and I thinkthat's what exactly what our
(16:15):
medicine is really great atbecause we don't need a a huge
pencil thick needle, we we uselike micro fine instruments that
are sterile, disposable, they'reused once because we're because
this is the right century forthat.
But um yeah, and so it can be itcan be very precise and very
(16:37):
elegant a treatment.
And it doesn't feel anythinglike dry needling or sports
medicine like acupuncturebecause you're not trying to
loosen up a tendon or somethinglike that.
Like what we deal with is tryingto stimulate the nervous system,
(16:58):
the neurotissue.
Yeah, I think it takes a lotmore precision to actually
differentiate what a trueconcussion symptom is from a
regular symptom, but then alsoto figure out like, okay, what
modalities are we gonna use andwhat percentage and what
combination.
Um but the first thing is issomething that um AI and no
(17:25):
other equipment can teach you.
It's just that first interactionwith the patient that susses out
like whether or not thisperson's suffering from a
concussion, or you have to be aliving doctor or practitioner to
do that and to get thatinformation started, you know,
and that's that's uh that's whywe'll never work from an island
(17:49):
now.
Yeah, we gotta physically showup every day.
I know, I know.
That's why you and I are coffeefreaks and you have a coffee uh
sponsor, right?
But yeah, so it's pretty it'spretty interesting.
Actually, I when I figure outsomeone's got a concussion or a
(18:11):
neurological issue ormulti-system issue or even
Parkinson's or you know what Imean, like something like that.
Like, because some people cancome in, right, and they think
they have an essential tremor,but they don't have an essential
tremor.
Again, they had the concussionand the nerve entrapment was
(18:33):
spreading down, and but anotherdoctor might have thought they
had essential tremor orParkinson's, and we're just
like, no, wait a second, let'slet's look through this because
when someone has an essentialtremor, for instance, or in
general Parkinson's, they don'tnecessarily have these other
types of symptoms that comeswith concussion, they don't
(18:55):
necessarily get these other,like, you know, complete loss of
balance all of a sudden, like itlike affects.
And you know, I've never heardof Parkinson's patient say,
Well, when I stopped and brakedin my car, my body kept going
forward.
Like, yeah, yeah, you know whatI mean?
These are vestibular ocularmotor issues that you know that
(19:16):
we discuss, but it's notsomething related to like
Parkinson's or ALS or et cetera,et cetera.
SPEAKER_00 (19:24):
No, I've definitely heard of cases where people are
kind of misdiagnosed as havingParkinson's at, you know, in
their 50s.
And then it turns out like,well, no, wait a minute, you
actually had a concussion, andit's a completely different
mechanism causing this tremorthat came on rather suddenly.
So I it's interesting because wewe obviously live in a day and
(19:46):
age where we now have access touh chat GPT and and all these
AIs, but then also just peoplesearching on the internet trying
to self-diagnose.
And so time and time again, I amgetting more and more people
coming in saying things like,oh, I think I have dysautonomia,
or I think I have POTS, or Ithink I have uh, you know, this
(20:10):
or that, or my vagus nerve isn'tworking.
And so I think we are now in aday and age where it's so
important that we do have all ofthis testing that we can do to
shed some light and some clarityon what people are experiencing,
like how their nervous systemsare actually functioning.
Because I've had people who havesaid, Oh, I think I have pots,
(20:32):
and I run them through a lot ofautonomic tests, and there's
there's no sign at all that theyhave pots.
Um, but there's other signs thatother things are going on.
And so I do think that peopleare very curious.
They want they want to get tothe bottom of what's happening.
So that curiosity is great, butit people are also coming in
with sometimes preconceivednotions of what they think is
(20:55):
going on, and uh, you know, alsostill looking for further
clarification.
SPEAKER_01 (21:02):
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, and just to add likeanother different kind of
symptom besides pain, but youknow, someone could come in for
irritable bowels or um gastricissues or like acid reflux and
you know, this or that.
And there's some patients, youknow, we're trying to, we were,
we noticed they're on fight orflight mode, and there's that
(21:25):
strong pulse in the stomach, youknow, abdominal artery, and this
and that.
And and then even though we'regiving them the digestive
treatment, it's not gettingbetter.
So instead, when we switchgears, um, you know, and we and
we checked their their neckagain, and we went into some of
their symptoms of whether or notthey they um were I think they
(21:48):
were in a car accident and theydid hit their head, you know,
and that's when some of thesesymptoms started happening too.
SPEAKER_00 (21:54):
So so and you also have had good results treating
tinnitus too, which is supertricky and hard to to deal with.
SPEAKER_01 (22:06):
Yeah, we we've we've got our we've got a pretty good
system down.
Um it took a while to develop.
A lot of it came from how wewould start palpating the head
um and palpating the skull, likeabove the ear and then behind
the ear.
And um we we look at tinnitus,so so we actually have pretty
(22:30):
good results with it.
And a lot of ENT doctors arejust surprised that that anyone
would even say they get anyresults with tinnitus.
Um, but I find that there's liketwo different categories, in my
opinion.
Like there's there's like uh anautoimmons response to like
sugar and alcohol and stuff likethat that that can the next day
(22:53):
cause like tinnitus likesymptoms or or can cause
tinnitus.
And then there's other kindswhere there's high impact loud
noises, could be explosions,could be, could be at a rock
concert, you know.
So those are like two differentetiologies.
SPEAKER_00 (23:11):
So so you're saying like in younger people, not
necessarily somebody that'sdealing with hearing loss and
tinnitus, but perhaps somebodythat's younger that gets a
concussion, all of a sudden theyhave tinnitus.
You're seeing yeah, goodresults.
SPEAKER_01 (23:25):
Yeah, we're seeing pretty good results.
We'll we'll check around theauricular area above and around
it, and we use different pointsrelated to the two meridians
there around the sand gel andgallbladder meridians.
And we also use uh we have somepretty good herbal formulas for
that as well, which also helpsto basically like get the
(23:48):
circulation cleared through thisarea too.
SPEAKER_00 (23:52):
So when you run your fingers like through somebody's
scalp and around their ears,you're feeling specific bumps or
lines or ridges or yeah, we'refeeling different ridges that
are abnormally there.
SPEAKER_01 (24:08):
Some of them can be very large, almost like some of
them can be even half a pingpall size thick and very soft,
very movable.
Um if we feel those, then we'llwe'll suspect uh possibly like
tinnitus, um, or depending onthe location, there could be
(24:29):
some dizziness too.
So but yeah, and it's usuallypretty accurate.
Like it usually um we use it theway the way many acupuncturists
would use, like pulse readingand tongue diagnosis.
So we we do a skull palpationdiagnosis for that.
So but it just helps mefine-tune um which which
(24:52):
acupuncture points I may use toget the results and stuff.
So yeah.
And it's neat because it getsbetter too.
It actually it's malleable.
SPEAKER_00 (25:02):
Like it gets better.
You mean like the the bumpsyou're feeling on their scalp
actually go down with time inaddition to the snitis getting
better?
SPEAKER_01 (25:10):
Yeah, exactly.
When they when they start toclear up, the symptoms starts to
clear up too.
So and it can it can be betterwithin a few sessions, too.
SPEAKER_00 (25:21):
So awesome.
So where can where can peoplefind you?
SPEAKER_01 (25:27):
So I'm located in uh in Manhattan, New York, and in
the Hamptons.
Um it's uh theshoeclinic.com andwe're on Instagram.
Um my my personal Instagram iscalled Jade Shaman.
Um just a play on words, nothingnothing too heroic about that.
(25:49):
So um and we have shoe clinic onuh Instagram as well.
So but yeah, if you're evercurious, give us a call.
And um and we do we do all sortstypes of stuff.
We do wobby brain scanning, wewe have a really sophisticated
lightbed, um, and we have awhole team of experts that you
(26:12):
can work with too.
SPEAKER_00 (26:13):
So fantastic.
Well, thank you for coming backon the show and chatting with me
again about acupuncture andherbs and you're welcome.
SPEAKER_01 (26:22):
Your podcast is amazing.
My my patients who I don't eventell them, but they come in
talking about an episode ortrying to ask me questions about
it, and I have to have torebrush up and stuff.
So it's it's been great.
I think it's been a greatbenefit to all the the patients
and practitioners.
And uh, I hope you I hope youkeep going on it and keep I
(26:46):
don't know, it's amazing howmany interesting guests you
find.
And and you know, of course,none of them back twice like me,
but all right.
SPEAKER_00 (26:56):
Well, I I'll I'll send you the I'll send you that
uh the mug.
SPEAKER_01 (27:02):
Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_00 (27:03):
Yes, thank you.
Have a good night.
Until next time.
All right.
Medical disclaimer.
This video or podcast is forgeneral informational purposes
only and does not constitute thepractice of medicine or other
professional healthcareservices, including the giving
(27:25):
of medical advice.
No doctor-patient relationshipis formed.
The use of this information andmaterials included is at the
user's own risk.
The content of this video orpodcast is not intended to be a
substitute for medical advice,diagnosis, or treatment, and
consumers of this informationshould seek the advice of a
medical professional for any andall health related issues.
(27:48):
A link to our full medicaldisclaimer is available in the
notes.
Someone may feel like their allergies are acting
up or they have sinusitis, youknow, but that same pressure
area could be related to like aconcussion-like headache, too.
SPEAKER_00 (00:12):
Welcome to Life After Impact, the concussion
recovery podcast.
I'm Dr.
Ayla Wolf, and I'll be hostingtoday's episode where we help
you navigate the oftenconfusing, frustrating, and
overwhelming journey ofconcussion and brain injury
recovery.
This podcast is your go-toresource for actionable
information, whether you'redealing with a recent
(00:33):
concussion, struggling withpost-concussion syndrome, or
just feeling stuck in yourhealing process.
In each episode, we dive deepinto the symptoms, testing,
treatments, and neurologicalinsights that can help you move
forward with clarity andconfidence.
We bring you leading experts inthe world of brain health,
functional neurology, andrehabilitation to share their
(00:55):
wisdom and strategies.
So if you're feeling lost,hopeless, or like no one
understands what you're goingthrough, know that you are not
alone.
This podcast can be your guideand partner in recovery, helping
you build a better life afterimpact.
(01:17):
Hello there.
Dr.
Clayton Shu, welcome back toLife After Impact.
How are you today?
SPEAKER_01 (01:25):
I'm feeling good.
I'm so honored to be the firstuh guest to return to your
podcast.
I I think um I should get aspecial t-shirt or some kind of
button or something.
SPEAKER_00 (01:40):
All right, I'll work on the swag.
A mug.
I'll I'll send you a coffee mug.
How about that?
SPEAKER_01 (01:47):
A beige or blue mug would be fine.
SPEAKER_00 (01:50):
All right.
Well, so today we were gonnatackle a certain topic, which is
that many people, when they haveconcussions, they don't
necessarily seek out acupunctureor Chinese medicine as their
first or their second or eventheir third kind of uh, you
know, healthcare practitioner.
And so we are in an interestingposition where uh A, when people
(02:15):
come to see us uh forconcussions, we're we're
sometimes kind of the end of theroad.
Like we're like the last hope,right?
But then we've also, because wespecialize in concussions, we
see a different side of thecoin, which is that some
patients come to us with thingslike neck pain or maybe even a
(02:35):
hamstring injury or uh GIsymptoms, gastrointestinal
symptoms.
And when they walk into ouroffice seeking help for those
types of things, when weactually just observe some
aspects of how they're they'refunctioning, we start to clue in
on maybe there's something elsegoing on.
(02:56):
And then when we do get, youknow, start asking more
questions, we realize, oh wow,this this person has had a
concussion or maybe more thanone.
And we recognize that that mightactually be driving some of
these other symptoms that theydidn't even put two and two
together.
So um you've had a couple ofinteresting kind of situations
like that recently.
SPEAKER_01 (03:16):
Yeah, I think it's quite common actually, what
you're what you're uh portrayingum, and that a lot of patients
they for some reason forget theyeven had a concussion or
suffered from a concussion fromeven two weeks or a month ago.
Um and we, you know, forinstance, one person um she came
(03:40):
in and she was complaining aboutlike elbow pain.
Um, but as she was signingherself in to the office visit,
her neck looked like abobblehead moving back and
forth, back and forth.
And the person actually, itwasn't until halfway through our
initial interview process thatshe remembers that she did hit
(04:04):
her head at the airport on astairwell.
But for some reason, concussionpeople tend to like kind of like
let it go or bury it orcompartmentalize that something
happened.
You know, they brush themselvesoff and they want to get going
and get to what they have to do.
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (04:22):
There, I mean, there are times when somebody gets a
concussion and they they can'tjust walk it off.
They've got a lot of immediatesymptoms, but you're right,
there are there are some peoplewho get a concussion and they
are able to kind of in themoment continue on with what
they're doing and then not evenrecognize the severity of what
just happened.
SPEAKER_01 (04:43):
Right, exactly, exactly.
So it, you know, it takes us amoment to, even though they're
coming in for one thing, to thenguide the patient towards
thinking about how they've beenum moving through life the last
couple days, and try to pointout that, okay, well, this is a
(05:05):
little abnormal for you, or youknow, this took longer than
expected, or you know, maybemaybe your balance should be
better going, you know, up anddown stairs or walking down the
hallway and you know, stuff likethat.
Um, but yeah, that was that wasum that was just one example.
Another example I had someonewho had um who had uh like a
(05:29):
like a pulled hamstring, or shethought she had a pulled
hamstring, you know, butactually like her sacrum and her
neck were super tight.
And then um it was actuallybecause she she also had a
concussion.
Um, but she was riding a horse.
Um, and equestrians tend to ridea horse and that horse stance on
the saddle, you know, whichmakes them engage um the sciatic
(05:52):
nerve pathway with all thosemuscles.
And then she got flu she gotthrown off the horse and she hit
her head, you know.
So she her leg hurt a lot, butshe just wasn't paying attention
to the concussion symptoms.
Um and her um, you could tellthat her eyes uh were not
behaving well, they weren'ttracking well.
Another interesting one was thisperson who also had knee pain,
(06:16):
but it took her like 10-15minutes just to book the
session.
And then when she came in, shekept saying different words, you
know, and everyone, I don't knowwhy, but everyone had kind of
ignored it, and then her husbanddidn't say anything, and and we
were like, let's check yourneck, and oh, there's a little
bump here, you know, to the leftside of your head, and we were
(06:37):
like, We think you had aconcussion, and like you're
getting like a little bit oflike speech aphasia right now,
too, you know.
She was even going to physicaltherapy getting her knee
treated, but no one just pointedout that okay, you may be having
some central nervous systemissues and some vocal issues.
SPEAKER_00 (06:58):
So she had fallen and injured her knee, and quite
a while, like there's quite abit of time that had passed, but
while she was doing all thisknee rehab and she had developed
the speech aphasia, but nonobody was shedding a light on
that.
The way so yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (07:16):
She was she even didn't believe us as we were
trying to explain it to her.
SPEAKER_00 (07:21):
This this hadn't been there before the fall?
SPEAKER_01 (07:23):
No, it wasn't there before the fall.
So so that was that was a prettyinteresting one, you know.
So so uh it's kind ofinteresting how because a lot of
times what happens withconcussions or even someone
that's in a car accident, right?
Um like even symptoms likewhiplash and headaches can
appear one week later, right?
(07:44):
That's very common.
Like most people get up from anaccident, they're like, Yeah, it
was perfectly fine, and nothingwas wrong.
And a week or two later, youknow, they're they're getting
migraine headaches, right?
And migraine headaches can besomething that can be confused
too.
SPEAKER_00 (08:01):
Well, and I think especially with car accidents or
falls, people's adrenaline goesway up.
And because their adrenaline ishigh, they don't feel pain in
the moment.
And it can take a while for thatadrenaline to calm back down,
and then all of a sudden, yeah,it's like three days later, oh
wow, my neck really hurts, myhead really hurts, or you know,
all these injuries kind of riseto the surface, which honestly
(08:24):
is why a just public serviceannouncement, like if somebody
gets in a car accident, um theyshould always get the other
person's information and notjust say, Oh yeah, I'm fine, you
know, because if you then ifsomeone then documents that you
say you're fine, but then threedays later, all of a sudden your
pain flares up, you know, thenall of a sudden it's like that
(08:47):
this turns into a big argument,right?
Over, well, no, you said youwere fine.
Honestly, I think when I turned16, my dad said that to me.
He's like, Hey, if you get in acar accident, don't don't ever
just say you're fine and driveaway.
Like, you know, and admit admitnothing.
Good advice.
It is good, it is good advice.
Thanks, Dad.
SPEAKER_01 (09:10):
That's very funny.
Yeah, definitely gotta get theum the insurance policy number
and the driver's license.
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
The license plate.
SPEAKER_00 (09:19):
Well, you know, one of my concussions happened when
I was mountain biking, and I hadbeen mountain biking on this
really long nine-mile screamingdownhill trail that's just an
absolute thrill ride the wholeway down.
And so, yeah, my adrenaline wassuper high.
And at the very end, I I wipedout and I hit the I hit the
(09:42):
ground hard and definitelywhiplash, concussion, and I
didn't feel anything.
I didn't feel any pain becausemy adrenaline was so high.
And so I didn't realize that Ihad had a concussion, but I
definitely got back on my bike.
And then a little bit later, Icome around a corner and there's
a bear in the middle of thetrail eating like raspberries.
(10:05):
But and I think I was sodisoriented that I was just kind
of like, oh, look, a bear.
I just I just kind of keptriding, right?
I mean, okay.
I know I was kind of like moreexcited about the bear and just
also maybe a little disorientedthat uh I was going so fast and
I didn't even like react to thefact that this bear was like on
(10:27):
the trail.
Like, oh, let me just outrunthis bear real quick.
SPEAKER_01 (10:31):
Maybe that's an example where the concussion may
have worked to your advantage.
It kept you calm.
Exactly.
You're in a like a catatonicstate.
Oh man.
SPEAKER_00 (10:44):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (10:45):
Wow, that's intense.
I didn't know that.
I never heard that story.
It all happens so fast.
So yeah, I think I think alsolike a lot of cases of insomnia.
Yeah, right.
Um, a lot of patients, we'reseeing a lot more insomnia cases
in general across the country.
I think it's a it's a biggerproblem.
(11:06):
But like the other symptoms thatappear later, like insomnia can
be related to a concussion aswell.
So and that's because of the uhthe dish, it's one of the
dysautonomias that may occur,correct?
With uh a sequili ofpost-concussion.
SPEAKER_00 (11:27):
Yeah, I mean part of part of the autonomic nervous
system is to help regulatecircadian rhythms.
So when that is affected, thatcan definitely throw off sleep
cycles.
SPEAKER_01 (11:37):
Yeah, exactly.
So so I think um I think that'spretty interesting too because a
lot of it it would change alsothe herbal approach to treating
that kind of case as well.
Instead of using all thesecalming, sedating kind of herbs,
(11:59):
you know, we might want toactually get more circulation
through the area too.
SPEAKER_00 (12:03):
So well, and I think that's the beauty of Chinese
medicine or especiallyspecifically the herbal
component of it, is that youcould have 10 people with
insomnia, but they might all get10 different herbal formulas
based on what else is going on.
Um, and uh I know you use a lotof herbs in your in your clinic
(12:23):
and with your patients.
So, do you want to talk a littlebit about some of your approach?
Because I know you've um you'vementioned different formulas
that you use that are like maybetraditionally used for sinus
issues, but they actually workvery well for headaches.
SPEAKER_01 (13:50):
Yeah.
So because there's so manysinuses in the head that like
it's pretty interesting withwith um concussions, like there
can be like sinus blockages thatappear.
Someone may feel like theirallergies are acting up or they
have sinusitis, you know, butthat same pressure area could be
(14:13):
related to like a concussionlike headache, too.
And then the funny thing, thefunny thing is that the herbal
formula, like one of the mostfamous um herbal formulas for
headaches, is actually all sinusclearing herb, herbal flowers
and plants and stuff.
So the idea that phlegm andblockage can block the sinuses,
(14:38):
create headaches, or in both aconcussion and with like an
allergy presentation is ispretty interesting.
So we that's where like ourexpertise comes in, and we have
to tease through, right?
Like what's in what category andwhat's in another category, and
then and then like sometimeswhat I'll do is I'll mix that
(15:02):
classic sinus herbal headacheformula with like other other
like liver, liver movingformulas too, or blood-moving
formulas that we call it inChinese medicine, which which
helps promote healthier bloodflow, which which is kind of the
name of the game in in medicinetoday.
(15:23):
I think I think almosteverything I I look at, whether
it's red light therapy, youknow, or PEMF or stem cell or
PRP injection, everyone's uhhijacking the whole precept of
Chinese medicine, which is wherethere's where there is no
blockage and flow, there's nodisease, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (15:45):
Right.
Right.
We we were the OG experts oncirculation.
SPEAKER_01 (15:50):
Yeah, that was like a 4,000-year-old poetic comment.
They they teach us that like inthe first semester of Chinese
medicine school.
Now you have like the highest,most sophisticated uh you know
equipment.
They're like, and they justsimply say, well, it's going
where it's needed, and there'sgonna be healthy blood flow
there, you know, and and I thinkthat's what exactly what our
(16:15):
medicine is really great atbecause we don't need a a huge
pencil thick needle, we we uselike micro fine instruments that
are sterile, disposable, they'reused once because we're because
this is the right century forthat.
But um yeah, and so it can be itcan be very precise and very
(16:37):
elegant a treatment.
And it doesn't feel anythinglike dry needling or sports
medicine like acupuncturebecause you're not trying to
loosen up a tendon or somethinglike that.
Like what we deal with is tryingto stimulate the nervous system,
(16:58):
the neurotissue.
Yeah, I think it takes a lotmore precision to actually
differentiate what a trueconcussion symptom is from a
regular symptom, but then alsoto figure out like, okay, what
modalities are we gonna use andwhat percentage and what
combination.
Um but the first thing is issomething that um AI and no
(17:25):
other equipment can teach you.
It's just that first interactionwith the patient that susses out
like whether or not thisperson's suffering from a
concussion, or you have to be aliving doctor or practitioner to
do that and to get thatinformation started, you know,
and that's that's uh that's whywe'll never work from an island
(17:49):
now.
Yeah, we gotta physically showup every day.
I know, I know.
That's why you and I are coffeefreaks and you have a coffee uh
sponsor, right?
But yeah, so it's pretty it'spretty interesting.
Actually, I when I figure outsomeone's got a concussion or a
(18:11):
neurological issue ormulti-system issue or even
Parkinson's or you know what Imean, like something like that.
Like, because some people cancome in, right, and they think
they have an essential tremor,but they don't have an essential
tremor.
Again, they had the concussionand the nerve entrapment was
(18:33):
spreading down, and but anotherdoctor might have thought they
had essential tremor orParkinson's, and we're just
like, no, wait a second, let'slet's look through this because
when someone has an essentialtremor, for instance, or in
general Parkinson's, they don'tnecessarily have these other
types of symptoms that comeswith concussion, they don't
(18:55):
necessarily get these other,like, you know, complete loss of
balance all of a sudden, like itlike affects.
And you know, I've never heardof Parkinson's patient say,
Well, when I stopped and brakedin my car, my body kept going
forward.
Like, yeah, yeah, you know whatI mean?
These are vestibular ocularmotor issues that you know that
(19:16):
we discuss, but it's notsomething related to like
Parkinson's or ALS or et cetera,et cetera.
SPEAKER_00 (19:24):
No, I've definitely heard of cases where people are
kind of misdiagnosed as havingParkinson's at, you know, in
their 50s.
And then it turns out like,well, no, wait a minute, you
actually had a concussion, andit's a completely different
mechanism causing this tremorthat came on rather suddenly.
So I it's interesting because wewe obviously live in a day and
(19:46):
age where we now have access touh chat GPT and and all these
AIs, but then also just peoplesearching on the internet trying
to self-diagnose.
And so time and time again, I amgetting more and more people
coming in saying things like,oh, I think I have dysautonomia,
or I think I have POTS, or Ithink I have uh, you know, this
(20:10):
or that, or my vagus nerve isn'tworking.
And so I think we are now in aday and age where it's so
important that we do have all ofthis testing that we can do to
shed some light and some clarityon what people are experiencing,
like how their nervous systemsare actually functioning.
Because I've had people who havesaid, Oh, I think I have pots,
(20:32):
and I run them through a lot ofautonomic tests, and there's
there's no sign at all that theyhave pots.
Um, but there's other signs thatother things are going on.
And so I do think that peopleare very curious.
They want they want to get tothe bottom of what's happening.
So that curiosity is great, butit people are also coming in
with sometimes preconceivednotions of what they think is
(20:55):
going on, and uh, you know, alsostill looking for further
clarification.
SPEAKER_01 (21:02):
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, and just to add likeanother different kind of
symptom besides pain, but youknow, someone could come in for
irritable bowels or um gastricissues or like acid reflux and
you know, this or that.
And there's some patients, youknow, we're trying to, we were,
we noticed they're on fight orflight mode, and there's that
(21:25):
strong pulse in the stomach, youknow, abdominal artery, and this
and that.
And and then even though we'regiving them the digestive
treatment, it's not gettingbetter.
So instead, when we switchgears, um, you know, and we and
we checked their their neckagain, and we went into some of
their symptoms of whether or notthey they um were I think they
(21:48):
were in a car accident and theydid hit their head, you know,
and that's when some of thesesymptoms started happening too.
SPEAKER_00 (21:54):
So so and you also have had good results treating
tinnitus too, which is supertricky and hard to to deal with.
SPEAKER_01 (22:06):
Yeah, we we've we've got our we've got a pretty good
system down.
Um it took a while to develop.
A lot of it came from how wewould start palpating the head
um and palpating the skull, likeabove the ear and then behind
the ear.
And um we we look at tinnitus,so so we actually have pretty
(22:30):
good results with it.
And a lot of ENT doctors arejust surprised that that anyone
would even say they get anyresults with tinnitus.
Um, but I find that there's liketwo different categories, in my
opinion.
Like there's there's like uh anautoimmons response to like
sugar and alcohol and stuff likethat that that can the next day
(22:53):
cause like tinnitus likesymptoms or or can cause
tinnitus.
And then there's other kindswhere there's high impact loud
noises, could be explosions,could be, could be at a rock
concert, you know.
So those are like two differentetiologies.
SPEAKER_00 (23:11):
So so you're saying like in younger people, not
necessarily somebody that'sdealing with hearing loss and
tinnitus, but perhaps somebodythat's younger that gets a
concussion, all of a sudden theyhave tinnitus.
You're seeing yeah, goodresults.
SPEAKER_01 (23:25):
Yeah, we're seeing pretty good results.
We'll we'll check around theauricular area above and around
it, and we use different pointsrelated to the two meridians
there around the sand gel andgallbladder meridians.
And we also use uh we have somepretty good herbal formulas for
that as well, which also helpsto basically like get the
(23:48):
circulation cleared through thisarea too.
SPEAKER_00 (23:52):
So when you run your fingers like through somebody's
scalp and around their ears,you're feeling specific bumps or
lines or ridges or yeah, we'refeeling different ridges that
are abnormally there.
SPEAKER_01 (24:08):
Some of them can be very large, almost like some of
them can be even half a pingpall size thick and very soft,
very movable.
Um if we feel those, then we'llwe'll suspect uh possibly like
tinnitus, um, or depending onthe location, there could be
(24:29):
some dizziness too.
So but yeah, and it's usuallypretty accurate.
Like it usually um we use it theway the way many acupuncturists
would use, like pulse readingand tongue diagnosis.
So we we do a skull palpationdiagnosis for that.
So but it just helps mefine-tune um which which
(24:52):
acupuncture points I may use toget the results and stuff.
So yeah.
And it's neat because it getsbetter too.
It actually it's malleable.
SPEAKER_00 (25:02):
Like it gets better.
You mean like the the bumpsyou're feeling on their scalp
actually go down with time inaddition to the snitis getting
better?
SPEAKER_01 (25:10):
Yeah, exactly.
When they when they start toclear up, the symptoms starts to
clear up too.
So and it can it can be betterwithin a few sessions, too.
SPEAKER_00 (25:21):
So awesome.
So where can where can peoplefind you?
SPEAKER_01 (25:27):
So I'm located in uh in Manhattan, New York, and in
the Hamptons.
Um it's uh theshoeclinic.com andwe're on Instagram.
Um my my personal Instagram iscalled Jade Shaman.
Um just a play on words, nothingnothing too heroic about that.
(25:49):
So um and we have shoe clinic onuh Instagram as well.
So but yeah, if you're evercurious, give us a call.
And um and we do we do all sortstypes of stuff.
We do wobby brain scanning, wewe have a really sophisticated
lightbed, um, and we have awhole team of experts that you
(26:12):
can work with too.
SPEAKER_00 (26:13):
So fantastic.
Well, thank you for coming backon the show and chatting with me
again about acupuncture andherbs and you're welcome.
SPEAKER_01 (26:22):
Your podcast is amazing.
My my patients who I don't eventell them, but they come in
talking about an episode ortrying to ask me questions about
it, and I have to have torebrush up and stuff.
So it's it's been great.
I think it's been a greatbenefit to all the the patients
and practitioners.
And uh, I hope you I hope youkeep going on it and keep I
(26:46):
don't know, it's amazing howmany interesting guests you
find.
And and you know, of course,none of them back twice like me,
but all right.
SPEAKER_00 (26:56):
Well, I I'll I'll send you the I'll send you that
uh the mug.
SPEAKER_01 (27:02):
Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_00 (27:03):
Yes, thank you.
Have a good night.
Until next time.
All right.
Medical disclaimer.
This video or podcast is forgeneral informational purposes
only and does not constitute thepractice of medicine or other
professional healthcareservices, including the giving
(27:25):
of medical advice.
No doctor-patient relationshipis formed.
The use of this information andmaterials included is at the
user's own risk.
The content of this video orpodcast is not intended to be a
substitute for medical advice,diagnosis, or treatment, and
consumers of this informationshould seek the advice of a
medical professional for any andall health related issues.
(27:48):
A link to our full medicaldisclaimer is available in the
notes.
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