Jenny Lea, L.Ac

One simple thing that can make shoulder pain worse:
Using the wrong temperature.
If your shoulder feels stiff, achy, and better with movement heat is usually more helpful than ice.
Heat helps relax the tissue and improve circulation.
Ice has its place, but for a lot of chronic shoulder pain, it can actually slow healing down.
Pay attention to what your body responds to, that’s often the best clue.

One of the interesting things about Chinese medicine is that it developed long before anyone knew what a hormone was.
The classic Chinese medical text Jin Gui Yao Lue (“Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet”), written nearly 2,000 years ago, contains entire sections devoted to women’s health, fertility, pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and common gynecological patterns.
Chinese medicine was never built around treating a lab number or “balancing hormones” directly.
Instead, it observes patterns.
Over centuries, practitioners noticed that women tend to fall into certain recurring patterns of imbalance involving blood, circulation, cold, deficiency, tension, fluid metabolism, digestion, stress, recovery after childbirth, and cyclical changes.
Formulas were developed based on those patterns.
Formulas like:
• Wen Jing Tang — traditionally used for cold and deficiency patterns affecting the menstrual cycle• Dang Gui Shao Yao San — often used when blood deficiency and fluid stagnation occur together• Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang — used for tension, cramping, and spasmodic patterns• Dang Gui Si Ni Tang — for deep cold and poor circulation patterns• Dang Gui San and Bai Zhu San — classic pregnancy support formulas described in the classics
Modern science now studies these formulas and often finds measurable effects involving the endocrine system, circulation, inflammation, nervous system regulation, and reproductive health.
But the formulas themselves were not originally created to “target hormones.”
They were created because generations of physicians carefully observed how women’s bodies respond to stress, cold, depletion, overwork, childbirth, emotional strain, and cyclical change.
So when people ask if I “treat hormones,” the answer is both yes and no.
I treat the pattern underneath the symptoms.
And sometimes, as modern research now shows, the endocrine system changes along with it.

Patient Story: Living with MS, Maintaining Stability

I worked with a woman over several years who was living with multiple sclerosis.
With conditions like MS, it’s never possible to say with certainty what prevents progression or flare-ups. What I can share is what we consistently saw over time.
Our focus was on supporting her energy, reducing pain, and improving circulation.
When she first came in, she was exhausted. She was nodding off throughout the day. She also dealt with significant stiffness and discomfort, and her lower legs and feet were always cold with a bluish-purple color.
As treatment continued:
• Her energy became more stable
• Pain and stiffness improved noticeably
• Circulation in her lower legs changed dramatically—her feet became warm and returned to a normal color

Over the years we worked together, her condition remained relatively stable with minimal progression.
While every case is different, this is a good example of how consistent care can support quality of life, comfort, and daily function—even in complex, long-term conditions.

Why does herbal medicine help some people sleep when nothing else has worked?
A big reason is that it’s not one-size-fits-all.
In Chinese medicine, insomnia isn’t just “can’t sleep.”It can come from stress, digestion, hormonal shifts, or even how the body is cooling down at night.
So two people with sleep issues might get completely different formulas.
That level of individualization is often what makes the difference in stubborn cases.

I have some big news!

I'm am working at ReLakes Massage in Detroit Lakes with plans to move here next year! I'm in love with this little town and the lakes country ❤️. You can make an appointment with me here on Saturdays and Mondays: https://relakesmassage.com/
After living in town over the last 16 months I realized I miss being in the country too much.
I absolutely adore the people of Fargo and will continue working there twice a week within Sage Family Chiropractic.

Sometimes people are nervous about acupuncture needles, but still want help with pain and tension patterns.
That’s one reason I also use fascia-focused bodywork techniques.
Fascia is the connective tissue that surrounds and supports muscles throughout the body. Some modern research has found significant overlap between acupuncture pathways and connective tissue networks in the body which may help explain why both movement and acupuncture can affect pain patterns so deeply.

When fascia becomes restricted, people often notice:
• Tightness
• Pulling
• Limited movement
• Pain that keeps returning

One simple thing you can try at home:
Take a slow walk for 5–10 minutes while gently swinging your arms and allowing your ribs and upper body to rotate naturally.
Not forcing a stretch, just restoring smooth movement through the body.
Often fascia responds better to gentle, consistent movement than aggressive stretching.
Especially if things feel stiff, stuck, or “bound up.”

Scientists are finally decoding how acupuncture eases pain — National Geographic Your body has a built-in painkiller system. Acupuncture may switch it on.