Dr Maggie Ju Acupuncture London Chelsea, North Kensington, Notting Hill, and Richmond

Shoulder impingement is a very common cause of shoulder pain. It occurs when a tendon or bursa in the shoulder rubs bones of the shoulder. Overhead activity of the shoulder, such as lifting is a risk factor for shoulder impingement syndrome. The main complaint is pain and it is persistent and affects everyday activities. The pain is on the top and outer side of the shoulder, and it is worse at night which can affects the sleep; It causes pain when reaching up behind the back or reaching up overhead. It can affect daily activity such as putting on the top. There is weakness in the arm and shoulder and restricted shoulder movement. Over time, impingement syndrome can lead to inflammation of the rotator cuff tendons (tendinitis) and bursa (bursitis). Rotator cuff tendon extends to the top of the shoulder joint. Shoulder impingement can start suddenly or come on gradually. If not treated appropriately, the rotator cuff tendons can start to thin and tear. A study investigated acupuncture ...

Infertility is usually defined as the inability to conceive after 1 year of regular unprotected intercourse. But for women older than 35 years the time will be shorter to for 6 months. The couple need to be assessed clinically A standard infertility evaluation is performed both for men and women and includes a semen analysis, assessment of ovulation, a hysterosalpingogram, and tests for ovarian reserve and laparoscopy. When the results of a standard infertility evaluation are normal, a diagnosis of unexplained infertility will be made. Approximately 15% to 30% of the couple has unexplained infertility. Semen analysis is test for evaluating the sperm. Here is the normal range of semen analysis as WHO guidelines. Volume 2.0-5.0 ml, pH 7.2-7.8, sperm concentration 20×106/ml, total sperm counts more than 40×106 spermatozoa, motility ≥ 50% with forward progression or ≥ 25% with rapid linear progression within 60 min after collection, morphology greater than 50% with normal morphology, v...

Sex steroid hormones act at a number of sites in both the peripheral and central nervous systems and in both reproductive and non-reproductive tissues. They play a role in pain conditions. Many clinical pain conditions vary with hormonal state. For example, the probability of experiencing a painful condition increases with increasing pubertal development. Sex differences in the prevalence of painful conditions appear after puberty. Variation in symptom severity across the menstrual cycle affected by ovulation and menstruation occurs in a number of clinical pain conditions, such as the pain of dysmenorrhoea, the symptoms of temperomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction, fibromyalgia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Interstitial Cystitis (IC) and migraine. The use of the combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP) to give a more constant hormonal level can sometimes improve pain symptoms. During pregnancy, the cyclical fluctuations in hormones stop. Many clinical pain conditions improve during p...

Tendon is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that usually connects muscle to bone Tendons are highly organized connective tissues that transmit muscle force to the bone. Tendons are resilient during the development of tension, but flexible enough to carry on its function. In the resting state, the collagen fibrils exhibit a wavy conformation. As a tendon is stretched, collagen fibrils begin to straighten out, and, as a result, the tendon becomes stiffer with increasing application of mechanical strain. The transition from tendon to bone and from tendon to muscle is progressive to allow an efficient load transfer minimizing stress concentrations. A healthy tendon is up to twice as strong as the muscle, making the body of the tendon unlikely to tear before the muscle unless the tendon has already been weakened by degenerative changes. The effects of ageing, wear and tear, genetic pre-disposition and inflammation are known factors contributing to tendon injuries. Tendons consist ...

Acute abdominal pain Everyone at some point of their life will experience abdominal pain. Abdominal pain is one of the most complicated symptoms which can be caused by many factors. Most of the causes are not severe and the pain can be diagnosed and treated with good prognosis. However abdominal pain can be a sign of very severe illness. If the abdominal pain is severe or recurrent and there are some other symptoms associated with such as fever, inability to keep food down, signs of dehydration, bloody stools, inability to pass stool and there is persistent nausea and vomiting, painful or unusually frequent urination, severe tenderness when you touch the abdomen, swelling of the abdomen, skin appears yellow, weight loss, pain is caused by injury to the abdomen etc, it is important to recognise the symptoms that are severe and see doctors to get it diagnosed. Be careful if you want to take over the counter pain killer. Pain killers sometimes can mask the severity of the illness. Acupu...

Facial appearance changes with age are inevitable. Aging change not only happens on the surface of the skin, but also underneath the skin surface such as fat muscle and bone etc. With age, features that were previously round may sink ; skin gets loose and sags. Loss fat volume and muscle mass on the face makes the face loss its fullness. Fat pulls downwards and the skin becomes loose and sagging due to gravity and muscle force. Bone also losses its mass and muscles are shortened and straightened. Corners of the eyes and mouth drop, tip of the nose drops as well and ears become longer. Facial muscles Muscles on the face contracting pulling the face downwards The temporal muscle is the muscle at the temples on both sides of the head. This muscle lifts the jaw and retracts the jaw. The orbicularis oculi muscle is the muscle surrounding the eye. It causes the eye to close or blink. It draws the skin of the forehead, temple, and cheek toward the medial angle of the orbit, and the e...

What is ectopic pregnancy? Ectopic pregnancy is that the fertilized egg implanted outside of the uterus. The commonest site is in the fallopian tube. The egg will not develop a baby, but it is threatening condition for the pregnant women. Ectopic pregnancy occurs in 1% pregnancy. The risk factors include pervious pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, tubal surgery, intrauterine contraceptive device and previous ectopic. Patient has positive urinary pregnancy test. Patient presents lower abdominal pain and slight vaginal bleeding. Ultrasound shows empty uterus and may identify ectopic embryo. If the egg dies before it can grow larger, the pregnancy terminates and the tissue is absorbed in the woman’s body. In this case, the pregnancy test becomes negative. If the pregnancy is left to grow, there is a risk that the fertilized egg grows larger and causes the tube to rupture which can cause life threatening internal bleeding. The signs of tube rupture are sudden severe sharp abdominal ...