Amy Galvan, DOM, L' Ac, FABORM
Comprehensive Women's Health
Acupuncture Infertility Specialist
Stuck Type TCM Patterns: Diet and Lifestyle Tips
What Is the Stuck Type?
You may have Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) patterns that fit the Stuck type if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms:
Craving freedom of movement without restriction, whether it is in the body, in traffic, or in work flow. Stress causes body symptoms such as tension headaches, TMJ, IBS, blood pressure spikes, irritability, hot temper, abdomen tender to pressure, poor circulation, spider veins, varicose veins, age spots, liver spots, tingles, muscle tics, alcohol cravings, irregular cycles, PMS, painful periods with clots and cramps, mittleschmerz, painful sex, dark purplish tongue. Symptoms feel better with exercise, travel, sex, coffee, alcohol, and recreational substances.
These are just a sample of symptoms, and certainly not all of them. A complete medical history, physical exam, and clinical signs from a Chinese medicine workup will help identify your pattern diagnosis fits a Stuck type.
TCM patterns that fit the Stuck type may include Qi Stagnation, Blood Stasis, Liver Qi Stagnation, Liver Yin and Blood Deficiency causing Stagnation, Liver Blood Stagnation, Heart Qi and Blood Stagnation,
Consult with a qualified doctor of Oriental medicine to confirm your pattern diagnosis.
The following information is generalized and should not be construed as medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional who knows your health history before following any advice.
Lifestyle Tips for the Stuck Type
Reduce stress! Develop an arsenal of relaxation techniques that work for you and use them in regular practice throughout your day. Stress affects your health more than other pattern types. Consider deep breathing, guided meditation, mantras, or whatever works for you. Explore guided imagery and visualizations to reduce stress. You may never be able to control stressors, but you can learn to control how you respond to them.
Alleviate physical tension and mental tension. Find healthy ways to express bottled up emotions. Consider journaling, art, exercise, therapy.
Laugh good hard belly laughs. Avoid people or situations you find especially frustrating or annoying. Practice belly breathing, allowing your belly to expand during the inhale.
Focus on achieving work-life balance.
WOMEN: Do not have sexual intercourse on your period. Do not use tampons to sleep in; they can block your flow causing more stagnation if you have clots. These lifestyle tips are especially important when the hormone cycle pivots at ovulation and at onset of a period, to avoid problems.
Try acupressure self massage. Ask your acupuncturist which acupoints will help you most.
Foods to Eat for the Stuck Type
Prioritize unprocessed, whole foods.
- Don't stress your liver with chemicals and processed foods. Shop the perimeter, not the aisles. If it sits on a shelf, you probably should not be eating it.
- Eat enough fiber to move the bowels regularly.
- Eat cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, broccoli sprouts, and cabbage. These metabolize excess estrogen and can tame PMS.
- Calcium rich foods help replenish calcium lost during stress, Foods rich in Vitamin A, D and C will help your calcium absorption.
- Chew your food well. Do not rush through a meal because you don't have time for it. If you struggle with IBS, indigestion, gas or bloating, then eat sitting down.
Specific Chinese food therapy to move Liver Qi in Stuck types focuses on flavor, not foods per se. It includes limiting sour foods to small amounts only, such as vinegar, pickles, and citrus. Enjoy aromatic spices and foods such as horseradish, wasabi, mustard, basil, mint, and garlic. Add bitter flavors to your diet such as black coffee (decaf, too!), dark chocolate, dark leafy greens, bitter melon, citrus peel and zest, As a digestive aid, take a spoonful of Swedish bitters or Agnostura bitters.
The best foods to Soothe Liver include liver pate, liverwurst, foie gras, beets, beet greens, and stirred greens.
Foods to Avoid for the Stuck Type
- Overeating, eating fast, or eating again before your last meal is digested.
- Eating on the run, on your feet, or when upset.
- Preservatives, chemicals, additives, and ingredients you cannot pronounce
- Pesticides and hormones in your food
- Too much caffeine. One cup is usually acceptable
- Foods that make you bloated.
- Fried or fatty foods, especially bar food
- Excess alcohol. Limit to less than one drink at a time, if at all. Find new ways to unwind in herbal teas, yoga, exercise, or meditation.
Exercise and Movement
Regular moderate to intense exercise such as aerobics, running, or HIIT. Practice repetitive, rhythmic types of exercise to calm the mind, such as swimming laps or jogging through a park. Find a swing at a local park, or hang a tire swing at home.
WOMEN: During your period, do not sweat or do high impact exercise. Reduce exercise by half when on your period. Never swim in cold water. It harms the uterine function and movement of blood. Reduce exercise as much as possible after TTC, until pregnancy is confirmed.
Learn More
The Stuck type TCM patterns often co-exist with other patterns. Be sure to check out my articles on lifestyle tips for other general pattern types including Tired, Pale, Dry, and Waterlogged. Stuck types often are a result of any of the other patterns, but can occur as the only pattern.
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