Q After childbirth, my joints ache all over and my hands and feet feel cold. Why does postpartum wind (sanhupung) develop?
A Postpartum wind (sanhupung) occurs when cold and dampness invade the body after the joints and muscles have lost their protective strength, in a state where qi and blood have been heavily depleted during delivery. It tends to develop when the body is exposed to cold right after birth, while the joint ligaments are still loosened.
Detailed Answer
Pregnancy and delivery consume large amounts of blood and body fluids. When the body is severely depleted, the protective function of the joints, muscles, and skin is temporarily weakened. If the body is exposed to cold or dampness during this time, these factors settle into the joints and muscles, leading to symptoms such as pain, cold sensations, numbness, chills, and chronic fatigue. Western medicine does not have an official diagnosis called postpartum wind, but postpartum joint pain is very common in clinical practice, and it is important to differentiate it from postpartum thyroiditis or rheumatoid arthritis.
Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective
At a Korean medicine clinic, postpartum wind is understood as the result of pathogenic wind, cold, and dampness invading through the deficient gap created by a major depletion of qi and blood (gihyeol-daeheo). When delivery drains qi and blood significantly, the body lacks the strength to protect its own joints and muscles, and cold and dampness penetrate that gap, leading to pain and cold sensations. Rather than treating only the affected joints, the starting point is to replenish the depleted qi and blood and restore the body's overall defensive capacity.
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If I leave postpartum wind untreated, will it affect my next pregnancy?
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