Stage One: Wind & Dampness

Addressing chronic infections, biofilm, and the wandering pain of reactivated viruses like Epstein-Barr.

By Brehan Crawford, MAcOM, LAc  ·  Crawford Wellness

Fibromyalgia Protocol Series:  Stage 0  ·  Stage 1  ·  Stage 2  ·  Stage 3  ·  Stage 4  ·  Movement

Why we start with the immune system.

If you haven't gone through Stage Zero yet, I recommend you check it out before moving on to Stage 2. You can still read this all the way through, but that foundation makes everything here more powerful.

We often make the analogy of fibromyalgia being similar to repairing a house damaged by wet, stormy wind and water and left to decay. If you replace the soggy carpet before repairing the roof, it will get damaged again with the next rainfall. Just as we need to start with the roof, walls, and windows of a water-damaged home, we need to start with the immune system and the exterior layers of the human body.

Lingering Viruses and Reactivation

Some viruses like Epstein-Barr (EBV) and other herpes virus family members are never really gone from your body once you get them. Ninety percent of us will catch these at some point, and our immune system tries to keep them suppressed. But it has limits. A new event that taxes the immune system — a new viral or bacterial infection, a new exposure to mold, an immunization, or even a traumatic event or prolonged period of heightened stress — can be the tipping point that allows a latent virus to reactivate and cause pain.

The classical example: getting chickenpox as a child and shingles in our senior years — the same virus causes both, and it's in the same viral family as EBV.

Because these viruses are never really gone, we will never use the term "cure" when referring to fibromyalgia. We are aiming for remission. Remission can be permanent — and that is where I like all my patients to ultimately go — but the events in our lives aren't always up to us, and sometimes we are pushed back into pain. The good news: once you're in remission once, it's usually easier to get back there a second time.

"Fibromyalgia isn't so much a disorder as a syndrome that currently affects around 4 million adults in the United States. The pain is real. The confusion is systemic. And the path out is methodical."

— Brehan Crawford, MAcOM, LAc

Wind and Dampness: The First Pathological Factors

The specific type of pain we're addressing in Stage 1 is wandering pain — pain that affects different points on the body at varying times. To relieve this, Chinese Medicine focuses on removing two pathological factors: Wind and Dampness.

Biomedically speaking, the phenomena of Wind and Dampness are the results of multiple pathogens lingering in the body and working together — such as Epstein-Barr Virus reactivated by the presence of biofilm-forming bacteria. Ancient Chinese physicians weren't aware of microbes like viruses, but they commonly documented people catching a new pathogen from the outside that later caused internal disorders.

They also noticed that patients who acquired post-infectious pain often lived where mold and fungus were prevalent — humid, swampy areas — and that many patients struggled with water retention or consumed excess starches, sugars, greasy or rich foods. Similar to how in the modern era, many of us still eat hyper-palatable processed foods loaded with extra salt, fat, and sugar that cause us to retain water and become more "damp and swampy."

Biofilm is a fancy word for mucus — it's a natural part of human physiology. You need enough of it to survive, but like nitric oxide, it has to be in a Goldilocks zone. When you have too much, it can act as a reservoir for lingering viruses like SARS-CoV-2, and excessive amounts are associated with elevated levels of Candida yeast species. It's the sticky medium that microbes thrive in.

A note on Lyme disease: If Borrelia infection is in your history, Stage 1 may take longer and be more intricate than this protocol covers. Anecdotally, I have seen some Lyme patients respond very well to the pure Stage 1 protocol; others required longer, more personalized treatment. If you have chronic Lyme or PTLDS, this protocol is safe but may not be all that you need.

Activating the Immune and Lymphatic Systems

Because we are working on Wind and Dampness — viruses and biofilm — the place these two phenomena meet in our body is in the lymphatic system and the skin. How to tell if water is moving well: you sweat every day, have a full and easy bowel movement daily, urinate regularly without difficulty, and — if applicable — have a regular, moderate, and hopefully pain-free menstrual cycle.

The lymphatic system is a series of fluid ducts throughout the body with a great deal of immune activity. Normal lymphatic flow is assisted by physical movement, and for most of human history, we've been moving more than most of us do now. If you've been in chronic pain for a long time, it's totally normal to avoid moving — since that can make pain worse, especially if the movement is too vigorous.

All exercise during this protocol should be mild or at most moderate. The goal is to gently warm the body through movement, circulate blood and body fluids, and activate what is already working for you — not to push you into pain.

Neck Self-Massage

The neck is the site of the cervical lymph nodes, and by moving water here, we can promote lymphatic drainage throughout the rest of the body. It's also the structural bridge between your cranium and the rest of your body. You wouldn't believe how many patients' headaches and brain fog have resolved or improved after rehabilitating their necks.

Step 1: Light patting of the chest and shoulders, out the inner side of the arms to the hand, then back up the outer side of the arm and neck to the base of the skull. Make a very loose fist — like you're holding a baby bird. Repeat four or five times, then smooth it out with your palm in the same direction.

Step 2: Interlace your fingers and press at the base of the skull, then all the way down the neck and back up. Find the sore spots and gently press into them. Focus on the point at the back of the head — an acupuncture point for relieving Wind — and massage it in circles. If you can't get both hands behind you, use one hand or a pencil eraser to press.

Step 3: Finish with a neck rub using interlaced fingers or a light scarf behind your neck, moving back and forth gently while holding your breath.

Nasal Humming

One reservoir where biofilms can load up is in the nasal sinuses. One of the best ways to literally shake this up and help biofilm dissolve is to practice a nasal hum — a technique used in both yoga and qigong for thousands of years, with a strong modern evidence basis for treating chronic infection.

Take a deep breath in through your nose into the upper chest. Hold that breath while you rub the back of your neck. When you feel pores starting to open, breathe out gently and slowly through the nose while humming. Direct the vibration to the areas of your face and sinuses that feel the most blocked. Hold it there until you run out of breath or feel it start to open and drain.

For a detailed walkthrough of the self-massage and humming techniques with visual demonstration, see our Movement Protocol article.

The Stage 1 Protocol: Three Products Working Together

"You might think that killing the responsible virus would eliminate the pain. But viruses like EBV aren't really alive — they don't reproduce on their own, they require our cells to do that. They're always lurking in the background, just waiting for the right conditions to arise."

— Brehan Crawford

Timeline and When to Move On

Most people go through Stage 1 in about two weeks. Some will need to repeat it once or twice. Practice the self-massage and nasal hum three to five times per day.

The key sign we're watching for is the elimination of wandering pain. There may still be other types of pain present — dull, sharp, electrical — but rather than moving around, the pain will be fixed in location. That's your signal: you're ready for Stage 2.

Next in the Series

Stage 2: The Microbiome & Heavy Pain

Address the underlying causes of heavy, achy pain — stomach problems, candida overgrowth, and malabsorption of nutrients.

Full Series:  Stage 0  ·  Stage 1  ·  Stage 2  ·  Stage 3  ·  Stage 4  ·  Movement