Unfortunately, most people in Western cultures have a massive misconception of how acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine help heal your body. While Chinese doctors have produced medical texts for over 2,000 years, these documents have been largely mistranslated in the West, leading to widespread confusion about the intentions and effects of Eastern treatments.
Based on these mistranslations, many people mistakenly believe that acupuncturists try to balance the “Qi,” or energy, in the body so it flows better through energy channels called “meridians.” There are two big problems with this description: Qi doesn’t mean energy, and meridians are not energy channels. In fact, the correct translation of Qi is “air,” or “vital air,” even vapor or gas, and in Chinese medical terms this equates to oxygen. Meanwhile, meridians are not invisible energy channels. Meridian is a French word and is an inaccurate translation of the words Jing Mai. Jing Mai is a vessel system (i.e., the circulatory system) for distributing blood and oxygen throughout the body. So, a more accurate statement is that acupuncture improves the flow of oxygen (Qi) and nutrients through the blood vessel system to nourish every cell in the body.
Chinese medicine has always been a physical medicine based on actual anatomy, not some intangible, magical energy. This is why acupuncturists are so concerned with the health of your blood vessels. The Chinese discovered that blood and oxygen distribution were vital to health. If there is an obstruction in blood flow to a particular body area, that area will result in disease and/or pain.
It’s all about blood flow
Everything your body needs to function, it receives from your blood. Every organ and every cell of your body is supported through blood flow. All the nutrients you receive from your food, the hormones you produce, the body’s natural anti-inflammatories and analgesics (pain killers), and most importantly, oxygen, are all found in your bloodstream.
When blood flow throughout the body is good, it functions as it should. However, when there is a problem with blood flow to any area of the body, that area cannot function properly. For example, if you were to tie a rubber band around your finger and cut off or reduce your blood flow, the finger wouldn’t function the same way. And if you left that rubber band in place for a long time, you would probably lose the finger altogether. How quickly that happened would depend on the tightness of the rubber band and how badly it was restricting blood flow. What we are trying to do with acupuncture and herbs is to remove that metaphorical “rubber band.” We move blood back to the affected area of your body so your chronic condition can heal.
Furthermore, imagine you have a weakness or insufficiency in blood flow to an organ, say, your liver. Do you think the liver will be able to function the same way it had before the reduced blood flow occurred? Of course not. Just like a finger with a rubber band around it, that organ cannot function at its highest level, and you will begin to experience problems (i.e., symptoms of liver disease).
Blood flow and aging
The number one etiology (the cause of pain and disease) in Chinese medicine is “blood stasis,” or a decrease in blood flow. This problem becomes more common as we get older.
In our younger years, we tend to bounce back easily from falls and other accidents, and bruises disappear quickly. As we age, it takes a longer time to recover, and bruises and injuries last much longer. This is due, in part, to the fact that our blood flow is stronger when we are younger. As we age, blood flow becomes increasingly impeded. That is why we often see elderly people with purple hands and feet, or severe bruising caused by the mildest of injuries.
Whether you are trying acupuncture, Chinese herbs, or both, the goal of these treatments is to increase blood and oxygen flow throughout your body. There are special agents in Chinese herbs that can remove blockages in blood vessels, soften the arteries, and help to increase the amount of blood in your system.
Pulse diagnosis
One tool Chinese medical practitioners use to evaluate blood flow is called “pulse diagnosis.” In Chinese medicine, pulse diagnosis is the gold standard for identifying the root causes of your ailments. It is the most accurate way to detect patterns of ill health by reading the subtle signs of distress within the body. With pulse diagnosis, we can see how blood flows through your radial artery. Distinctions of this flow correlate with how blood flows through specific body regions, including the organs. The pulse reveals many common health concerns and how they are related to one another. The art of pulse diagnosis allows the practitioner to assess each organ system’s overall health and function, and prescribe specific herbs to improve blood flow in needed areas. Once blood flow is restored, health is returned.
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