Holistic Healing with Acupuncture and Herbs Part 1:

What does holistic healing with acupuncture and herbs entail? How does Chinese Medicine (TCM) view the body and disease?

Medicine in the Macrocosm:

Applying the theory behind Chinese Medicine can feel unfamiliar and complex, but the concepts can be simplified and relatable when we zoom out to the macrocosm, and even more so if we can accept that we are not separate from nature, but in fact, nature ourselves. TCM doesn't require expensive labs that break the body down into microscopic bits. And yet, it still resolves issues at a cellular level. This is because the body wants to maintain homeostasis (stability) and acupuncture and herbs provide the means to do that when it can't get there on its' own.

What are the causes of disease:

Our bodies respond to internal and external stimuli. The primary causes of disease in TCM are: overwork, overthinking, and overindulging in food and drink, and climatic factors. When we look at this from the Western lens, it makes sense. Some of the biggest drivers of disease in America today are stress, poor diet, and work/life imbalance. I would add to the list the increased burden of toxins and biotoxins: pesticides, heavy metals, microplastics, mold, lyme, etc. For today, we are going to discuss the external pathologies, and we'll discuss internal factors such as deficiency, stagnation, and yin/yang balance in part 2.

Pathologies in TCM:

In TCM we treat 6 external pathogens: heat, cold, dry, dampness, wind, and summer heat. These external pathogens mirror nature and create disharmony. We’ve all experienced climates that are too hot, too dry, too windy, too cold, etc. Our bodies also experience the affects of these climatic shifts, both internally and externally. Essentially, the body can be too wet, too dry, too hot and too cold. It sounds too simplistic doesn't it? It gets more complicated when we acknowledge the complex nature of humans. Nonetheless, this theory is the framework for our medicine and allows us to assess and treat in a very effective way.

Now that we have an understanding of the external causes of disharmony, what happens in the body when we experience one or all of these?

Heat:

You’re irritable, you might get a literal hot face or hands or chest. Your blood is coursing more quickly so you become aware of your heart beating, you bleed more easily and with more fervor, or for too long. You might have a chronic sore throat. You get burning pain in your joints. Short-term to long-term issues might be chronic constipation, anger, chronic headache, irregular menstrual bleeding, autoimmune diseases, and even cancer.

Dryness:

WIth this additional heat, your fluids literally begin to dry up. You notice you are very thirsty, your skin is dry, you have a dry mouth or throat, you can’t sleep well. Constipation persists. You've started to present with the symptoms of "dryness". Dryness can exist without heat, but heat is a common precursor.. Think menopause with all its' complications.

Wind:

As dryness increases, the pathology of wind sets-in. Have you ever noticed dry climates tend to be windier? Well, your body is no different. In TCM this might be the onset of an eye twitch, allergies (sneezing), spasms, anything that causes sudden and uncontrolled movements in the body. This might become what we know as Bell’s Palsy, or Wind-

Stroke,

Damp:

Now let’s examine the pathology of dampness, a very common issue in the West. Perhaps for most of your life you’ve not thought much about food and just ate the Standard American Diet consisting of many processed carbs, dairy, and sugars. Over time, this weakens your bodies’ digestive function and foods and fluids aren’t getting processed well. Add stress and things really slow down. This corresponds with Western Medicine, as the vagus nerve is responsible for much digestive function, and the body needs to be in parasympathetic state (or rest and digest) to produce stomach acid. As function decreases, pathogenic fluids, or damp, starts to build up in the body. You might notice a lot of sinus congestion, especially in the AM. Perhaps you are prone to getting phlegm-y coughs, looser stools, a feeling of heaviness in the body. Foggy, fuzzy, or heavy head. Think of this like a hypothyroid  scenario, or gut dysbiosis such as Candida, or bacterial overgrowth. Your body might feel heavy, like you are covered with a damp blanket. Damp can look like chronic diarrhea,  and lethargy. It might be what we consider in the West as something like IBS, Crohn’s, or Ulcerative Colitis when paired with heat.

Cold:

Internal cold might present as feeling very cold despite the outside temperatures. Or lethargy, lots of clear and copious nasal discharge or urine. Pale skin, tongue, and face. Or it could present as an external cold with chills, aversion to cold, runny nose, etc. Again this could correspond with hypothyroidism, chronic tightness and joint pain, low energy, etc.

Summer-Heat

Summer-Heat resembles heat exhaustion, heat stroke, etc. Excessive sweating, thirst, dizziness, irritability, fever and nausea. Onset is in the summer or extreme heat when Yang energy is peaking.

Conclusion:

Each of these pathologies can pair with another creating a more complex pattern. Damp-Heat, Damp-Cold, Wind-Damp, Wind-Heat, etc. This is where treating the patient comes to life: assessing the many layers, many patterns, and many causes to create an individual pattern and plan for each patient. Do any of these resonate with you? Do you have symptoms that Western Med doesn't have answers for? Consider Acupuncture and Herbs as your first line, root cause medicine.