There is a saying in Traditional Chinese medicine that has been drilled into our heads during our schooling, “where there is stagnation, there is pain.” What this means in Chinese medicine is when Qi cannot flow freely through the body because of a physical blockage or a deficiency there will be pain. Pain can be an excess or deficient condition in TCM. The pain from a full or excess condition is usually a sharper more intense pain, where pain from an empty or deficient condition is more dull and less intense.
     The above statement though has stuck with me since I first started school, because unlike some of the other sayings we are taught, this one made sense right away! Of course when something is stuck there will be pain I thought, but the further I got into school the more I really understood what this statement meant.
    Pain comes in two forms acute and chronic. Acupuncture has been known especially for treating chronic pain when nothing else works. But, as the controversy of opioid pain meds is on the rise, acupuncture has been moved to the top of the list for alternative ways of pain management. It is no longer mainly looked at as a last ditch effort in relief when nothing has worked yet. 
    I have worked with patients who use acupuncture first for everything, and I have worked with patients who did use acupuncture as their last option and what I have learned from both is the same thing. Acupuncture works! And the ones who use it as their last resort are usually the most shocked and thankful that it does work!
    In general for acute injuries pain is decreased within the first session and then continues to decrease through the follow ups, often we do 6-8 treatments total and the spacing of the treatments depends on the severity of the injury. And for chronic pain, I have had a few patients even feel a slight decrease in pain within the first few days of the first treatment, but the relief doesn’t last as long as acute pain cases do. For chronic pain I recommend treatments every week for about 6 weeks, and if possible for the first three weeks two treatments a week. With this schedule there is greater pain relief and longer lasting results. 
    After the first initial treatments for both acute or chronic where we get the pain to either disappear or be greatly reduced the appointments can become more spaced out, and used more as needed, so we can take control of the pain so it never gets back to where it was when treatments first started.
    
    But what type of pain are we talking about? The first thing that most people think of when you say pain is usually physical pain, and I admit that was the first thing I thought about when I was told, “where there is stagnation, there is pain.” I thought, yes if you break your arm that stops the free flow of energy of the body, and of course there would be pain. Or if you twist your ankle, the swelling will block the flow, causing stagnation and of course there will be pain.
    What I didn’t realize at the time though was pain can come in many forms. Emotional pain for example. When we get angry and repress that anger in TCM, we can create Liver Qi Stagnation. But where is the pain in this case? Often it comes in the forms of headaches, the Liver energy cannot flow freely through the body so it rises causing headaches. 
    Or what about grief? When we feel sad, and we don’t let ourselves cry and grieve that emotion gets stuck. The Lungs are related to the chest, and with repressed grief and sadness, chest oppression is a common symptom.
    The common theme with both of these is not that an emotion caused pain, its that when we force ourselves to not freely feel an emotion it causes pain. That is because the energy of the emotion becomes stagnant when it doesn’t get to be expressed, and that is what causes the pain.
    Acupuncture works wonders with physical pain and there are many credible studies that have proven it. But what people often fail to realize is how incredible acupuncture can be for pain that feel physical but its root is connected to something more emotional or spiritual. They are all connected, and when one becomes out of balance the other two will follow. Pain, especially chronic pain can effect every aspect of our lives, and a pill may make you feel better for a few hours, but a needle, a needle can work on the root cause of the pain, so you can feel better everyday, and get back to the life you always wanted to live!
    
    For more questions about pain management, or even more information on root cause of pain in Traditional Chinese Medicine feel free to email me at [email protected] or book an appointment or free consultation.
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    Why do acupuncturists ask so much about bowels? These questions can be uncomfortable especially for a first time patients, and especially if their reason for coming in isn’t even related to digestive function! 
    Our digestion issues are not usually something we discuss openly with our friends and family, and in many cases it may feel like taboo to discuss something that feels so personal with someone your close to but even worse with a stranger. I felt the same way before starting acupuncture school. But I have learned how important digestion and the digestive system is in understanding our bodies. 
    The digestive system gives us a huge insight into the body as a whole. It has been called the second brain because of its complex nervous system. We know how important it is to take care of our actual brain, but we don’t always care for our second brain in the same way! This can lead to digestive issues such as diarrhea, constipation, gas, blasting, acid reflux, nausea, vomiting, and more. In Traditional Chinese Medicine all of these occur because of different issues with the Spleen and Stomach organs. It can be due to deficiency, stagnation, or rebellion. 
    Some people experience just a mild type of any of these symptoms, while others deal with severe digestive issues. The later is what usually sends people to me, but even people with mild digestive symptoms can experience great relief in their everyday life with acupuncture  focused on digestion, because the gut plays such a huge role in the functioning of our whole body.


    Why is digestion so important in TCM?


    In TCM the Stomach and Spleen reside in the Middle Burner which is at the center of all the channel pathways for the other organs, so when there are issues in the Spleen or Stomach other organs will begin to be affected. A good way to think about this is if there is a kink in your hose, water can flow freely without the kink (healthy digestive system), but the bigger the kink gets, the less water and pressure can go through (mild digestive issues) until no water is coming out (severe digestive issues). 
    The Spleen and Stomach are also the organs that are the root of Post-heaven Qi- which means they are the source of all the Qi produced after birth. This concept makes sense when you think where does our energy come from… the food, vitamins and water that nourish our bodies. 
    If the Stomach and Spleen perform at their fullest capacity, then our bodies are not going to be able to receive all the nourishment of our food. You can eat all the right things, but if our bodies are not digesting properly we don’t receive the full benefit of that food. This nourishment is not only needed to help our physical body function, but it is also needed to nourish our mental and spirit levels. We already said that our gut is our second brain, so it also plays a role in receiving and processing emotions and information.
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Symptoms and their TCM disharmony:


    In general the things that can affect the Spleen and Stomach are the nature of the food you eat, the regularity of meals, and the environment they are eaten in, and emotional strain. The main diagnosis involved when looking at digestion are listed below with their symptoms next to them:
    -Qi deficiency: dull pain improved by eating, poor appetite, loose stools
    -Qi Stagnation: epigastric or abdominal distention, constipation
    -Oi rebellion: hiccup, belching, nausea, vomiting, loose stools, diarrhea


Your symptoms and diagnosis may fit into one of these categories or it may be a mix of more than one of these. When receiving a treatment for digestive issues we will take a closer look into these symptoms and more to find the root cause. In your treatment we will also go through what food is best for you and your digestive issues, because obviously diet plays a major role in the function of our digestive systems.


    

.This image shows a very powerful digestion treatment. Ren 6 the point below the navel tonifies Qi and can be used for diarrhea and constipation. Ren 12 the point above the navel is the Front-Mu of the Stomach and regulates the Stomach Qi, and also tonifies the Spleen and Stomach. It can be used for almost any digestive issue including nausea, vomiting, acid reflux, diarrhea, and indigestion. St 25 the points on both sides of the navel is the Front Mu of the Large Intestine, and thus it regulates the function of the intestines, and can be used for food stagnation, as well as constipationa and diarrhea. Together these points are called the Four Doors. All our important digestion points on their own, but the combination can treat most digestive disorders, strengthen post-heaven Qi, and benefit metabolism. This combination is also a great treatment for emotions, which takes us back to the gut as the second brain!

Many of us with insomnia, myself included would do anything… and I mean anything to get to sleep. In the past I have tried everything from over the counter drugs to meditation tapes, and even just praying to the sleep Gods to let me just get some rest. 
    I have been told all the tricks… no screen time an hour before bed, no lights in the room, don’t look at any clocks, breathing meditations, warm milk, and the list goes on and on. And some nights they work and others they don’t. The type of insomnia I had and still have at times is the type where I can’t fall asleep. As soon as my head hits the pillow my mind comes to life. I call it monkey brain, because it feels like my mind just swings back and forth through everything that has or could happen in my life, like monkeys swing through a jungle. And this is a very common sleep issue I see with my clients.
    If you noticed I said “had and still have at times” when speaking about my insomnia. This is because my sleep issues are nowhere near what they once were in the past, but there are those nights after a stressful week and not receiving treatments or treating myself as regularly that the monkeys wake back up to play all night long. But for the most part I fall into the “had” category thanks to acupuncture. And this is truly the magic of acupuncture that drew me into the field. 
    So lets look a little closer at acupuncture and insomnia. For centuries acupuncture has been used to provide relief for the many different types of insomnia. These types include:

    -sleep onset or difficulty falling asleep (my type)
    -middle of the night, or waking and unable to fall back to sleep right away
    -terminalinsomnia- waking in the very early morning and unable to fall asleep again
    -sleep with vivid and disruptive dreams
    -inability to fall asleep at all

    In Chinese medicine each type of insomnia indicates a different imbalance within the body. And it is important to note that the treatment of each type of insomnia will be different, but it will also be different for every person, even if they have the same type, because it may manifest or be rooted in a different way. So the way I get treated for my sleep onset insomnia will be different from you even if you have the same type of insomnia. Acupuncture looks at the person as a whole, and not just at the symptom.
    During your treatment you will be asked questions to figure out what type(s) of insomnia you have and what organs are in disharmony. The time you fall asleep and wake up have a role in your treatment of your insomnia, for example if you wake up every night between 1-3am the Liver is involved. Also, you will be asked about your emotions, it makes sense to many of us that emotions may be part of what keeps us awake at night but in TCM they are important because each emotion has an organ it is attached to. The Heart is related to anxiety, the Liver to stress or anger, and the Spleen is connected to worry. The goal of the treatments is to create a balance of these organs, which in turn makes it easier to fall and stay asleep.
    Insomnia won’t be cured with one treatment. In general for insomnia I like to see my clients once a week for about a month or until we see substantial improvement. And then after you are on a better sleep cycle we can start cutting back to keep maintaining the results we have gotten. That is what I meant when I said still having insomnia at times. I know life gets busy and even I miss a treatment, but my body is sure to tell me when I have gone to long! When you are first starting to treat insomnia with acupuncture consistency is your best friend, it takes 21 days for your body to learn a new habit, which is why the treatments are scheduled the way they are at the start.
    The great thing with acupuncture though is even after your first treatment you will receive the benefits of calmness and relaxation that many of us with insomnia haven’t experienced in a long time! 

Some ways of how insomnia is looked at in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can be shown in the following examples: these are examples and like I said one thing does not fit every person in TCM, you may fall perfectly into one of these categories, or if you are like me fit into as many as three depending on the day. For a more personal diagnosis please make an appointment!

    -Heart Meridian: Emotion= anxiety, Insomnia= waking up easy; difficulty falling asleep

    -Liver Meridian: Emotion= anger, stress, frustration, Insomnia= difficulty falling asleep; waking between 1-3am

    -Lung Meridian: Emotion= grief, Insomnia= waking between 3-5am

    -Spleen Meridian: Emotion= worry, obsessiveness, Insomnia= waking at the same    time overnight; dream-disturbed sleep

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