Acupuncture and Inflammation

***note :: for now, this will be a brief introduction to some of the research being done for Acupuncture effect on inflammation***

This article from 2023 highlights various studies showing Acupuncture effects on known inflammation processes in the body.  If you dive in, you’ll see links to multiple studies referenced for information within the article.

At some point, this article might morph to explore more of the research being done.  Science is discovering increasing nuances of the complex ways bodies function.  I believe great discoveries for healing will happen in the next 20 years.

For now though, I wanted to view inflammation through the lens of Chinese Medicine.  This phrase is used a lot, and also believed to play a role in many disease processes.  Chinese Medicine allows us to dive deeper into why a body is inflaming (and thus what we can do to treat it).

Chinese Medicine is based on many principles, one of the being Yin and Yang.  Yin is the cooling, resting, parasympathetic aspects of your body and nervous system.  Think of the term “rest and digest”.  Yang is the motivating spark of our life, the sympathetic nervous system.  Think of the term “fight or flight”.  When we need something to get done, the yang energy is called forth.

Inflammation is seen as too much of a yang force within a particular area or system.  If it’s within a certain muscle area, or spine, it can produce an aggravating pain.  If it’s within a system (let’s say the brain/central nervous system), this excessive heat can lead to neurodegeneration.  This is what one of the articles references, specifically the effect of electroacupuncture on regulating this inflammatory response.

Think of a fire that’s burning to bright.  Everyone needs to step back, otherwise they might burn.  The wood of the fire get’s turns to ash quickly.  Wood might run out sooner than desired.  Here, the fire is yang and the wood is yin.  In the brain, the inflammation would be yang.  The yin would be the physical brain that degenerates.

With Chinese Medicine, we can assess inflammation through palpation and diagnostic process.  The question asked continually is “Why is it inflamed?”.  There can be many reasons.  Usually, inflammation happens when there is stasis.  Think of the body as having rivers of nourishment.  We call them meridians, but it’s the way blood, moisture and nerve impulse courses through our body.  Often, as we age, these rivers get blocked.  Then, we can’t bring more water to soothe the heat of the body.  This energy get’s trapped, and can activate signals calling for reinforcement.  If we properly assess what is blocked, we can remove this.  Flow is restored and inflammation reduces.

Reducing inflammation can really be that simple.  Effective too.

There are more complex pathways.  As we age, or live a hard life (many ways for life to challenge), our body loses vitality.  This affects our ability to motivate the yin in our body to nourish, which often leads to inflammation.  Chinese medicine has multiple ways to boost vitality.  It can be through Acupuncture, Herbs or lifestyle shifts.  We help you determine what is most aligned with your needs.

With Chinese Medicine, the ultimate goal is whole body health.  Digestive issues, stress, pain and emotional imbalance can all lead to inflammation.  We have ways to address all of these.  In this way, we can determine what’s underneath your inflammation, or whatever is causes symptoms.

Best…. Kevin