English
We all know pain is a warning that something is wrong with the body’s working. However, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners don’t focus only on the pain. They also identify the accompanying signs.
Two fundamental concepts of TCM are involved in pain – the meridian system and chi.
Chi is the vital energy of the body that flows through the meridian system. When chi is blocked or stagnant, there may be pain and illness. Meridians exist at every level of the body. If chi is blocked at skin level, you can see bruising or swelling.
Blockages at flesh level can produce stiff, sore muscles, while chi stagnation in the joints can create arthritis and back pain. Internal blockages may produce headaches, sore throat, chest, stomach, menstrual, nerve and sciatic pain.
Pain aggravated by pressure is an “excess type”. It’s caused by invasion of outside disease-causing factors, obstruction of meridians, stagnation of chi and blood, intestinal parasites, retention of food or obstruction by phlegm.
This can also be divided into subtypes, for example, joint pain can affect the meridians from cold-dampness pathogens. Burning pain is usually due to damp-heat pathogens, such as acute infections, while pain alleviated by pressure is a “deficient type”, caused by malnutrition due to insufficient chi and blood. If the pain is relived by warmth, it’s a “cold type”, which occurs with abdominal pain.
Acupuncture is said to rid blockages and promote the flow of chi. When the affected meridian is correctly identified, pain is believe to be relieved.
Many herbs are also used for pain treatment. Honeysuckle flower, ephedra and chrysanthemum are used of headache due to flu; stabbing muscular pain may be reduced with peach kernel, angelica, lovage, and peony root, to promote blood flow; dull abdominal pain can be treated by ginseng, astragalus and liquorice root; and abdominal colic due to food retention can be eased by hawthorn, malt and chicken’s gizzard-skin.
Before taking any medicine, consult your TCM or medical practitioner.
Rose Tse and Jenny Eagleton
info@shen-nong.com
Edited by Suzanne Harrison suzanne.harrison@scmp.com
Published: December 11, 2006
Source: South China Morning Post
