is tcm acupuncture really traditional?

TCM, or Traditional Chinese Medicine, is what we all learn in acupuncture school anywhere in the world; however, it’s anything but traditional.

TCM was formed by what was known as the Imperial Academy, which was a committee formed some time after Communism had abolished the complete system of acupuncture (the primary channels + the complement channels) and realized that people needed healthcare. This committee decided what points from the primary channels would be used and many times, in what combinations, and quickly trained non-acupuncturists in this new system so that they could go out into villages and help people who needed care. These people were referred to as Barefoot Doctors.

Given the watered down nature of TCM, it’s astonishing that people do find relief by using it; however, it has significant limits, and here,

I’ll explain why TCM acupuncture is not going to be the solution you’re looking for in order to rid yourself of migraines. (The same applies for other chronic, degenerative diseases like autoimmune conditions and the like).

One of the ways TCM systemitizes acupuncture is classifying symptoms as either deficient or excess. Does the patient have too much of something or too little of something, and is this status causing the problem? However, this dichotomy is often short sighted in that a deficiency of one thing can cause an excess-looking pattern. Consider a helium balloon: If the balloon is filled with helium, it will naturally rise unless it’s tied down adequately.

If the balloon is tied to a brick, it’s unlikely to float away, but if it were tied to a pebble, it might be able to float away.

In the case of migraines, even though there are certainly symptoms that affect the entire body like nausea, vomiting, and limb numbness, generally speaking, the symptoms are largely affecting the head—the most yang aspect of the body. In this situation, energy is rising chaotically to the head, and the reason that it is able to do that is because it is not properly rooted—just like the helium balloon: the helium is not the only factor in losing the balloon but also the insufficient tie down.

You’re probably familiar with the ideas of yin and yang, and these qualities also apply to energy. The reason that energy can rise (yang) the way it does is because it doesn’t have a proper root (yin). Within the complement channel system, there is a class of channels called the divergent channels, which connects the outermost layer of the body (WEI) with the deepest layer (YUAN), and has the ability to help us consolidate different types of mediumship while we nurture ourselves through diet, rest, and other lifestyle changes to build more resources.

You can read more about the divergent channels in my post linked above, but to quickly recap, the divergent channels are one of the channel systems that step in to help when other, outer channels, including the primary channels, have failed—the pathogen was too strong (viruses, bacteria, environmental pollutants) or too frequent (constant criticism, judgement, and emotional suppression). The divergent channels use mediumship to hold that pathogenic “exposure” and create a slower moving disease in order to protect us. If we are not careful to support our mediumship, over time, it will wear down, allowing the symptoms of chronic disease to express themselves. As we build these resources, both through treatments and lifestyle, we are able to put these symptoms back into latency.

The reason TCM is unlikely to be effective in cases of migraine (and other chronic disease) is because the pathogen is not longer in the primary channel.

It has been stored by the divergent channel system, and the mediumship has worn down. We cannot truly build mediumship using the primary channels; it’s like trying to get to the center of a city using country backroads. There’s nothing wrong with country back roads, but they’re not going to get you to the heart of the city. You need to dig in on a deeper level, and for migraines, that deeper level is often the divergent channels (in many cases, also, the eight extraordinary channels, which are another class of channels within the complement system).

Generally, in TCM, treatments will focus on the location of the symptom. In the case of migraine, this will often be through using the Gallbladder channel because of its trajectory on the head and down the neck, but an astonishing miss in this situation is that the Gallbladder is a yang channel, which functions to move and release (often excess) pathology. Yin channels store and help build. If we refer back to the example of the helium balloon, do we still think that migraine is a condition of excess?

I’m of the opinion that migraine is a temporary excess condition as a RESULT of a severely deficient condition.

This means that we should never, which is admittedly a strong statement, try to “clear” or “release” pathology in the case of migraine but rather we should be trying to build resources for the patient through acupuncture, herbs, diet, and lifestyle modifications.

In an alternate universe, if I were to use a primary channel to treat migraines, I would be thinking about yin channels like the Spleen, Liver, and Heart, which are all channels involved in building and storing blood, but under no circumstances would I go to the gallbladder to release. The tension, pain, and other symptoms of a migraine is a cry for resources, as the body tries desperately to hold on to what little resources it has. Releasing is completely the wrong strategy and could make it worse.

I write this for a reader—whether a person suffering with migraine or another acupuncturist looking for insight—to know that there is a solution. There is healing. There is hope. In my experience as the patient, healing was not fast, though I have had patients who have gone from multiple migraines per week to none with just one treatment.

This medicine does not have limits, and I encourage you to seek out the complete system of acupuncture—the primary channels + the complement channels—for yourself or for your patients. This world needs all of us healthy and thriving so that we can each offer our unique gifts to our families and communities, and it becomes difficult to do that when you’re burdened with chronic disease.

Heal yourself and be part of healing the world.