Back Pain and the Meridian System

Acupuncture is probably most well known in the United States for its effectiveness in treating pain. It is very good at relieving chronic pain over time, and many patients even experience "on the table" improvement. This is because Chinese medicine has a unique understanding of the cause of pain: disruption of proper function of the body's MERIDIAN system. Allow me to explain.

This is a Chinese phrase famous in our medicine meaning, "If there is free flow, then there is no pain; if there is pain, then there is no free flow" (Tong zhi bu tong; bu tong zhi tong). Normal physiology says that Qi, or energy, flows through the Meridians the way that blood flows through blood vessels, and these Meridians traverse the entire body to allow Qi to nourish, warm, and activate the various body muscles, tissues, and organs. When that flow is impeded in some way, Qi and blood stagnate in the Meridian, and the body experiences pain along that Meridian - either locally or farther down the stream. This is way bruises are painful; they are essentially stuck blood (and Qi).

What causes stagnation in the Meridians? For most pain cases it's trauma or injury, and this could include things like surgery or overuse. Cold can also cause stagnation. Think of a creek freezing solid in the winter. That's why we typically don't recommend icing a strained muscle. Things like stress and emotional constraint also contribute to pain, so have a glass of wine and relax once in a while!

At the Meridian clinic (you've probably guessed by now what inspired our name!), we see a lot of patients complaining of back pain. Many have had injuries - ruptured discs, crushed vertebrae, strained muscles - and many just have the natural degeneration that from with decades of hard work and compromised posture. A large portion of patients has already had back surgery and haven't found relief (and in some cases developed new symptoms). Unfortunately, operations leave scars, and scar tissue is essentially blood stasis, a permanent bruise that impedes free flow. It is our job to utilize the Meridians that enter the spine and cross the back muscles to restore proper flow.

These are the two Meridians most often contributing to back pain, the Urinary Bladder Meridian and the Du Meridian. As you can see in these images taken from Deadman's A Manual of Acupuncture, these Meridians cover the whole length of the back and directly connect with the spine and erector spinae muscles, common sites of back pain. The cool thing about using the Meridian system is that the stagnation is in the Meridian, not just individual muscles, meaning that if you have pain in your mid-back, we can needle your low back or legs along that same Meridian to elicit a change. In fact, one of the best acupuncture points for back pain is directly behind the knee. Needling this area helps to invigorate the entire Meridian, getting things moving again and restoring free flow. Removing a dam in the river quickens the flow of the current many miles away. 

So next time you're lying on the table wondering why there are needles in your feet when it's your upper back that's sore, remember that the body is interconnected thanks to the Meridian system!