In order to understand the effects of acupuncture treatments on arthritis, let’s start from the beginning; what is arthritis from the Classical Chinese Medicine view?
Our body is highly intelligent, it is meant to thrive, self-preserve, heal, regenerate, procreate and continue our species, keeping the process of humanity’s evolution going.
When we encounter a pathogen, which means anything that is aggressive and potentially damaging to us, the body needs to make a choice: Do I get rid of it or do I keep it dormant/in latency? What does it take to go either way? In order to answer that question, we need to explore 2 other topics: hydration and resources.
When we talk about hydration, everybody is pretty familiar with the idea of needing to drink water so our body can function properly, we rely so much on moisture and body fluids to keep everything running smoothly that we could spend the whole day talking about how important hydration is to every cell, tissue, fascia, connective tissue, spinal fluid, blood, excretion processes, temperature regulation, lubrication and so on. Hydration is essential, not only to keep us functioning well but also to prevent diseases, expel pathogens or keep them in latency. We can go many days without food, but not without water and for very good reasons.
The quality of the water we drink is also a big subject on its own, the better the quality, the more absorption and therefore the more hydration. But water is not the whole story. If we drink tons of water a day, even if is very good quality, structured and with the proper minerals on it, we will still be dehydrated at the end of the day, if that’s the only thing we are doing to stay hydrated. Why is that? Because the water metabolization on the body is pretty fast, so we need to consume “highly nutritious water” or wet foods, like bone broth, soups and congee, that the body will take in slowly, sipping it little by little, so it doesn’t wash through our system, it actually hydrates and nourishes us quite deeply.
Water is also a great conduit of electricity. We are “electric beings”, our body communicates through the nervous system. The more hydrated, the better and faster the information travels where it needs to go.
And what is the relationship of water and the capability of the immune system to fight diseases?
Many diseases like airborne diseases enter the body through the mouth, ears, throat and eyes. If we have enough body fluids, we are able to expel it by sneezing, coughing, tearing, getting a runny nose, and sweating. If the pathogen got through the digestive system, we are able to get rid of it through the elimination pathways, having a bowel movement or diarrhea, urination, vomiting and so on. All those defensive mechanisms of our immune system rely on how much body fluids we have to do its job. And is that the whole picture? No.
Besides being well hydrated, we need the building blocks available to repair, expel, detox, fix, exchange, self – regulate and support all our bodily functions. That depends on quite a few factors, life style and diet being very crucial ones.
How do we get our “building blocks”? What will define the quality of it? Two things come to mind, first: what do we eat and second, how do we absorb what we eat, or in other words, how healthy our digestive system is.
We are talking about our resources, our savings account. Do we have plenty saved or are we running on debt? Because when a crisis comes, a potential disease, that’s what will allow the body to make its move to protect us. Combined with that we have our habits, which will either nourish and energize us, or deplete and consume those same resources that we need for optimal living and healing.
The body’s 24/7 mission is to protect the vital organs from pathogens, so hopefully we can live long lives and fulfill our destiny here. In order to protect the vital organs, the body makes “executive decisions” when facing pathogens, and it does its very best job at diverging those aggressors by finding “parking spots” and keeping them there without disturbance, keeping them in latency.
So now we are getting closer to fully and finally understanding arthritis.
Arthritis is a self- protective mechanism of the body, where the pathogen is directed to the joints (parking spots) instead of going straight to more important organs like the heart, the liver, the kidneys and so on. It’s our body coming to the rescue so we can actually get to reach the senior age. It’s our body buying us time until we figure out how to maintain it, fuel it and repair it properly.
So how does the body respond to arthritis treatments? First, we can’t expect things to change if we don’t want to change anything. The Chinese Medicine First Assessment is all about understanding together how did we get here, what do we need to improve, what do we need to provide to your body, what in our life is a pathogen, so we can begin to swim with the current, not against it. The idea is to bring awareness to our day-to-day life and choices, is to educate and give people information and power, so they can be the ones deciding to move one step forward towards illness or health. Is a shared responsibility. The treatments then will help building the resources and directing specific functions to either expel that pathogen or to keep it latent where the pain and discomfort is no longer present, the treatment will take place to remind your body to do what is meant to do, finding its way back to homeostasis, balance and healing.
Are you ready to learn your body’s language and have a happier and freer life?
