What We Can Learn from Ancient Medical Systems, like Chinese Medicine: A Neurological Case Study
Many traditional medical systems, by recognizing the interconnectedness between all systems within the body, can oftentimes offer more insight into complex or chronic health issues. Here is an example:
A Neurological Case Study: A wasting and loss of control of the right ring and pinky fingers
Background: A 69 yo man came in because he was experiencing muscle atrophy and neuropathy along the ulnar nerve inside his right palm, and he wasn’t finding solutions using conventional medicine, including elbow surgery to unbind the fascia impacting the ulnar nerve. The area was constantly buzzing and he was gradually losing control, strength in the ring and pinky fingers, as well as tone in the palm leading to the ring and pinky fingers.
In Chinese Medicine everything someone experiences is significant to understanding the bigger health picture and chief complaint, whether it’s close in physical proximity to the chief complaint or not: his secondary complaints included insomnia, pre-diabetes, joint pain in nearly every joint, lower back pain, and extremely tight neck and shoulders, shoulder pain, knee pain. He also has a history of right calf atrophy, left shoulder replacement surgery, back pain affecting his posture, and arthritis in the right hand. He is a former Olympic athlete who continues training hard every day, and may have an unresolved neck injury from his competition days. His diet is Vegan plus fish. All his lab tests are normal, with the exception of testing positive for pre-diabetes.
Observations:
-He is a high achieving individual who is always ‘on the go’
-His hands and wrists can’t lay flat on the table while lying down, because his shoulder muscles are so contracted (and dry).
-Red, tired, (sometimes dry) eyes
-The area of atrophy in his hand is shrunken, wrinkled and wasted.
-Chinese Medicine Tongue Diagnosis: His tongue tells me there is an extreme amount of heat in the body; the body is compensating for the heat and blood deficiency by contracting the pericardium in order to astringe blood. The fluids in the Large intestine are decreasing, and all of the energy he’s taking in from food is going to his muscles, and the internal organs are lacking nourishment, which explains the quiver.
Palpation:
-All of his muscles are tight, ropy and dry.
-The area of neuropathy lacks tone.
Pulse Palpation: his pulses tell me that his deepest lifeforce energies (the Kidneys) are no longer rooted and able to consolidate (kidney pulses are floating); the blood is not nutrient dense (the liver pulse is thin); and there is a deep dryness in the exocrine fluids (the Spleen/St pulse is thin, tight and unrooted).
Chinese Medicine diagnosis: Based on observation, palpation, and questions, the Chinese Medicine diagnosis is insufficient Kidney and Liver Yin unable to root or contain Yang/energy, which is leading to Yang escaping (the buzzing) and wasting of the physical container, which we see in the muscle atrophy, pre-diabetes, and insomnia. The container is not strong enough for the amount of energy demanded of it. This is akin to a car that has run out of oil and is now running on fumes - it’s only a matter of time before the car irreparably breaks down.
The genius of Chinese Herbology is that an herbal formula simultaneously identifies the pattern of the imbalance (signs and symptoms), while also providing the herbal solution for that imbalance. “Hidden Tiger Pill”, composed by Neo-Confucian philosopher and doctor Zhu Dan Xi in 1481, specifically treats the pattern of ‘atrophy disorder due to Liver and Kidney yin deficiency’, where the heat and fumes from ‘running on empty’ over an extended period of time are now rampant, and there is not enough blood and resources to nourish the associated tissues of the liver (sinews) and kidneys (bones), which manifests as weakness, and wasting of the Sinews.
“Hidden Tiger Pill” by Zhu Dan Xi, 1481
Huang Bai -Clears extreme excess Heat
Zhi Mu -Clears deficient Heat
Shu Di Huang -Nourishes deep blood, sinews, and yin
Gui Ban -Nourishes deep yin
Bai Shao -Nourishes blood and sinews
Hu Gu -Expels dampness from the bone-level
Suo Yang -Astringes yang energy
Gan Jiang -Warms the middle, to counteract all of the cold herbs above
Chen Pi -Regulates digestion, to counteract all of the heavy cloying herbs above
Dang Gui -Invigorates and tonifies blood
The root cause of his neurological issue is overdoing it exercise-wise, while also not replenishing through deep nutrition, which combined is causing the Yin deficiency (yin is also thought of as one’s container), which includes blood volume, exocrine fluids, endocrine fluids, as well as the physical structure of flesh itself. Yin’s receptivity, restfulness, relaxation, and stillness occurs in relation to Yang. Yin is the container for Yang’s energy, movement, and activity. In fact, the most important anchor for Yang energy is missing from his diet: healthy saturated fats, and animal protein. With persistent counsel to be less type A, eat more fats, questioning his need for over-exercise, and herbs, acupuncture, and dietary therapy aligned with treating Kidney and Liver yin deficiency, his joint pain has diminished, and he has slowly regained control, tone, and strength in his right 4th and 5th fingers.
As modern humans, i think it’s often easy to dismiss ancient medical systems as primitive, being based in superstition, the placebo effect, or pseudoscience, but here’s an example of the sophistication and observational insight of Chinese Medicine practiced 600 years ago: they are observing a pattern using signs, symptoms, palpation, and tongue, and coming up with herbs to match the pathogenesis. Perhaps what’s old is actually radically progressive?