How acupuncture stimulates healing from treatment and beyond.

What you are looking for is already in you… You already are everything you are seeking. – Thich Nhat Hanh

Ancient Chinese doctors established a system of medical treatment driven by empirical evidence and enriched by Taoism and the flow of nature. Over a few thousand years, they honed the skill of treating patients by drawing on the body’s activation of multiple physiological systems and its inherent healing capacity.

Over the last 20+ years, modern research with functional MRIs (fMRI), PET scans, and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has shown how acupuncture produces gentle sensations that activate the body’s healing response. 

The manipulation of the acupuncture needle physically stimulates the microfibers of connective tissue, twisting them and triggering a microscopic immune response. This stimulation, referred to as needle grasp, activates biochemical and neurological signaling throughout the surrounding tissues, thereby messaging the brain — a mechanical change giving rise to biochemical propagation, sending an electrical signal within the nervous system. In essence, acupuncture treatment is a coordinated physiological event involving connective tissue deformation, sensory signaling to the nervous system, central processing in the brain, and autonomic regulation.

The traditional needling technique, known as De Qi, produces numerous beneficial effects. Translated, De Qi means the arrival of Qi. These ancient techniques involve nuanced manipulations of acupuncture needles, producing gentle sensations that effectively activate the body’s healing response. The classical description of De Qi is the moment when the body acknowledges the therapeutic intent of the needle. Traditional needle manipulations designed to achieve balancing responses in the body combine the amplitude of the rotational arc, the speed of manipulation, and the force of the tissue’s resistance. Ancient texts, as early as the 1st century BCE, describe the use of acupuncture as a form of mechanical dosage, with specifics on the direction of rotation, the number of rotations, varying depth, and the strength of insertion. With names like Burning Mountain or Cooling the Sky, ancient Chinese medical doctors developed needling techniques to balance and enhance a patient’s own biochemistry by administering microdoses of mechanical stimulation.

The needle changes the tissue, and to the practitioner, it can feel like heaviness, resistance, or a change in elasticity. The sensations can feel like warmth, tingling, or aching to the patient. Pain or strong stimulation causes tissue irritation and triggers a protective stress response, and MRIs and PET scans show that they negate the healing response.

Thousands of years ago, medical providers discovered that designated sites on the body (acupuncture points) can tap into the way your brain has mapped your body. Modern research tools show the healing benefits of precise acupuncture points. For example, Pericardium 6 reduces heart rate, calms the sympathetic response, and enhances nerve generation in the hippocampus. Stomach 36 increases adenosine and activates the limbic system, which calms pain perception. Stomach 36 and Governing Vessel 20 promote Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor expression for neuron survival and growth. GV20 has been shown to enhance cognition and brain health. It increases the proliferation of neuroprogenitor cells and balances neurotransmitters supporting people with Parkinson’s Disease. And many more benefits: 

• increased biomarkers confirming the generation and maturation of neurons 
• suppression of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNFα, reducing systemic inflammation
• analgesia through enhancing endogenous opioids and serotonin
• stimulating Adrenocorticotropic hormone promoting hypothalamic activity and balancing cortisol production, which also balances the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis).

Modern research shows the human brain is still “central command” to healing and the body. And that stimulating body points and activating brain regions with acupuncture means that the nervous system will do the processing. The body is inherently a powerful healing system at the cellular and molecular level. 

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Seattle King County Clinic

On April 23rd, I joined 4,000 volunteers and healthcare providers at the Seattle-King County Clinic at the Seattle Center. This was my third year providing acupuncture treatments at this completely free event for anyone in need of services, no questions asked. Most of the patients who attend have healthcare coverage, but it’s tragically lacking. Maybe it barely covers the essentials or has a very high deductible. Most patients who are familiar with the clinic know the line gets longer every year. I had two patients who began standing in line at 9:30 AM the day before, so they were there for 26-32 hours before they saw me. 

What I love most about this event is the immense gratitude expressed by everyone throughout the day. Every patient I treated thanked me for donating my time and services. Volunteers thanked each other. As one Medical Director said, “It’s love made visible.” In my opinion, the world needs a whole lot more of this.

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Gratitude for training opportunities

My continued professional training has been nothing short of fantastic over the last several months. The advanced classes in Scotland were truly enriching, including one taught by the founder of Visceral Manipulation, Jean-Pierre Barral. In March, I assisted a teacher in Salt Lake City with a class on the pelvis. In April, I assisted an instructor in Seattle with a class in the neuromeningial curriculum. Later this year, I will travel to Portland and Albuquerque to take classes working with joints and the spine. I am so grateful for the opportunities to pursue training in the specialized skills of Visceral Manipulation.