Traditional Chinese Medicine Acupuncture + Bodywork
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine Acupuncture is a central practice within traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)—an integrative system in which physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health are interconnected. In this framework, the body is linked by a network of channels (also called meridians) that connect every organ, muscle, and cell.
In TCM, health is understood as a dynamic relationship between the individual, their emotional state, their environment, and the sociocultural context in which they live. Disruption in any of these areas, or in their interaction, can contribute to patterns of disharmony.
How Acupuncture Works Fine needles are placed at specific points along these channels to help restore balance, regulate physiological rhythms, and support the body’s capacity for recovery and repair. In TCM language, acupuncture moves qi and blood, and helps harmonize the eight principal patterns: hot/cold, interior/exterior, yin/yang, and excess/deficiency.
Touch, or acupressure, can also be used instead of needles, and qi gong is a way to work with the channels in oneself—or between people—without direct physical contact.
From a western medical perspective, the precise mechanisms of acupuncture are still being studied and research over the coming decades will likely provide more insight. Fascia research, in particular, offers an intriguing area where biomedical models and traditional Chinese medicine frameworks converge. Deep dive relevant research here and here.
Channels and Fascia Channels follow the lines of fascia—a continuous network of connective tissue beneath the skin that surrounds every bone, organ, muscle, cavity, nerve, and vessel. Some perspectives consider fascia and channels to describe overlapping systems. The interstitium, a connected fluid pathway within the fascia matrix, is also considered by some to be part of the TCM channel system. Needling an acupuncture point seems to create subtle changes in pressure and signalling within these networks, stimulating the body’s inherent regulatory processes.
For a thoughtful conversation between TCM doctors, biomedical doctors, and medical researchers about some of these topics, listen to this Radiolab episode on the interstitium.
Common Reasons People Seek Acupuncture
Manage stress
Relieve pain
Recover from injuries
Reduce cravings
Address chronic conditions
Support mental and emotional health
Support menstrual and reproductive health
Assist with pregnancy and postpartum care
Improve sleep
Aid digestion
Further Reading
CCHPBC – Current regulator for TCM and acupuncture in BC, outlining scope and standards of practice.
NCCAOM – U.S. certifying body’s TCM-centered description of acupuncture.
