Blake Faulkner 
Fibromyalgia Syndrome
How Chinese Medicine Treats Fibromyalgia Syndrome
More and more Americans are becoming ill with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). It is
estimated that 3-6 million people--primarily women-- have it. It has become a major
form of disability. This article will not be presenting the syndrome according to a
western biomedical model per se. I will explore how the disease manifests and is at least
ameliorated and at best resolved according to Chinese medicine. By Chinese medicine I
will be exploring specifically acupuncture, herbology and nutrition. In order to
understand FMS in particular it is useful to gain a basic understanding of Chinese
medicine in general.
Introduction to the Chinese Health Model
Chinese medicine has been a valid system of treating health and disease for over 2000 years. It has no side effects. It primarily treats the energetic vital force of the body (called qi). Qi is generated by certain organs, stored in others, flows in a network in the body (called meridians and channels), pools at various points in the body (commonly known as acupuncture points), and in general keeps the body in a state of health or balance.
The strength of Chinese medicine, besides being holistic in nature and gentle in practice, is that it treats the manifestation of health problems as well as the root or the underlying problem. That is why it truly cures. This system is complete and accurate, although it is not provable by the scientific method.
We are all a part of life. All that is life is not distillable nor deducible to scientific reasoning. Western science does not encompass all of reality. Chinese medicine is the oldest continually practiced professional medicine in the world. And it is not imagination that has brought it through the rigors of evolution, culture, and the changing needs of humanity.
Some Major Concepts of Health According to Chinese Medicine
Qi: Pronounced "chee," is best understood as influence. It is qi that is responsible for all change and movement within the body. This is a holistic definition. Specifically, qi defends, warms, restrains, transforms, and transports.
Blood: Blood is more than just the liquid matrix of biomedicine. It has a close relationship with qi and provides a foundation for qi to stay within the body. The ancient statement "blood is the mother of qi" means that blood nourishes qi. Specifically blood nourishes the body, moistens the tissues, and provides the material foundation for the spirit or mind to reside.
Essence: Stored in the kidneys and primarily inherited from our parents, it provides the driving force to support and sustain us from birth to death. We have a limited supply, but we do fortify this to some extent with the food we eat, providing it is food with vitality and that our bodies are healthy enough to fully transform this food.
Spleen: It is the qi or vitality of the spleen that is responsible for the transformation of food and drink into qi and blood. The spleen also vitalizes the flesh and muscles, and the four limbs. The spleen does not function well in a damp environment, both internal and external. Ironically, when not functioning properly "the spleen is the source of all dampness" (in the body).
Liver: The liver nourishes the sinews (tendons, ligaments): It sends them an abundant supply of qi and blood. The liver also stores any surplus of blood, and is also responsible for "coursing and discharging" of qi and blood in the entire body. We will see why this is so important soon.
Heart: The heart not only pumps the blood, but also stores the spirit/shen (specifically the heart blood). In Chinese medicine, this is largely a function of mind and consciousness, although intellectual activity is mainly governed by the spleen.
Kidneys: The kidneys are responsible for human reproduction, growth and development, and maturation. Recall this largely has to do with the essence explained above. The kidneys keep the bones healthy. It also helps, with the spleen to keep water metabolizing correctly.
Pain: "Where there is freeflow there is no pain and where there is no freeflow there is pain."(Ancient Chinese adage). The freeflow here pertains to qi, and, as an extension, also pertains blood. When there is a dull aching distending or vague pain there exists a stagnation of qi; and when there is a sharp fixed boring type pain there exists stagnation of blood. Pain that involves simultaneous types of sensations involve both qi and blood stagnation.
Pathogenic Influences
Cold: This type of influence causes pain, of a fixed location, quite intense, and its tell-tale sign is that cold temperature makes it worse while application of heat makes it better.
Heat: Red, hot to touch, burning nature characterizes this influence. Application of heat worsens this kind of pain or symptom while cold improves it.
Damp: Like the dampness in nature, dampness in the body is heavy, dull, lingering. Damp weather makes it worse, dryness improves it. It tends to affect the lower part of the body because it is sinking in nature but it does cause foggy thinking.
Wind Like nature wind in the body has a moving characteristic. Symptoms that come and go, travel from joint to joint have a wind type of influence. Wind can combine with any other pathological influence mentioned above.
Symptoms of Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) According to Chinese Medicine
Musculoskeletal Pain
Musculoskeletal pain (impediment pain) is the number one health complaint of FMS sufferers. This is described as deep, burning, shooting, stabbing, distending and/or heavy pain.
Let's apply the Chinese medical concepts.
Burning pain pertains to a hot pathogenic influence, deep pain can be cold type, blood stagnation type, or may need to be further explored clinically. Shooting/stabbing pain is caused by blood stagnation. Distending pain is qi stagnation. Heavy sensation is damp stagnation; moving pain, wind pathogenic influence.
There can be more than one influence coexisting. How it manifests in weather or certain activity can further define it and so give clues as to how to treat it.
Acupuncture works very well to move qi and blood and help free up the pain. Moxibustion (a heating technique with an herb that acupuncturists use) is very helpful for cold type impediment. Stagnation of any type can be manifested as an excess type problem (too much of a particular influence) but with an underlying deficiency (too little of, for example qi to invigorate the tissues and blood to nourish and moisten them). Acupuncture does well to unblock the aforementioned stagnations; Chinese herbology can both unblock and help build both qi and blood. Acupuncture and herbology together work wonderfully to remove the pathogenic influences and heal the involved systems
Fatigue/Malaise
A close second with many FMS patients, or it may be the primary issue.
Simply put fatigue is no energy, lack of vitality, or as we know now from part one, lack of qi. This can be further complicated with lack of sufficient blood (Blood deficiency is not to be confused with anemia. Anemia includes blood deficiency but blood deficiency does not necessarily include anemia). This can be due to a liver disharmony (can't discharge and course the qi) a spleen disharmony (can't get vitality from the food eaten), heart problem (can't govern the blood and therefore qi), and /or the kidneys (our bank of essence becomes depleted).
The majority of FMS patients I see have most of these organ systems involved. Lack of qi and blood not only accounts for the fatigue but the pain, as described above.
Sleep Disturbance
When there is not enough blood, insomnia or sleep disturbance ensues. That which is active is yang in nature and that which is inactive is yin in nature.
It has been postulated that from a biomedical perspective FMS sufferers do not enter a deep brain activity during sleep. That is a remarkable description of too much yang in the body. The heart primarily and the liver secondarily are the main culprits that lead to insomnia. More specifically it is the lack of heart blood/yin and liver blood/yin that make deep sleep impossible.
Recall that liver stores the blood and that heart stores the shen/consciousness. When yin/blood is deficient, mental activity is heightened especially during night (a yin time). Acupuncture again can help to heal this imbalance but I personally find that herbs are more powerful to build yin/blood.
Digestive Disturbance
Recall that the spleen is responsible for the transformation of food and drink in the body. Gas and bloating, as well as loose stool, undigested food in the stool, alternating constipation and diarrhea are the indications of a weak or deficient spleen. Fatigue after eating is often the beginning sign.
Why does the spleen govern the four limbs and the flesh? Because it transforms food into blood and qi which, in surplus, make for strong, supple muscles and healthy arms and legs. Lack of nourishment (lack of qi and blood) which can result in pain is often a problem of the spleen. Heaviness in the body is a problem of dampness and also involves the spleen because that is where dampness is erroneously produced. Acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and proper nutrition can all help to revive the spleen.
Thought Disturbance
(cloudy thinking, brain fog) This is again a problem of the spleen, the source of all dampness. Instead of sending up clear qi with which to nourish the brain, the spleen sends up turbidity, the best it can do in illness. Herbs and acupuncture can help cure cloudy thinking; ultimately the spleen needs to be restored (balanced).
Mood disturbance, Depression
From a Chinese medical standpoint, it is basically a problem of primarily the liver (and its subsequent inability to freely course the qi) and secondarily the spleen (the sense of heaviness and exhaustion). Anger and irritability also arise from the liver. Acupuncture can help to "smooth" or "comfort" the liver, strengthen the spleen, and thereby alleviate these mood disturbances. Often the case of a disharmonious liver is from blood deficiency. Blood deficiency is best directly ameliorated by Chinese herbs and good nutrition. Obviously professional counseling may be warranted.
One disease different treatments. Different diseases one treatment.
This is another Chinese saying. That means even if a patient has the same biomedically defined diagnosis such as fibromyalgia, he or she will be treated according to his or her special presentation of symptoms and signs. This not only encompasses the disease, but also the person's unique constitution, i.e.: the person's strengths and weaknesses from a holistic standpoint.
Only one fully trained in Chinese medical diagnosis (i.e.: pattern discrimination) can fully address the complexity of the patterns as defined in this paper: that is what makes for a successful practitioner. This is not the same as a practitioner who takes a mini course in acupuncture so they can insert acupuncture needles.
With the patient's commitment to care Chinese medicine can successfully treat fibromyalgia syndrome.