Dit Da Jow and Pain

Pain and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

The basic statement about pain, formed almost two thousand years ago in TCM it was stated “if there is free flow, there is no pain; however, if there is a disruption of this free flow then pain occurs”. Here ‘free flow’ refers to the free flow of Qi and Blood. The circulation of Qi and Blood in the body should be constant, just like the continual courses of the sun and moon.

Dit Da Jow was created for the free flow of Qi in the body to heal and at the same time reduce pain. According to TCM, this circulation depends upon the correct, interdependent functioning of the Zang-Fu organs, including the Lung, Heart, Liver and Kidney. The Lung disperses Qi to every part of the body, and also connects to the blood vessels, thus keeping the Qi and Blood circulating freely in the body. The Heart is in charge of promoting the circulation of Blood in their Vessels.

The Liver is in charge of keeping the Qi circulating freely, which in turn keeps the Blood circulating freely. The circulation of Liver-Qi also promotes the digestive functions of the Spleen and Stomach, and this keeps the water passages clear, so preventing the accumulation of Damp in the body.

The Kidney is the root of Yang Qi, which warms the Qi and Blood to maintain their free circulation. Moreover, the Kidney also produces Yuan Qi or Original Qi, which is the root energy for all the Zang-Fu organs. Where there is dysfunction of any of these organs, due to the various kinds of pathogenic factors discussed earlier, there will be retardation of the Qi and Blood circulation, eventually causing pain.

It should now be clear that pain is mainly a result of disturbances in the Qi and Blood circulation, and may be caused by stagnation of Qi and Blood, or deficiency of Qi and Blood-but why does this disturbance of Qi and Blood flow cause pain?

Which organ is in charge of pain? The reason was stated clearly,two thousand years ago, in the Simple question: ‘all kinds of pain, itching and sores are due to Heart disorder’ (Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine. Why did the ancient texts attribute pain to the Heart? This can be explained as follows. The Heart promotes normal Blood circulation in the Zang-Fu organs, Blood Vessels, channels and the tissues. Where the Qi and Blood circulation are disordered, a disturbed feedback will be sent to the Heart. In other words, one can say that the Heart is constantly sensitive to the condition of the Qi and Blood circulation.

Dit Da Jow’s herbal components travel the Heart and Pericardium meridians keeping those meridians and channels flowing smoothly. Modern medicine considers that pain is the body’s way of responding to damaged tissue. For instance, when a bone breaks, nerves send pain messages through the spinal cord to the brain, where they are interpreted. The TCM viewpoint is that pain is the reflection of the Mind (Shen) to the stimulation from the environment, and the activity of the Mind is considered to be the result of physiological function of the Heart.

When the Qi and Blood circulation are disturbed, this situation will be conveyed to the Heart, and the pain that follows is a response from the Mind to this situation. According to this viewpoint, pain is closely related to the Heart. How a person responds to pain is determined by many factors, of which emotional states are very important. For example, depression seems to increase a person’s perception of pain and to decrease the ability to cope with both the pain and the treatment. Thus treating the depression treats the pain as well. If pain is not adequately treated, then pain impulses are more readily transmitted to the brain.

Therefore, in TCM it is considered that it is more effective to prevent pain than to treat it after it occurs. In terms of the relationship between the emotions, the interior organs and the Heart, TCM holds that the Heart dominates the emotions and is the root controller of other Zang-Fu organs. For instance, the famous doctor Ling Shu states: ‘the Heart is the root controller for five Zang organs and six Fu organs, therefore the Heart will be disturbed by grief and meditation’.

All these statements clearly mention that the Heart can be influenced by the dysfunction of other Zang-Fu organs as well the difference emotions, and this may lead to the development of pain. Authentic Dit Da Jow travels thru all 12 Meridians with emphasis on the Heart,Pericardium Liver, Spleen, and Kidney Meridians, by doing so Qi is able to flow freely thus allowing healing to occur and pain to disappear.