Qi Disorders

[Guest guest]

There are 4 main things that can go wrong with Qi: It can be Deficient, it can

Stagnate, it can Sink, and it can Reflux.

 

Qi Deficiency is when there isn't enough Qi. It's treated with Qi (Energy)

Tonics like astragalus, ginseng, Rz Atractylodis Macrocephalae, Rx Codnopsis, Rx

Dioscoreae Oppositae (wild yam), and Rx Polygonati.

 

Most Qi tonics work on the Spleen and Lung because these are the systems most

concerned with the extraction of Qi. The Spleen extracts the Grain Qi from food,

and the Lung extracts the Air Qi from air. But a few will target other systems

like the Stomach and Kidney.

 

The systems most prone to Qi Deficiency are the Lung, Heart, Spleen, and Kidney.

The symptoms of Qi Deficiency will vary according to which systems are

Deficient. But there are some symptoms that are common to all Qi Deficiencies.

Some of these are spontaneous perspiration, shallow respiration, not being very

active, and having a quiet manner. The tongue tissue usually is pale, and the

tongue coating will be normal to thinner than normal. The pulse will tend to be

weak or evanescent. (Weak means it can only be felt at one level of pressure. If

you increase or decrease pressure, it disappears. Evanescent means that you have

a hard time feeling it at all. One beat you may feel it and the next beat you

can't. A weak pulse is almost always a sign of Deficiency. An evanescent pulse

may indicate collapse or extreme Deficiency of Yang; severe Deficiency of Qi,

Yang, and Blood; or immediate death if felt after a prolonged disharmony.)

 

Another general sign of Qi Deficiency is that the face will tend to be pale and

have a bright sheen.

 

If the spontaneous sweating is very severe, suspect that the Protective Qi is

particularly Deficient, and use herbs that specifically increase Protective Qi

in addition to general Qi Tonics. If the quiet voice and shallow respiration are

particularly marked, suspect weak Chest Qi. If the lethargy is particularly

pronounced, suspect weak Nutritive Qi.

 

One of the big dangers with Qi Deficiency is that it can transform into Yang

Deficiency. That's when you get the symptoms of Cold on top of the usual

symptoms of Qi Deficiency. Also, the lethargy and fatigue that you see with Qi

Deficiency, even with Nutritive Qi Deficiency, are nothing when compared with

the fatigue of Spleen Yang Deficiency and/or Kidney Yang Deficiency.

 

Qi can also Stagnate. The flow of Qi gets blocked are restricted in a meridian

or organ. The Liver, Gallbladder, Stomach, Large Intestine, and Small Intestine

are particularly prone to Qi Stagnation. Qi Stagnation can be triggered by

emotional stress, injury, poor diet, or invading Evils.

 

Stagnation is an Excess condition. Typical of the Excess conditions, pressure

will make the pain worse. In Deficiency pain, pressure will ease the pain. If

you're using massage to treat Excess pain, you need to have a very, very light

touch and go easy in order for the patient to benefit.

 

The general symptoms of Stagnation are a distended pain or discomfort (like the

pain after you eat too much). The pain will move around instead of staying in

one place. There may be a full or bloated feeling in the chest or abdomen.

 

There's a lot of disagreement about the tongue color in Stagnation. Most authors

say look for purple or blue coloration in the tongue tissue. Wicke says that if

the tongue color is purple, chances are you've got a lot more severe problem

than Qi Stagnation. Chances are there's also Blood Stasis. Wicke says to look

for a slight dusky or gray tinge of color either over large areas of the tongue

or in localized areas.

 

The tongue coating will be normal to thicker than normal. (A thick tongue

coating generally is a sign of Excess, and Stagnation is one of the Excess

conditions.)

 

The pulse usually will be bowstring or taut. A bowstring pulse is one that feels

like you're pressing on the string of a violin or guitar. This pulse is very

narrow, sharp, and taut.

 

One of the general symptoms of Qi Stagnation is that there may be lumps under

the skin or in the abdomen. In Qi Stagnation these lumps will wax and wane in

size, disappear entirely, and move around. A classic symptom of Liver Qi

Stagnation in women is the swollen, painful breasts with lumps right before the

period. (Lumps due to Phlegm accumulation do not wax and wane in size, disappear

easily, or move around.)

 

Painful spasm can be a sign of Qi Stagnation.

 

One of the roles of the Righteous Qi is to keep the organs in the proper places.

When Qi Sinks, you can get prolapse of various organs - the uterus, the

intestines, the stomach, the bladder, the anus, etc. This is a dragging, heavy

kind of pain. Prolaspse is another term for Sinking of Qi. The Spleen usually is

involved in prolapse problems.

 

The tongue tissue usually will be pale, and the tongue coat will be normal to

thinner than normal. Like in Deficiency of Qi, the face will tend to be pale

with a bright sheen. The pulse will tend to be weak and sinking. A sinking pulse

is one that you feel the most with a lot of pressure.

 

Reflux of Qi is related to Qi Stagnation. If the proper path is blocked, the Qi

will attempt to take another path in order to prevent accumulation. The symptoms

of Qi Reflux are hiccough, belching, vomiting, and nausea plus some of the

symptoms of Qi Stagnation.

 

In hiccough, Lung Qi is going the wrong way. in belching and vomiting, the

disharmony is in the Stomach. Nausea is an awareness that Qi is traveling the

wrong way.

 

I want to point out that energy flow in meridians have a proper direction. For

example, the direction of energy flow in the Kidney and Spleen is from bottom to

top. If the energy in these two meridians is not flowing up, something is wrong

and problems will result. In the case of Spleen Qi flowing down instead of the

proper up direction, the problem will be prolapse of organs. The direction of

flow for the Stomach is down, from top to bottom. When Stomach Qi rebels, you

can get reflux of the stomach's contents up the esophagus, belching, and

vomiting.

 

The Liver is the system which has the most to do with regulating Qi flow all

over the body. Two fairly common TCM syndromes are Liver Invading Stomach and

Liver Invading Spleen.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

--== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==--

Share what you know. Learn what you don't.