Longitudinal Spinal Organization with Segmental Dominance in Chinese Needle Therapy

Abstract

The Chinese called it ‘needle therapy’ which the West later interpreted as ‘acupuncture’ based on impossible ideas of energy and blood circulation via invisible meridians introduced in the late 1930s. Lack of understanding the original Chinese discoveries, which made needling a useful therapeutic approach, has made it difficult to correct these misconceptions. Willem ten Rhyne provided the first clues in 1683 that Chinese concepts involved continuous blood circulation and nerves. The oldest Chinese texts on blood vessel theory date to ca. 168–150 BC while needle therapy was introduced in the Yellow Emperor’s Internal Classic (ca. 200–100 BC), along with a description of nerves. It introduced the ideas of longitudinal body organization along with segmental dominance that is fundamental to all vertebrates. The Chinese divided the body into 12 longitudinal regions on each side that contained the skeletal muscles, blood vessels, and neurovascular nodal pathway. Muscular distributions and nodal pathways were mapped out by observation of propagated sensation in sensitive responders to needling. Discovery of organ-referred pain led to understanding the role of spinal segmental dominance. Use of these features allowed development of repeatable treatment protocols using the concept of local and adjacent (segmental dominance), proximal, and distal nodes (longitudinal effects).