Maciocia: Etiology of imbalances which can underlie MS

[Guest guest]

One of the strongest features of Maciocia's texts is that he does go

into the etiology and pathology of TCM imbalances. When it comes to

treating " knotty " complex cases, sometimes being able to trace the

etiology can offer important insights into a successful treatment.

Knowing the possible etiologies also can enable one to avoid certain

imbalances.

 

Keep in mind while reading these that Maciocia lists two main TCM

imbalances which can underlie MS: Damp-Phlegm With Spleen Deficiency

and Liver And Kidney Deficiency.

 

1. Invasion by Exterior Dampness.

 

For those new to TCM, TCM recognizes that enviromental conditions

(called " Pernicious Evils " ) can affect the body. The Pernicious Evil

(Wind, Cold, Heat, Dryness, or Dampness) will attack the Exterior of

the body first. (Exterior means head, neck, legs, arms, skin,

muscles, and meridians.) If the Pernicious Evil is not stopped and

expeled, it (its effects) will continue to move deeper into body,

finally reaching the Interior (the trunk, the Organs). When a

Pernicious Evil makes it to the Interior, the person is a lot sicker

than when it is just in the Exterior.

 

" Invasion of external Dampness is an important cause of disease in

the beginning stages. External Dampness invades the channels of the

legs first and creeps upwards. This is contracted by living in damp

places, sitting on damp grass, failing to dry oneself after

swimming, being exposed to damp weather when wearing insufficient

clothes, or being exposed to foggy weather. Women are particularly

prone to invasion of Dampness during their menstrual cycle and after

childbirth. " (Giovanni Maciocia, The Practic of , p.

701.)

 

Women tending to be more prone to Invasion by External Dampness

during their periods and immediately after childbirth may be a

factor for women developing MS at a slightly higher rate than men do.

 

" Dampness obstructs the channels and causes a feeling of heaviness

in the legs, numbness and tingling. " (p. 701.)

 

Note to those new to TCM, if you have these symptoms, this does NOT

mean that you have MS. MS is a Western diagnosis. It does mean that

you have some Dampness problems and possibly some Spleen Deficiency

problems. Depending on other factors, Exterior Dampness invading can

have a number possible manifestations. For example, (wet) rashes,

some cases of headache, some cases of arthritis, etc. It is

something that does need to be resolved from a TCM standpoint in

order to head off a variety of possible manifestations.

 

2. Diet

 

Greasy-fried foods and cold foods are not good for the Spleen. They

weaken the Spleen. When the Spleen is weakened, it can't do its job

of transforming and transporting fluids in the body. Dampness

accumulates as a result. This is an example of a Pernicious Evil

arising within the body instead of invading from the outside. As

Dampness accumulates in the Interior because of poor diet, the

Spleen becomes even weaker because the Spleen is damaged by

Dampness. (To a lesser extent, the Spleen also is damaged by Cold.)

This is a snowballing situation. The Dampness damages the Spleen,

the Spleen becomes weaker as a result, more Dampness accumulates

because the Spleen is weaker, the Spleen becomes even more weak

because of more Dampness, and so on.

 

In addition, some foods - like dairy and wheat - are Damp-

engendering. They are OK for people will strong Spleens who don't

eat them in excess, but they can create problems in people who

consume too much or whose Spleens already are weakened. Note: Some

cases (not all) of people having allergic-like reactions when they

eat dairy or wheat are not really allergies but cases where the

extra Dampness is interfering with breathing or causing other

problems which mimic some of the effects of real allergies.

 

3. Excessive sexual activity.

 

Excessive sex will weaken the Kidneys. Since the Kidneys supply the

Yin to the rest of the body, eventually the Liver will become Yin

Deficient too. (Liver Yin Deficiency can occur without Kidney Yin

Deficiency, but the most common scenario is that first the Kidneys

become Deficient, and after being unable to supply Yin to the Liver,

the Liver also becomes Yin Deficient.) Maciocia writes, " Excessive

sexual activity weakens the Kidneys and Liver and is particularly

responsible for the manifestations in the middle to late stages of

multiple sclerosis, i.e. dizziness, blurred vision, urgency or

hesitancy of urination and extreme weakness of the legs. " (p. 702)

 

Eye and vision problems are a general symptom of Liver imbalance

because " the Liver opens into the eyes " . Whenever a TCM healer

hears " eye " or " vision " problems, the healer automatically is going

to consider possible Liver imbalance and rule in or rule out.

 

Excessive sexual activity is not the only possible cause of Yin

Deficiency. If a person is not consuming enough Yin foods and herbs

to supply the necessary amount of Yin, the person can become Yin

Deficient.

 

Extreme fear also can weaken the Kidneys. So can Cold, though that

is more likely to result in predominate Kidney Yang Deficiency than

predominate Kidney Yin Deficiency because Cold also attacks Yang.

Still, Cold does damage the Kidneys, and anytime there is Kidney

Yang Deficiency, there is almost sure to be Kidney Yin Deficiency

too though to a lesser degree. (And vice versa.)

 

4. Shock.

 

" Shock causes a sudden depletion of Heart- and Spleen-Qi. The

Spleen influences the muscles, so this depletion deprives the

muscles of nourishment, and the Heart controls the circulation of

Blood, so it leads to poor circulation of both Qi and Blood to the

limbs. Both these factors may cause weakness of the legs, dizziness

and vertigo. " (p. 702)

 

When it comes to undrestanding the connection between mind, body,

emotions, and spirit, TCM is far more sophisticated than Western

allopathic medicine. TCM can trace out exactly what happens to what

Organ and subsequent effects. Like watching a row of dominoes go

down. TCM recognizes that specific Organs are particularly

vulnerable to specific emotions. For the Kidneys, its fear. For

the Liver, it's anger and frustration. For the Spleen it's

pensiveness and obsessing. For the Heart, it's primarily mania.

For the Lungs it's grief and issues involving the need to let go.

This refers to sudden, strong, and overwhelming emotions as well as

to poorly handled emotions on a day-after-day basis.

 

Shock (like grief) can deplete Qi. Suddenly deplete enough of it,

and some major problems can start to develop.

 

" In most cases the symptoms in the early stages reflect an invasion

of Dampness: they are a feeling of heaviness, numbness and tingling

of the limbs. In the middle stages of the disease there is a

progressive deficiency of Liver and Kidneys with such symptoms as

dizziness, vertigo, blurred vision, progressive weakness of the

legs, and urinary hesitancy or urgency. If Liver Yang "

(Rising) " develops, there is stiffness of the legs, more severe

vertigo and vomiting. In the late stages, with the development of

Liver-Wind, there is tremor and severe spasms of the legs. "

 

Note: Urinary symptoms are a general symptom of some kind of Kidney

imbalance. If one is having urinary hesitancy or incontinence, this

is not necessarily a symptom of MS. These are symptoms of a Kidney

imbalance. In the case of urinary incontinence, suspect and rule in

or rule out Kidney and Bladder Qi Deficiency (and possibly Kidney

Yang Deficiency if there is a large amount of clear urine).

Sometimes spinal misadlignment, obesity, or masses in the abdomen

can cause urinary incontinence. Sometimes diet - as it affects pH -

can trigger urinary incontinence problems. There are various buffer

systems within the body which are supposed to keep the pH of various

systems within a certain range. But sometimes the systems don't

work as well as they should or an individual is unusually sensitive

to pH changes.

 

Main thing for the beginning TCM students on the list to remember:

One of the functions of the Spleen Qi is to transport and transform

liquids in the body. Also, the Spleen hates Dampness and can be

damaged by it.