IBS people, like you and me, have been seeing doctors, usually medical doctors with training from a university. But have you thought about it outside the box, the box of Western medicine, a box in which symptoms are treated using drugs, radiation, or surgery?
Experts in this post
- Hong Hai, PhD London School of Economics
- Alexander Heyne, California and NCCAOM board-certified doctor of Oriental medicine
- Li Bo, head of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Medicine, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Enter traditional Chinese medicine (TCM): Qi
So what is traditional Chinese medicine? It is really not easy, if not hard, to define it. But if I could use one word to talk about it, it would be Qi. In other words, TCM is all about a two-letter word: Qi.
What is Qi? In a way, it is the energy flowing within our bodies. This energy has three functions that are of utmost importance to us: nourishing and maintaining organs and tissues, and facilitating metabolic processes in our bodies (1).
However Qi is Qi as it is something you cannot see, but can only feel.
Qi: the invisible trains
If you think Qi is too abstract, then think of it as invisible trains running through your whole body. In other words, in the world of TCM Qi (something essential, vital, and all-important to our life), is present in every organ. (Well, think about it. If this non-stop train stopped, what would happen?)
And if there are invisible trains in your body, what about the tracks? I guess you have heard of the name of those tracks. It is called Meridian (or Channels or Collaterals): the pathways for delivering Qi to every part of your body.
With the trains and tracks, you may ask, how exactly does Qi relate to IBS? In TCM, IBS is caused by blocking of Qi in your ‘spleen’, the train being unable to get through and getting jammed there.
When ‘Spleen’ is not a spleen
However, before we move on to talk about ‘spleen’ Qi and IBS, there is one thing you must know. What is it? Spleen in TCM is not the spleen in Western medicine. Put simply, ‘spleen’ in TCM has nothing to do with the lymphatic system, the organ that you picture in your mind. So what is Spleen in TCM?
In traditional Chinese medicine, ‘Spleen’ actually refers to the digestive system. How did I know? It is forcefully mentioned by professor Hung, a scholar graduated from London School of Economics. In his words, the ‘spleen’ in TCM is:
the functional system involved in digestion
Principles of Chinese Medicine: A Modern Interpretation
The Blocking of Spleen Qi
So let me repeat once again. Our IBS is caused by blocking of Qi in the digestive system, something jamming the movement of Spleen Qi.
However, what exactly does this blockage of Spleen Qi mean? Well, Spleen (the digestive system) works like a factory with delivery service: it processes food and water into nutrients and then delivers them to other organs and the rest of our bodies.
Under normal circumstances (when you are healthy), the invisible train (Spleen Qi) will go through smoothly. However, for IBS people like you and me, the train has been blocked, obstructed, or even stopped if the following two situations happen:
- A. Spleen Qi is inadequate
- B. the flow of Spleen Qi being not smooth (2)
Situation A is simply like there is not enough fuel in your invisible train and scenario B is your train does not run fast enough. When either or both of the situations happen in your bodies, Spleen Qi, the invisible train, has no choice but to slow down or even in some situations, stop.
To make it more specific, when Spleen Qi gets stuck in your large intestine, it cannot move and will expand itself, resulting in what you have been suffering: bloating.
(In TCM, the bloating, the blockage of Spleen Qi, can be also be explained in one word: Dampness (濕), the topic of next post.)
