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Joints Are the Keys To Our Health 

Did you know that our body has ten types of joints? Each of them helps our physical movements and enhances our body's mobility in some way. Because the acupuncture meridians must pass over, the importance of our joints may be greatly underrated. If your joints are impaired, you may not realize the effect it has on your body.

From a Modern Chinese Medicine perspective, we classify joints into three categories:

Hidden joint: The sphenoid bone is the only bone hidden inside of our skull. If it is out of balance, it can press on the brain and cause many kinds of illnesses. Using conventional medicine, this problem is very difficult to diagnose and treat. But with our Qigong healing, it is very easy to locate and treat the root of the illness. 

Large joints: The neck, shoulders, hips and knees are large joints. They all have large tendons and muscles surrounding and supporting them. Usually, when we feel something wrong with these joints, the functions of these joints has been degraded by more than 50%. If we consider the impact to the meridians that pass by these joints, dysfunction in any of them can be the cause of chronic disorders. Tai Chi is a great way of relieving large joints disorders because of its relaxing nature.

Small joints: If there is a blockage in our toes or fingers, there is no other way for the meridian energy to flow. This is one of the reasons acupuncture uses many powerful points on the four limbs.

Here are our views on the ten types of joints: 

Sphenoid bone: The sphenoid bone is inside our skull and separates the brain and the mouth. It is a huge, butterfly shaped flat bone. Above it is the brain, hypothalamus, pituitary gland and cranial nerves. Below it we find the mouth, eyes and ears. In a car accident affecting the head, the sphenoid bone might be a little off balance, yet the impact to the brain or nerves could be huge. In this case, it is possible that nothing can be seen on X-ray or MRI.

Neck: The neck is in between the head and body. All nerve signals have to pass through the neck to reach the brain. Equally important, the oxygen and the nutrients have to be transported to the brain from the body through the neck. If the neck is blocked, the brain will not be able to receive enough essential substances from the body, resulting in potential headache, vacant mind and sleep disorders. Normally, the brain consumes 60% to 80% of our daily energy supplies. If the energy flow is not sufficient, the impact to the brain and to the overall health is significant.

Shoulders: The shoulder girdle is a huge and complex structure. With a single attachment to the sternum, it connects the clavicle, scapular and one side of the arm, which is responsible for carrying out many sophisticated activities and lifting heavy items. Passing through the shoulder are the lung, heart and six hand meridians. The importance of the shoulder is not only for mobility but also for the health of the lungs, heart, throat, ears and the entire head.

Elbows: Most people recognize the significance of the elbow to tennis elbow, golf elbow, etc. They may not recognize its importance in relation to the immune system, heart system and mental capabilities. Acupuncturists use the points around the elbow to clear heat from the throat, regulate heartbeat and calm the mind.

Wrists: Everyone knows that carpal tunnel syndrome is associated with the wrist. The wrist also has many important acupuncture points to treat mental disorders, sore throat, coughing, tinnitus and  strengthen lung qi. PC6 is famous for relief of nausea. SI6 is useful for the prevention of aging.

Hands: Hands and feet both belong to the small joints category. LI4(HeGu) is one of the four command points in acupuncture. PC8 is the point mentioned by Qigong practitioners. There are also powerful points for lumbar pain, stiff shoulders and restoration of consciousness.

Hip: The hip joint is closely related to the reproduction system, urinary system, digestive system and sciatic nerve. Any blockage in this area can cause illness in these systems. Six foot meridians run through the hip. The dai mai (belt channel) runs as a circle around the top of the pelvic bone and is the connection between the upper and lower body.

Knees: The knees contribute a great deal of our mobility. If you wish to check the physical status of your knees, locate the two knee eyes right below and to the side of the kneecap. There should be two clear depressions, one on either side. Healthy knees should have clear knee eyes. Located behind the knee, the popliteal space should be clear and should not contain a ball either outside or inside the space. These balls are meridian blockages which slow down the flow of qi in foot yin meridians. The foot yin meridians are responsible for the spleen, liver and kidney.

Ankles: If one fell down or twist their ankles easily, one notices ones ankles  but will most likely not know that the kidney prenatal qi is controlled in this area.  In Chinese medicine terms, it is the sign of slowing down of the Kidney functions or in other words, aging.

Feet: The feet belong to the small joints. The power of the points on the feet are stronger than the points on the hands. This is because the length of the foot meridians are much longer than the ones on the hands. These meridians are responsible for three major organs: spleen, liver and kidney and three longest meridians: bladder, gall bladder and stomach. KD1 is the only point on the sole of the foot and is one of the points for Qigong treatments. If your metatarsal bones are tight, it indicates a degree of meridian blockage on the foot.

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