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Exploring the Inner Map of the Mouth, Nervous System, and Body By Dr. Jen Jorgensen, R.Ac., Dr.TCM Have you heard of the "tooth-body" connection? It's a concept that describes the relationship between your teeth, your energetic meridians, and the rest of your body. While this idea has its roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and acupuncture, modern research also recognizes that oral health and overall health are closely connected through inflammation, the nervous system, and immune function.1 After having dental work, it's easy to recognize that discomfort is related to the procedure itself: localized tenderness, jaw soreness, or muscle tension from your mouth being open. Headaches, upper neck and jaw pain, as well as aching around the eyes or ears are also common and often improve with self-care. Sometimes, however, people notice symptoms that are less expected or that don't fully resolve with painkillers. While these symptoms can have many possible causes, some people report experiencing changes such as:
When someone tells me they've recently had dental treatment, I do a little cross-referencing of the body's remarkable inner map. Which tooth was treated? Is there a nerve-related component to what they’re experiencing? Which acupuncture meridian is associated with that tooth? Do the symptoms form a recognizable pattern? These are valuable clues that inform how I approach the treatment. In practice, I frequently help people with anxiety and stress surrounding their dental visits. I also treat dental-related inflammation, an overactive gag reflex, post-procedural aches and pains, headaches, jaw discomfort, and facial neuralgia. Rather than focusing only on the area that hurts, I step back and look at the whole picture. Whether you view it through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine or modern understandings of whole-body health, the tooth-body connection reminds us that the body functions as a unified whole. Looking beyond the immediate area of discomfort leads me to ask a different set of questions about how the body is responding. This way of thinking, seeing patterns rather than isolated symptoms, helps guide a personalized acupuncture treatment. References:
Cultivating a Supple, Strong and Stable Body with the Philosophical Origins of Chinese Medicine by Dr. Jen Jorgensen, R.Ac, Dr.TCM Thank-you Live Yoga in White Rock for hosting me to talk a little about Chinese Medicine philosophy in treating and preventing pain and movement issues. My three takeaways for you in this post: 1. Consider the level of your inner substance. What truly builds you, your replenishment? Think of essential nutrients, rest, a hobby that evokes joy or peacefulness. 2. Consider the quality of your energy. Is it positive, reciprocating, self-regenerating? Is it genuine? integral? How are you fostering it through the lifestyle pillars of activity, food, connections and purpose? 3. Consider the flow in your body, your mind, and your behaviors. How to call yourself to remain consciously aware, to soften, to live with sincerity, to yield for growth to unfold? How do you allow life energy to circulate smoothly- through practices, through meditation, through therapeutics that support the regulation of flow in your body and life. Read on for the context ~ .When it comes to pain and restrictions in movement, acupuncture has a reputation for how it can bring relief and sometimes even resolution to an issue:
If you look up acupuncture and pain/mobility, you’ll learn about its role in the physiological pain response: endorphin release, nerve signalling, promoting blood flow, and benefitting healthy inflammation. Did you know that acupuncture also treats physical issues that have emotional roots, like symptoms that begin after difficult life events, or when issues feel worse with stress? It does. In neuroscience, emotional pain and physical pain are experienced by the same part of the brain– which I will discuss in my eventual post on the bio-emotive body and brain. Similar to scientific findings of the recent century, ancient Chinese Medicine philosophy views that both physical and emotional issues arise from a common landscape of energetic behavior. The medicinal philosophy behind the entire system is to maintain wellbeing, which naturally results in preventing experiences, and the conditions that cause pain or movement challenges. The principles are fundamental to stamina, resilience, and generally feeling good. The origins of Chinese Medicine formed from observing the natural surroundings– watching the levels and the movement of waterways, the interrelationships of every part of the landscape, as well as noticing the effects of temperature. For example, with warmth, things flourished, but if too warm they dried out, and with coldness, energy went deeper in, and flow slowed or froze causing tightness in the land and water sources. People paid attention to how life energy thrived or suffered, and designed their own lives as a reflection of what they learned so as to cultivate and maintain vital harmony. There is a phrase in one of the foundational Chinese texts, the Huang Di Nei Jing, that says: “Tong Zi Bu Tong, Bu Tong Zi Tong”. “Where there is free flow, there is no pain; where there is not free flow, there is pain” Following this philosophy, tending to how well energy circulates can cultivate and preserve feeling good in body and in mind. It can benefit organ function and the processes that generate energy. It can nourish joints and tissues, ensure the physical body is fueled, supple and able to stabilize. Tending to our energy and how it flows can preserve mobility, healthy parts, and can lessen the likelihood of pain and issues becoming chronic in the body. We access acupuncture and the mindset of maintaining flow and harmony to support the innate homeostatic functions of body and mind ~ --to benefit strength, mobility, recovery and repair. We lean into its intelligence in order to support the nervous system and the landscape of bodymind in processing our experiences, thoughts, emotions, so that the energy of consciousness flows without any holding in the body. Re-visit the three takeaways at the top of this entry, and ponder each over the next days. Is there any refinement in your life-living practice that can benefit you in your goals, replenishment, connections, or avenues of meaningfulness?
These three principles can help to keep the landscape of your physical body and your life supple, strong, and available for fully living, for feeling authentically you, and integrated as a whole. All the best, Jen lluminating a Harmonious Heart in Traditional Chinese Medicine By Dr. Jen Jorgensen, R.Ac, Dr.TCM Did you know that in Chinese medical philosophy, the Heart System has health significance that goes beyond its physical role? More commonly seen as the body’s core pulse of electrical energy, shaping the creation and circulation of blood, in Traditional Chinese Medicine the Heart is also revered as the seat of consciousness, or Shen—the keeper of memory and the house of emotion. In classical texts, it is metaphorically depicted as the “Emperor of the Palace” of our being, supported by eleven other organ systems, or “Governmental Officials,” that help maintain harmony within the Empire. “Desiring to benefit your body’s overall condition before imbalance arises is, in itself, a reflection of good Shen and radiant health.” ~ Dr.Jen While not always directly implicated in a given condition or set of symptoms, in the mind of an acupuncturist or a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Heart System is central to overall vitality: physically, mentally-emotionally, and spiritually. Good circulation, healthy hair, restful sleep, calm mind and a radiant complexion are all understood to arise from a Heart that is harmonious and nourished. It also plays a leading role in having a steady mind, clear speech, timely menstruation, and even regulated sweat. Because of this, whether symptoms involve thinning hair or heart palpitations, both Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine make for a good choice of treatment. “What benefits the body will likewise soothe the mind, creating a positive health loop.” ~ Dr.Jen Studies on the effects of Acupuncture have shown that a single treatment can elicit balance through the central nervous system. Acupuncture stimulates and regulates hormones, neurotransmitters and natural opioids produced in the brain (Li et al., 2021). It also decreases the inflammatory response that is a precursor to many vascular conditions. All of this translates to a modality that simultaneously reduces the effects of stress on mind and body. Whether treatment is a singular occurrence or regularly interwoven into a health plan, science supports that the calibrative effects of Acupuncture treat the whole person: root cause and symptom, as well as physical body and mind. “The Heart is revered as the seat of consciousness, or Shen" ~ Dr. Jen From our personal experiences, we understand that what benefits the body will likewise soothe the mind, and vice versa, resulting in a positive health loop. When the mind is peaceful, it is more capable to respond to challenges creatively, curiously, and patiently, allowing for possibilities, solutions, strategies, and even increased willingness to reframe a difficult experience. When the body is easeful, we might welcome inspiration and feel supple for the challenges that appear.
If you have not recently indulged in the balancing experience that Acupuncture can offer, remember: desiring to benefit your body’s overall condition before imbalance arises is, in itself, a reflection of good Shen and radiant health. As the ancient philosophical I Ching or “Book of Changes” relays, the health of the village is determined by the health of its well (hexagram 48); maintain core vitality through caring and receiving care. Reference: Li, N., Guo, Y., Gong, Y., Jin, X., Wang, H., & Fan, Y. (2021). The anti-inflammatory actions and mechanisms of acupuncture from acupoint to target organs via neuro-immune regulation: A comprehensive review. Journal of Inflammation Research, 14, 7311–7332. https://doi.org/10.2147/JIR.S344345 |
About Dr.JenI'm an Acupuncturist and Doctor of Chinese Medicine practicing near the shores of the Pacific Ocean in the Lower Mainland of Beautiful British Columbia. Archives
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