Digestive QI and Muscles

Role of Digestive Qi in Traditional Chinese Medicine 

Digestive Qi is required for our bodies ability to extract and separate the useable from the unusable – in other words – it is responsible for elements of digestion and the metabolism of nutrients. In western medicine, it could be likened to the actions of the pancreas and the intestinal tract which absorption fluids and nutrients.

Digestive Qi Deficiency

A deficiency in Digestive Qi will result in food not being properly digested, resulting in poor absorption of nutrients. There are many symptoms associated Digestive Qi deficiency, but the ones that I will discuss in the article are the ones that cause or contribute directly to pain. These include:

– Gas and Bloating

– Weakness in muscles

– Recurrent injuries to muscle tissue

Tonification and Treatment of Digestive Qi Deficiency

(Tonification is a term used in Traditional Chinese Medicine that refers to the strengthening or reinforcing of an organ or bodily substance.)

Weakness and recurrent injuries to muscle tissue/loss of muscle mass are the result of the body’s inability to nourish the tissues due to the deficiency. In order to strengthen the muscles, Digestive Qi must be able to properly transform food into nutrients by separating the “unusable” from the “usable” elements and transport the nutrients to the muscles tissue.

Addressing the muscle issues without treating the root cause of the imbalance will only produce short-lived relief. In Chinese medicine we use Acupuncture and herbs to address underlying deficiencies like this.

Other signs and symptoms you may have a Digestive Qi Deficiency include:

• Loss of appetite
• Loose stool
• Diarrhea
• Overthinking
• Anxiety
• Low energy
• Gas and Bloating