Idiopathic pathology and the unknown efficacy of acupuncture: could Fascia be the missing piece?

This blog post reviews an article I read in school which I found incredibly interesting and eye opening regarding how interconnected the body is, and how much more there is to learn about it. Article review: “Review of Evidence that the Fascia Network could be the anatomical basis for acupoints and meridians in the human body” (Yu Bai et al, 2011)

“How does acupuncture work?” Has long been debated. Studies have considered changes in electrical resistance at acupoints, involvement of perivascular space, interstitial fluid, neurovascular bundles, and sensory nerve endings. The Fascia network hypothesis, explored by Yu Bai et al. (2011), explores the possible connection of the fascia network to the locations of acupoints and the mechanism behind the efficacy of acupuncture.

Fascia is a widespread network of connective tissue; think not only of what encapsulates muscles and attaches to bone but also what contains and connects the circulatory system, each nerve fiber and ending, holds every organ and is perfused throughout them. Connective tissue is an all-pervasive web which holds the body, and studies have suggested that it is the body’s major communication highway as well.

Correspondences of meridians and their points have been found within the connective tissue of the body. Noted in this review, the Visible Chinese Human (VCH) project rendered 3D reconstructions of the body that revealed fascial strings with striking resemblance to the Chinese meridian network.

Seeing fascia as a united network rather than pieced together components of a system is a growing area of interest and of common sense as people are making connections when one maladaptation of the body develops alongside or consequentially of another.

Tensional forces have also been shown to initiate biochemical signaling in cells to stimulate not only the nervous system and providing a means of pain regulation, but also mechanical means of healing by activating tissue repair. The distribution of tension force across the widespread web of connective tissue in the body may be the driving force of therapeutic effect of manual modalities, including acupuncture.

Clinical studies of acupuncture show strong therapeutic effect in groups that had obtained notable needling sensation, known as deqi or “Qi sensation” in Chinese medicine. These findings support the idea that interaction with the body’s facia network as connective tissue is wound around the needle shaft from manipulation is associated with a therapeutic response.

This hypothesis not only provides an understanding of the efficacy of manual therapies but also validates the pain many patients seek these therapies for after first investigation of the problem reveals no structural pathology and is termed “idiopathic.”