Five phase theory and its use in medicine

CONCLUSION

Five Phase Theory has a beautiful simplicity and symmetry. It has an aesthetic appeal to the poetic, artistic and intuitive in those who study it in depth. It also has a considerable basis in scientific relationships within the body.

The interdependence of the Five Phases (together with COSs and Correspondences) proves that the ancient Chinese Masters regarded all functions and parts of the body as one unit. Each could influence the other, directly or indirectly in health and disease. For instance, too much anger injures the liver; too much salt injures the kidney (vasopressin) and may cause secondary effects on the heart (hypertension). Furthermore, the concepts prove that the Ancients were aware of cosmic, seasonal and other external influence on health. They were also aware that health was a relative state of adaptation to environment (external and internal).

In treating disease, the aim was to restore balance and harmony between the various organs and functions, including the spirit (Fire), the will (Metal), the appetites and desires (Earth), the skeletal and muscular system (Water and Wood). In this respect, the Chinese were among the first of the ancient physicians to practice psychosomatic and holistic medicine and to teach the theory of adaptation to environment.

Despite the aesthetic appeal of Five Phase Theory, some of its interactions and Correspondences are not valid from a viewpoint of western medicine. However, the system has worked very well as a general guideline for hundreds of western acupuncturists in recent years. It is used to help diagnosis and also to indicate effective dietary, psychosomatic or AP therapy etc. Its greatest value is to indicate which points can be used to transfer Qi most efficiently from Excessive to Deficient COSs. Using the Sheng, Ko and Luo concept, points can be chosen to transfer Qi from any one COS to any other one. Tonification-Sedation techniques can be used when classical Five Phase balancing can not be applied.

Because of the difficulty in locating some of the Phase Points in animals (especially horses) and because very few vets have taken long residential courses in AP, the system has received little attention in veterinary medicine outside of France. The majority of practical acupuncturists (in both the human and veterinary areas) ignore these principles. They work on a system of symptomatic (Cookbook) AP, using modern concepts of segmental and intersegmental reflex and autonomic effects. Their clinical results, are, nevertheless, very good, despite their omission of the classic concepts. Also, many recent AP textbooks from China, Taiwan and Japan give little or no discussion on these classical concepts.

I find it very difficult to assess whether or not classical (Five Phase Theory) AP is significantly superior to modern Cookbook AP (as outlined in the paper on Selection of Points for Therapy). Intuition and experiences since 1991 tell me that in certain difficult cases, the classic concepts may be more helpful than the Cookbook alone. Therefore, I think it is worth the effort to try to understand these principles.