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Chinese medicine is old, thousands of years old. The physiology, pathology, methods, and mechanisms of treatment are described in ways that are very different and seemingly whimsical when compared to their counterparts in western medicine.  Case in point, catching a cold in Chinese medicine is called “a wind invasion.”  The points used to treat the common cold have functions such as “expel wind” and “release exterior.” Harry Potter diagnosis aside, evidence-based research reveals that acupuncture works.  But how and why?  It’s the answers to these questions people have a hard time with. Yet, numerous “western” studies have documented mechanical evidence of what is physiologically happening during an acupuncture treatment.  When these studies are published, it is not only vindicating, it’s another nudge toward acupuncture’s broader integration into western medicine.   The remainder of this blog entry is about one acupuncture point.   Zu San Li, also known as Stomach 36 to English-speaking doctors, is an acupuncture point approximately 4 finger widths below the knee and one finger width lateral to the anterior crest of the tibia.  Zu San Li translates to “Leg Three Miles”.  This name stems from an ancient story about how Chinese warriors would wear a bag with stones around their waist when they would hike across the country to engage in battles.  When a soldier became too tired to continue walking, he would kneel causing the bag of stones to hit the shin right at this acupuncture point.  When the soldier stood back up, they would be [...]