Trauma and Chinese Medicine

Running Head: TRAUMA AND CHINESE MEDICINE

Chinese Medicine Used in the Treatment of Traumatic Injuries

James Foshee
Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese Medicine

Trauma and Chinese Medicine

Introduction
Mankind has been subject to traumatic injuries since the beginning of time. Over time ancient
peoples have developed many different treatments for these injuries. Among these different ancient
treatments, the Chinese have developed a system that is one the most sophisticated and effective. The
intent of this paper is to discuss different ways the Chinese have developed treatments for various types
of traumatic injuries. These treatments range from both herbal and acupuncture treatment protocols.
Kung Fu Medicine
Much of ancient Chinese treatment of traumatic injuries grew out of the martial arts traditions,
especially Kung Fu schools (Bisio, 2004). Each having its own twist on treating the bumps and bruises
of rigorous daily physical training (Bisio, 2004). These treatments incorporate a combination of
different herbal and acupuncture approaches. Kung Fu instructor and acupuncturist Tom Bisio, has
written a book called, A Tooth From the Tiger's Mouth. In it he states that there are many different
treatments that arose from the many different schools in China's past, but he describes a few formulas
that he has found to be effective in his own practice.
One of the most versatile formulas is a trauma liniment that he uses for many injuries such as
strains/sprains, bruises, and pulled muscles (Bisio, 2004). This herbal mixture is infused in alcohol and
is used by soaking gauze in it and wrapping the gauze around the injury (Bisio, 2004). Multiple
dressing changes are necessary as the alcohol evaporates quickly. He states that many bruises will be
gone by morning (Bisio, 2004). He also uses a tendon lotion for chronic tendon healing. Its a mixture
of warming herbs that is to be used after acute inflammatory phase is over (Bisio, 2004). Another
ancient oil found in many Chinese pharmacies is known as U-I Oil. Its a mixture of light aromatic
herbal oils, used for cold, achy muscles, and is said to clear energetic blockages creating an increase in
blood flow to the sore muscle when rubbed in (Bisio, 2004). Another crucial treatment he uses is a
Chinese massage oil used for stiff muscles, as well as Black Ghost Oil used for deep bone bruises as it

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penetrates deep into the deep areas of injuries (Bisio, 2004).
Since its modern discovery in the western world, Chinese medicine has been subjected to
medical research in order to better understand how safe and effective its practices are for use on people.
This research spans a wide area of treatments for different types of traumas. I will focus on mostly on
research done on applications of Chinese herbal preparations on a variety on traumatic injuries and
musculoskeletal conditions, with a brief mention to research done with acupuncture on tendon healing.
Inflammation
Inflammation is defined as the body's normal response to damaged tissues as is seen in all
traumatic injuries. It is seen as pain, swelling, and redness as the body signals that something is wrong,
and begins to transport blood to heal the damaged areas. However, this normal response to injury can
be overshot and cause excessive pain and discomfort and can lead to incomplete healing. We will
review a couple of research studies investigating Chinese herbs used to reduce the swelling and pain
associated with traumas and other musculoskeltal conditions.
Amongst this research is a case study experiment done on what's known as a Kempo herbal
preparation for bruises and sprains. Its a combination of two herbal mixtures; one is known as
Jidabokuippo while the other is called Hachimijiogan (Hijikata, Miyamae, Takatsu, Sentoh, 2007).
Used

synergistically they are reported to to relieve pain for a variety of musculoskeletal issues. This

study followed 3 patients with sprains, 4 with bruises, 2 with chronic arthritis, and one patient with a
spinal compression fracture (Hijikata et al, 2007). These patients used the herbs orally in pill form over
a period of time and pain was reported over time, with a pain scale of 0-10, to assess its effect on pain
relief.
The results showed significant decreases in pain profiles across all conditions tested (Hijikata et
al, 2007). One of the patients suffering from a bruised patella used conventional pain treatments for 3
months before using the Kempo treatment. The conventional treatments allowed her to walk again, but

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she still had significant pain when doing so. The Kempo treatment gave her slow but steady pain relief,
reporting 7 and 0, at days 30 and 80 respectively (Hijikata et al, 2007). Another patient suffering from
an ankle sprain and chronic back reported a pain of 9 one day after the injury and took the Kempo
treatment and reported pain at 1at day 7, and then 0 at day 14 (Hijikata et al, 2007). The patient
suffering from chronic patellar arthritis had unsuccessful pain relief from conventional therapies but
found significant pain control for 3 years after receiving the Kempo treatment for only 2 weeks
(Hijikata et al, 2007).
Hu Zhang is a chinese herb used in a number of conditions in Chinese folklore. Among its
reported uses are for treatment of cough, hepatitis, jaundice, amenorrhea, leucorrhoea, arthralgia,
hyperlipidemia scald and bruises, snake bites, and carbuncles (Zhang, Li, Kwok, Zhang, Chan, 2013).
Researchers have broken it down and tested its active compounds for specific effects on tissues. Rats
both live and in vivo were tested with different administrations of the individual active compounds as
compared to control groups of rats (Zhang et al, 2013).
Among its reported uses, Hu Zhang is known for its anti-inflammatory properties in resolving
swelling, and is used in treating various traumas and musculoskeletal disorders like arthritis (Zhang et
al, 2013). Researchers tested rats for the herb's anti-inflammatory effects. Results showed an inhibition
of inflammatory mediators such as COX-1, C-reactive protein, and rhumatoid factor (Zhang et al,
2013). In addition it inhibited the expression of inflammatory related genes such as iNOS, TNF- ,
interleukin-10, IKK alpha, and IKK gamma. These results were statistically different as compared to
the control group of rats (Zhang et al, 2013).
Burns and Wound Healing
Many traumas can result in a break of skin tissue causing a skin wound on the body. Whether
this is from a cut, scrape, or burn, skin wounds can lead to infections if not treated and healed in a
timely manner. The Chinese use a number of herbs that reportedly help the body to heal wounds faster.

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A study was done on a Chinese herb known as, Angelica Sinensis (Hsiao, Hung, Tsai, Chak, 2012). Its
a herb known to help in the healing of skin wounds. In this study different groups of human fibroblasts
were cultured and treated with either Angelica Sinensis (AS), Feurlic acid (FA), its active ingredient,
which is known to participate in wound healing properties, and a control group with no treatment
(Hsiao et al, 2012).
The results of the experiment showed a number of beneficial effects that contribute to the
proliferation and growth of fibroblasts. Comparing results between the AS treatment and FA showed a
significant difference in efficacy (Hsiao et al, 2012). Exposing the cells to the single constitute Feurlic
acid showed a reduced effect as compared the exposing the fibroblasts to the whole herbal extract from
Angelica Sinensis. This suggests that there must be synergistic effects that arise from other compounds
that aid Feurlic acid's role in wound healing (Hsiao et al, 2012).
A number of proteins involved in wound healing were observed to be up-regulated after treated
with the AS extract. This study also saw an up-regulation of membrane annexins which regulate
calcium ions needed for wound healing, cell proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, migration, as well
as collagen secretion. This up-regulation was observed in both AS extract and FA treatment groups
(Hsiao et al, 2012).
Another study looks at the safety and efficacy of an ancient formula used in healing burn
injuries as it compares to the modern use of Silver Sulfadiazine, commonly used in Western medical
practice in the treatment of burns (Wang, Zhao, Zhao, Guo, Peng, Wu, 2014). Researchers took a
sample of rats given second degree burns and placed in four categories, control, model, burn liniment
(BL), and Silver Sulfadiazine (SSD). Research showed that both the BL and SSD treatments showed a
significant decrease in inflammatory markers and wound healing time and an increase in antimicrobial
and anti-inflammatory activity as compared to the control group of rats (Wang et al, 2014). Moreover,
the Chinese burn liniment also had no toxic effects on a variety of rat tissues. However, Silver

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Sulfadiazine is known to produce a variety of side effects on the human body such as neutropenia,
methaemoglobinemia, and renal toxicity. Suggesting that the Chinese burn liniment perhaps is as
effective, yet safer than the use of Silver Sulfadiazine (Wang et al, 2014).
Hypertrophic Scarring
Scar tissue forms on the skin as a consequence of an exaggerated response from inflammatory
markers in the blood during wound healing. The essential oil of Ligusticum changioxang has been
used in treating inflammatory diseases for centuries in China (Wu, Ma, Zhang, Zhu, Zhang, Wei,
2011). This preliminary study was done to access the biological effects of this oil on the reduction of
hypertrophic scarring from deep burns. Fibroblasts were harvested from burn patients and split into
several dose dependent categories for the oil, as well as a control group (Wu et al, 2011). The results
showed visible reduction of scar tissue over 12 hours, increasing in a dose dependent manner. Also, lab
tests revealed an increase in factors responsible for apoptosis, or cell death in fibroblasts (Wu et al,
2011).
Another Chinese essential oil made from the plant Oldenlandia diffusa has also been shown to
have potential in treating hypertrophic scarring (Zhang, Zhang, Jiang, Zhang, Peng, He, Rahman, Qin,
2012). The active compound in this oil is called Oleanolic Acid (OA). This compound was used by
researchers on the scarring of rabbit ears from a burn injury (Zhang et al, 2012). Several different
concentrations of this compound were mixed with vaseline and parafin to form a gel that was applied to
the scar tissue on the rabbit's ears and compared with a control group of rats (Zhang et al, 2012).
Results indicate that the OA had a significant decrease of scar tissue likely related to the regulation of
several proteins necessary in the production of scar tissue. In addition, toxicity tests reveal no
significant toxic effect on tissues (Zhang et al, 2012).
In comparison to this Chinese treatment, modern medicine has done some research on the use of
controlled Lathyrism on hypertrophic scarring, Lathyrism is a disease whose toxins disrupts collagen

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placement in certain tissues (Peacock, 1981).

Preliminary research indicates when used on scar tissue,

there is a reduction in scar formation when used in conjunction with the administration of chocoline.
However, due to the toxicity of the Lathyrism toxin, its said to only allow a shortened period of safe
treatment time and therefore not very effective for long term use in scar reduction (Peacock, 1981).
Acupuncture in Tendonitis
Acupuncture has been successfully used in treating numerous conditions including different
types of trauma and musculoskeletal disorders. Of these conditions its effectiveness in treating
tendonitis has been researched probably the most. One study has been shown to be effective in treating
inflammation related to tendonopathy in preliminary done on rats (Almeida, Guerra, Oliveira, Vieira,
Pimentel, 2014). In a follow up study, researchers tested its potential to influence mechanotransduction
pathways in localized healing tissue in addition to its improvement of the biochemical antiinflammatory pathways (Almeida et al, 2014). Mechanotransduction (MT) is known as the ability of
cells to transform mechanical stimulation into biochemical changes. Studies have shown that needle
stimulation can activate MT pathways that are involved in type I collagen production (Almeida et al,
2014).
Rats were taken and given an Achilles tendon injury, then split into test groups and control
group to study the effects of needling ST36 and BL52 points. ST36 is known to have antiinflammatory effects, BL32 was chosen as a local point said to help in lower leg tendon healing
(Almeida et al, 2014). It is hypothesized that inflammation inhibits type II collagen production. So,
these points when used together are said to result in an increase of both type I and type II collagen
production response. The rats that were treated resulted in an increase in tendon healing as compared
to control groups (Almeida et al, 2014).
In another study, 201 patients with soft tissue shoulder injuries were sampled and given
acupuncture. The patients had several different types of soft tissue injuries including rotator cuff

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tendonitis, bicipital tendonitis, and adhesive capsulitis (Guerra, Bassas, Andres, Verdugo, Gonzalez,
2003). The participants were treated with acupuncture over a 3 year period to manage pain profiles
associated with their injury. As a result, 60% of participants noted a significant decrease in pain
associated with their injuries (Guerra et al, 2003).
Conclusion
Traumatic injuries occur to many of us during our lifetimes, whether a person is normally
healthy or not. For centuries, ancient Chinese medicine has been used to treat a wide variety of
illnesses including trauma. Since its discovery in the modern era, numerous studies have been
performed on its safety and efficacy on the restoration of the injured body. Much of the research
indicates positive results with the use of its ancient herbal formulas and acupuncture prescriptions.
Moreover, many of these treatments have been found to be not toxic to the body as compared to their
western medical equivalents. This suggests that in general, Chinese medicine can be both safe and
effective for use on the human body.

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