@thedrdave at Hyrself Functional Medicine takes the study of internal organs a step further by looking at how these organs interact with each other in terms of health, energy, and balance, often using concepts from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), particularly the Five Element Chart and Occipital Fiber Analysis from Sacro Occipital Technique and Lab Testing | Analysis.
“Res ipsa loquitur” is a Latin phrase that means “the thing speaks for itself”
Res Ipsa Loquitur is a principle where the evidence is so strong that no further proof is needed to establish a fact. Another way of saying it is – a truth remains a truth, no matter who speaks it. In the context of Functional Splanchnology and the Chinese Five Elements, a truth remains a truth no matter who speaks it. The Pathways of Health and Sickness (Chinese Five Elements) apply whether or not one is doing traditional chinese medicine (TCM). Many will see the “Five Element Chart” assuming it applies only to TCM. I assure you. It is there even when you are not paying attention to the Pathways of Health and Sickness.
The Concept:
In this field of study, “Res ipsa loquitur” can be metaphorically applied to suggest that the symptoms or conditions of organ distress are so self-evident or interconnected that they naturally point to related causes or effects through the Pathways of Health and Sickness framework.
Imagine you’re looking at a garden where each plant represents an organ in the body, according to the Pathways of Health and Sickeness (Chinese Five Elements):
- Wood (Liver) might look healthy, but if it starts wilting, it’s a sign something’s off. Here, “the thing speaks for itself” means you don’t need further explanation; the wilting itself tells you there’s a problem and other organ systems are involved.
Connection and Association:
Functional Splanchnology Application:
When a patient comes in with seemingly unrelated symptoms, @thedrdave at Hyrself Functional Medicine might say, “Res ipsa loquitur,” meaning the symptoms themselves suggest a pattern of organ dysfunction according to the Pathways of Health and Sickeness. For instance:
Viscerosomatic Pain: If someone has chronic back pain that doesn’t respond to typical treatments, @thedrdave at Hyrself Functional Medicine might look at the liver or kidney (Wood and Water element), knowing that issues in these organs might manifest as back pain due to their connections in the elemental cycle.
Observation Over Explanation: Instead of needing a long list of tests to connect dots, the practitioner might observe the symptoms, note the interconnectedness of organs as per the Pathways of Health and Sickeness, and deduce that “the thing itself speaks” – the organs are telling a story of imbalance without needing detailed explanations.
In essence, by understanding the principles of the Pathways of Health and Sickeness, @thedrdave at Hyrself Functional Medicine can look at a symptom or set of symptoms and, without extensive diagnostics, infer which organs might be involved or out of balance, embodying the idea of “Res ipsa loquitur” in diagnosing and treating organ-related conditions. This enables him to order the correct test. Saving you time and money in restoring your health.
Seasonal Synchronicity
A person’s health can be visualized through the lens of the Pathways of Health and Sickness, represented by the five-element chart. Each season—spring, early summer, late summer, fall, and winter—corresponds to specific paired hollow and solid organs that undergo cycles of maintenance, cleansing, repair, and rejuvenation. This cycle also occurs over the 24 hours of each day. During these natural processes, the body may exhibit signs and symptoms linked to the organs associated with each element. Think of it like maintaining your home: to clean, you have to take out the trash. At home, you might use cleaning tools like scrub brushes and trash bags; in the body, this role is fulfilled by the immune system, fevers, and mucus.
Unfortunately, modern medical practices, heavily influenced by the Big Pharma-Medical complex, have conditioned us to view symptoms as inherently bad and something to suppress. However, suppressing these symptoms disrupts the body’s natural cycles of cleansing, repair, and rejuvenation—akin to someone stopping you mid-cleaning. Imagine if you never took out the trash in your home: the mess would accumulate. Similarly, suppressing symptoms is like hoarding waste within the body.
During the body’s seasonal cycles of cleansing, repair, and rejuvenation, symptoms often arise based on the organs involved. For example, the lungs may produce mucus, or the liver might trigger fatigue as it detoxifies. While these processes are natural and essential for maintaining health, healthcare providers frequently attribute these symptoms to bacteria or viruses. Viruses are too fragile to culture in Walk-In Clinics. These explanations are difficult to prove or disprove, but because healthcare professionals hold authoritative medical degrees, people are often expected to accept their opinions without question.
The diagnostic process relies heavily on culture-based testing, yet it’s well-known in microbiology that 99% of microbes cannot be cultured in a lab. Moreover, bacteria under stress are pleomorphic—they can change shape in response to their environment. For instance, some bacteria transform into spherical forms resembling streptococcus, much like how roly-poly bugs or armadillos curl into balls for protection. This shape-shifting can lead to misdiagnoses, prompting treatments that suppress symptoms rather than addressing their root causes. By misunderstanding these natural cycles and processes, the healthcare system often interrupts the body’s attempts to heal itself, leaving the underlying issues unresolved.
A healthy individual stays in sync with the natural rhythms of each season and its associated element. For instance, fall colds often emerge around early September. The organs of the fall element, the lungs and large intestine, use this time to cleanse, repair, and rejuvenate. The symptoms of a fall cold are part of this maintenance process. However, if these symptoms are suppressed, the body’s maintenance is delayed. As the end of the season approaches, symptoms may resurface, signaling unfinished work before the next seasonal cycle begins. This is comparable to hastily tidying a house for unexpected guests by shoving trash into a closet instead of truly cleaning. Eventually, the closet overflows.
When maintenance is repeatedly interrupted by suppressing symptoms, the body postpones its cleansing and repair cycles. This backlog can carry over into the next year, leaving “trash” from each season unaddressed. Over time, the body accumulates five different types of “clutter” associated with the five elements, leading to disharmony and imbalance.
By embracing the natural cycles of the body, rather than suppressing them, we can maintain a state of health that aligns with the rhythms of the seasons and the elements.
The Five Element Organ Connection
In Chinese Five Element and Functional Splanchnology theory, the body’s organs are known to work in pairs, helping each other maintain balance and harmony. Each pair is linked to one of the five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. @thedrdave at Hyrself Functional Medicine considers the importance of solid and hollow organs lies in their pairing, which symbolizes the balance of yin and yang, a fundamental aspect of good health in traditional Chinese medicine.
Solid Organs (Zang)
These yin organs are responsible for storing vital substances such as blood, qi, and fluids. Examples include the lungs, heart, spleen (or pancreas), liver, kidneys, and pericardium.
Hollow Organs (Fu)
These yang organs are designed to transform and transport substances rather than store them. Examples include the stomach, large intestine, small intestine, gallbladder, and the triple burner.
Here’s how they work together:
Wood: Liver and Gallbladder
The liver is like a planner, making sure everything flows smoothly, like energy and blood. The gallbladder is the decision-maker, helping the liver put plans into action. Together, they keep your body and mind flexible and ready to adapt.
Liver (Wood) to Heart (Fire): If the Liver is not functioning well, you might notice issues with the Heart without any direct evidence linking them, but through the Shen cycle, the Liver’s distress naturally indicates potential Heart issues.
Example: You might experience heart palpitations or anxiety (Heart issues) when your liver is stressed, like from excessive alcohol or anger.
Fire: Heart and Small Intestine
The heart is the leader, pumping blood, containing nutrients, hormones, glucose and oxygen throughout your body, while also housing your “spirit” or emotions. The small intestine is the sorter, deciding what nutrients to keep and what waste to discard. Together, they ensure clarity, connection, and emotional stability.
Earth: Pancreas-Spleen and Stomach
In TCM, the pancreas and spleen are considered one organ. From a Functional Splanchnology perspective, the pancreas and spleen are closely connected in several ways with 99% of the Pancreas is digestive enzyme producing Exocrine cells and 1% of the Pancreas is Endocrine cells producing the metabolic hormones, i.e. insulin, glucagon, etc.
Blood Vessels:
The tail of the pancreas lies near the splenic artery and vein and extends into the splenic hilum. The splenic vein, which drains blood from the spleen, runs behind the pancreas and joins the superior mesenteric vein to form the portal vein. Additionally, branches of the splenic artery supply blood to the pancreas.
Lymphatic System:
Lymphatic vessels from the spleen drain into the pancreaticosplenic lymph nodes before continuing to the coeliac lymph nodes.
Embryology:
During embryonic development, the pancreas and spleen are situated close to each other. Abnormalities in this process can lead to a rare congenital condition known as splenopancreatic fusion.
The stomach and exocrine pancreas breaks down food turning it into energy, the the endocrine pancreas controls your metabolism and the spleen does quality and quantity control of the red blood cells. They work as a team to nourish your body and mind, helping you feel centered and strong.
Metal: Lungs and Large Intestine
The lungs bring in fresh air (life energy) and help you release what’s stale, while the large intestine eliminates physical waste. Together, they help with letting go, both physically and emotionally, ensuring clarity and renewal.
Water: Kidneys and Bladder
The kidneys store your vital energy, like a backup battery, while the bladder helps regulate the flow of fluids. They keep your energy reserves strong and help with cleansing and rejuvenation.
Each pair supports its element and the entire body, like parts of a well-tuned orchestra. When they work in harmony, you feel balanced and healthy; when one pair struggles, it can affect the others, leading to imbalances. This perspective emphasizes the importance of caring for your whole self, inside and out.
Shen and Ko Cycles
Shen Cycle (Generating or Nourishing Cycle):
Creating (Generative Cycle)
Each element supports or “feeds” the next in the cycle. This is the “supportive” relationship, where one set of paired organs helps another grow and function better:
- Think of it like planting a garden: Wood grows to create Fire, Fire burns to create Earth (ash), Earth contains Metal, Metal enriches Water, and Water nourishes Wood.
- Example: The Liver (Wood) supports the Heart (Fire) by providing energy for circulation and cellular health.
- Wood (Liver) nourishes Fire (Heart), which means the health of the Liver can support or enhance the functioning of the Heart.
Ko Cycle (Controlling or Destructive Cycle):
Destroying (Destructive Cycle)
In the Ko cycle, a distressed Liver might suppress the Spleen (stomach | pancreas), leading to digestive problems. Here, the digestive issues “speak for themselves” regarding the Liver’s overactivity. Each element has a controlling relationship with another element that’s not adjacent in the generating cycle. For example:
This is when one organ harms another, disrupting the balance entirely:
- Picture a bully tearing down another’s confidence.
- Example: The Heart (Fire) might “destroy” the Lungs (Metal) if excessive heat dries out the respiratory system.
Wood (Liver) controls Earth (Spleen Pancreas, Stomach), so if the Liver is overactive, it might suppress the Pancreas/Spleen.
Cheng Cycle (Overacting Cycle)
Overacting (Excessive Control)
Sometimes, one organ “pushes too hard” on another, creating imbalance:
- Imagine a boss micromanaging an employee until they burn out.
- Example: The Liver (Wood) may “overact” on the Fire (Heart/Small Intestine) by providing poor nutrition to the heart or over-controlling digestion, leading to stomach issues.
The overacting cycle (Cheng) is a type of imbalance that happens when one element in the Five Element Chart becomes too strong and starts controlling another element in an overwhelming way. This cycle still follows the normal control path of the Ko cycle (where one element keeps another in check), but in this case, the control is excessive and harmful—like a grandparent being too strict and weakening their grandchild.
Here’s how it works when an element is out of balance due to being too strong:
- Too much Wood overacts on Fire – The strength of Wood can overwhelm Fire, making it burn too weakly.
- Too much Fire overacts on Earth – Excessive Fire can scorch Earth, leaving it dry and depleted.
- Too much Earth overacts on Metal – An overly strong Earth element can bury and smother Metal.
- Too much Metal (Air) overacts on Water – Too much Metal (Air) can cut into Water, restricting its flow.
- Too much Water overacts on Wood – Excessive Water can flood and damage Wood, preventing it from thriving.
This overacting cycle creates stress in the system, as the excess of one element pushes another out of balance. It’s like one part of a team becoming too dominant and causing problems for the others. Recognizing and addressing this imbalance can help restore harmony between the elements and improve overall well-being.
Over-Supplementation
The Cheng cycle can happen when we overdo something that’s supposed to be healthy, like taking too many supplements or constantly trying to “boost” our immune system. While these actions are often meant to strengthen the body, too much of a good thing can actually throw your internal balance off and cause harm.
For example, when you take excessive amounts of supplements or always focus on stimulating certain functions in your body (like your immune system), it can create an overacting cycle where one element becomes too strong and starts overwhelming others.
Here’s how this can happen:
- Over-supplementation can cause one organ or system to work too hard, becoming dominant and over-controlling. For instance, taking excessive liver detox supplements (associated with the Wood element) might overstimulate the liver, causing it to overact on the Fire element (heart or circulation), potentially leading to anxiety or heat-related issues.
- Constant immune boosting can overstimulate the Fire element (connected to immune activity), which could overact on the Earth element (digestion and metabolism), leading to problems like inflammation, digestive issues, or nutrient deficiencies.
By always trying to “stimulate” or “strengthen,” we can unintentionally tip the scales, creating imbalances that ripple through the body’s interconnected systems. It’s a bit like watering a plant so much that its roots drown—it’s too much of a good thing.
This is why balance is key. The body needs both strength and rest to maintain harmony, and sometimes “less is more” when it comes to supporting your health.
How Organ Distress Works:
Compensation in Shen Cycle:
If the Liver (Wood) is distressed, it might drain energy from the Heart (Fire), leading to heart-related symptoms or fatigue because the Heart isn’t getting the support it needs.
Distress in Ko Cycle:
If the Liver is hyperactive, it might exert too much control over the Spleen (Earth), leading to digestive issues or problems with energy (since the Spleen in TCM is related to energy production via digestion).
Viscerosomatic Pain:
Definition: Viscerosomatic pain occurs when an internal organ’s dysfunction leads to pain or dysfunction in a related part of the body, often in the muscles or skin.
- For example, if the liver is distressed, it might cause shoulder pain or right-side neck tension or headaches in the forehead or eyes, because these areas are connected through nerve pathways or energy channels (meridians in TCM).
Multiple Organ Distress:
Simultaneous Dysfunction: People can indeed have multiple organs affected at the same time due to:
- Chain Reactions: A problem with one organ can weaken or stress another, creating a domino effect through the Shen or Ko cycles.
- Lifestyle and Environmental Factors: Poor diet, stress, toxins, or chronic illness can impact several organs at once.
Practical Example:
Imagine your body like a garden where each organ is a plant:
If the “Liver plant” (Wood) isn’t doing well, it might not produce enough “fuel” for the “Heart plant” (Fire), making it struggle too. Meanwhile, if the Liver is overly aggressive, it might over-grow and start to choke the “Spleen, Pancreas, Stomach plant” (Earth), creating digestive issues or fatigue.
Functional Splanchnology helps in understanding these interactions, allowing for treatments that not only target the sick organ but also consider the balance and health of the entire system, aiming to bring harmony back to all elements.
