Part 2 in a Series About Plant Parts

Twigs and Vines Are For Invigorating Blood Circulation

Would you like to understand how herbal medicine works? This series is a fun read with some historical and botanical underpinnings that lend meaning to the story of herbalism.

One of the earliest methodologies for cataloguing herbal remedies was based upon the “Doctrine of Signatures,” a philosophy that maintains that a plant’s morphology resembles and is analogous to the symptom, disease, or organ (Wood, 2004). Another interpretation is that the shape, color, texture and habitat of a plant or its parts will reveal its medicinal properties (Graves, 2012). 

Anatomical drawings of the body show the branching of larger veins and arteries into smaller vessels that transport the blood, lymph and nutrients to all the compartments of the body. In the plant architecture, the twigs and vines mimic this network as they also transport nutrients and water up to and throughout the plant.

The twig, or “zhi,” enters the limbs and meridians. For instance, cinnamon (Cinnamomi cassiae ramulus) twig, gui zhi, warms the meridians, and promotes the movement of yang to the extremities. It is contained in many formulas for circulating blood to the extremities, examples include peripheral neuropathy and diabetic neuropathy (Yang, 2010). 

Similar to twigs, the vines, or “teng,” also enter the channels, including small areas of congestion such as those that occur in and around tendons and joints (Yang, 2010). The principle of “quickening the blood,” a Chinese medicine strategy that moves areas of congested blood, is accomplished using vines, as these can reach into areas not accessible with other types of herbs. These vines branch into the tiny spaces between skin and muscles. For example, kadsura (Caulis piperis futokadsurae) stem, hai feng teng, relieves Bi syndrome, a condition in which swelling and cramping pain occurs in the joints (Sionneau & Flaws, 2001). 

While twigs and vines open flow to the extremities, these are not the only plant parts that improve circulation. Roots, seeds, and other plant parts also play an important role in improving overall circulation. For example, red sage root, dan shen, is a root that is used extensively in China and Japan to improve coronary circulation in the heart, and is prescribed routinely in hospitals for this purpose. A formula containing red sage root (dan shen), Astragali radix (huang qi), Notoginseng radix (san qi), and Angelicae sinensis radix (dang gui) is a widely used for angina.

Treating pain is always important, and it can be useful to combine allopathic drugs with herbal combinations. Using herbs provides exponential benefits because herbs address the problem as one of poor circulation and congestion, while drugs dampen pain signals. Used together, the western and eastern approaches provide satisfactory outcomes.

In my practice, I’ve witnessed several patients recover from recalcitrant pain in the head, neck, back, knees and shoulders using herbal formulas. In most cases, they used only herbs to address pain symptoms. In some cases, it’s possible to reduce medications, while in others, medications are necessary to control pain. Herbal formulas can provide a bridge to the road to recovery, and can be combined safely with most medications.

Read Part 1: Why Flowers Quite Literally Go To Your Head

References

Graves, J. (2012). The language of plants: A guide to the doctrine of signatures. Great Barrington, MA: Lindisfarne Books.

Wood, M. (2004). The practice of traditional Western herbalism: Basic doctrine, energetics, and classification. North Atlantic Books.

Yang, Y. (2010). Chinese herbal medicine: Comparisons and characteristics ebook. United Kingdom: Elsevier Ltd.