Are you the kind of person that “runs cold”? Do you always have cold extremities, frequently feel uncomfortably cold and suffer from back and joint pain during colder seasons? These all could be signs of kidney yang deficiency. Here’s what you need to know about kidney yang, its role in the body and how to keep it balanced.

What does Kidney Yang Deficiency mean?

The Kidney is the core of your Yang Qi, or Yang life energy. You could compare it to a central command that controls the function of organs and tissues in your body. The flow of your Yang Qi is important to keep your body warm and functioning well. Yin and Yang are meant to work together in the body. However, if they begin to work against each other, this can cause both energies to deplete, causing an imbalance in the body.

Symptoms

Symptoms of Kidney Yang deficiency vary from person to person. Some of the most common symptoms are even just sensations or moods that do not seem worrisome but can affect a person’s day-to-day quality of life.

These include:

• Sore joints and muscles
• Cold extremities
• Weakness in the lumbar area or knees
• Exhaustion
• Extreme sensitivity to cold (feeling like the cold never leaves you)
• Abundance of urination
• Incontinence or dribbling of urine
• Loose stools
• Decrease in libido
• Feeling withdrawn

These symptoms are regarded as an “Internal Cold” in Traditional Chinese Medicine—a situation where the body is unable to warm itself. If these symptoms are left to manifest for too long, the body will be left to function with less strength and stamina. This can make you susceptible to other health conditions such as an increase of fluid in the body (also known as generalized edema) that can affect the heart and lungs. Female and male infertility has been linked to Yang deficiencies as well.

How acupuncture can help

Acupuncture can help with poor circulation to increase warmth within the body. It also seeks to reduce dampness in your body’s inner environment by regulating fluids and promoting healthy digestion. By targeting areas that take the pressure off your Kidney, we can work together to restore its life energy, release stagnated areas of the body, soothe any symptoms and help your body begin to warm itself up.

If you’re suffering from any of the mentioned symptoms, acupuncture can help you see changes just within a few sessions. With the cold weather season upon us, it’s time to take care of your body! Schedule an appointment with us today.