Donguibogam identifying the stagnation of blood as a cause of pain is a very persuasive interpretation from the perspective of modern medicine as well. Symptoms we feel such as chronic shoulder stiffness, lower back pain, and numbness in the limbs often stem from microcirculatory disorders and inflammatory responses around muscles and joints.
The muscles in our body move by receiving oxygen and nutrients from the blood, and after physical activity, they discharge waste products such as lactic acid through the blood. However, when specific muscles remain continuously tense due to poor posture, stress, lack of exercise, or overuse, surrounding blood vessels become compressed and blood flow does not run smoothly.
When blood circulation is impaired, the supply of oxygen and nutrients becomes deficient first, reducing the energy production capacity of muscle cells. Because of this, muscles easily become fatigued and stiff, and algogens, such as bradykinin and prostaglandin, accumulate to stimulate nerve endings. In addition, delayed excretion of waste products worsens the inflammatory response, leading to a vicious cycle that causes edema and pain in surrounding tissues. In this process, a trigger point that feels like a small knot inside the muscle can form, and it can cause radiating pain to surrounding areas, making you feel as though the pain originates elsewhere.
Areas with large muscles and frequent movement, particularly the lower back and shoulders, are especially vulnerable to such circulatory disorders. Beyond structural issues such as disc problems or arthritis, continuous muscle tension and decreased blood flow often act as central mechanisms of chronic pain. From a neurological perspective, repeated pain stimuli can increase the brain's pain sensitivity, triggering central sensitization where even small stimuli cause greater pain. This is also why pain becomes increasingly sensitive and broadens in scope the longer it persists.
From an endocrinological perspective, excessive secretion of the stress hormone cortisol can cause vasoconstriction and promote inflammatory responses, obstructing blood circulation. Furthermore, autonomic nervous system imbalance can impair the regulation of vascular dilation and constriction, reducing blood flow volume to specific regions. Thus, a circulatory disorder goes beyond simple poor circulation; modern medicine also emphasizes it as a critical factor that induces and exacerbates chronic pain through complex physiological processes involving the nervous system, endocrine system, and inflammatory responses. Therefore, pain management should focus not only on reducing the pain itself, but also on resolving the fundamental cause by improving systemic blood circulation.
