Acupuncture needles, moxa sticks, TCM Traditional Chinese Medicine

Have you ever seen the show, “Fact or Fiction?”

If not, it goes like this: each week, an unbelievable story is told and the viewers get to judge if they believe the story is fact or fiction.

In Chinese medicine, we have our very own “fact or fiction” debate. Except this debate is centuries-old and we still don’t have the answer.

This ongoing debate has stayed in the back of my mind for years.

Triple Burners! The San Jiao!

Here’s what it’s all about: TCM practitioners have long questioned the existence of the organ, The Triple Burner. Unlike all of the other organs in the human body, it is the only one with no physical component.

It’s said to be the organ with a name but no form.

How could that be?

Well, the triple burner “holds the office of the sluices (water channel controlled by gates); it manifests as the waterways.”

Fresh vegetables and flowering plants in garden during summer

You can think of the triple burner like a 3-level compost…

Imagine the top layer of a compost that is full of flowers and root vegetables. This upper-layer of the Triple Burner is where things tend to ascend and distribute. It is like a fine mist (Oxygen, Blood, Qi, fluid distribution) that houses the heart and lungs.

Soup with Foam

The middle layer is said to be foam, almost like the layer of bubbles that appear when you bubble soup (digestive churning). Anatomically, this second layer of the Triple Burner is between the diaphragm and bellybutton. And it houses the spleen and stomach.

Lower Jiao swamp

The lower level is like a swamp. It is the level that separates the clear and turbid. In this swamp-like level, things are broken down by bugs and it’s where worms do their finest work! Anatomically, it is between the bellybutton. It houses the organs responsible for detoxification, including the liver, kidneys, large intestine, bladder, and small intestine.

So you might be wondering, what do I make of this “triple burner” enigma?

Well, after studying the fascia, I believe the triple burner consists of the compartments of the chest (pleuropericardial compartment), abdomen (intraperitoneal) and pelvis (retroperitoneal) compartments.

The cavities exist between the organs and communicate between each of them

These compartments are the space between organs, which means they have no form. Yet they’re important because they connect the organs in the lower level together. In pathology, these cavities can fill with liquid (effusion).

So why am I telling you this? And what does it mean for you clinically?

I have found that when the liver is treated osteopathically by pumping it and draining it, there is a profound effect on the entire system. Also, working the lesser omentum (between the liver and the smaller curve of the stomach) helps balance out pressures.

Once the organs are more in balance, I use acupuncture to solidify the treatment. By combining the treatments, results can be achieved more rapidly. Why? Because anatomical relationships must be “connected” before things will operate optimally (ie: proper body mechanics).

Do you have any questions about the Triple Burner?

Want to learn more?

Leave a comment in the comments below!

If you’d like to schedule a “tune-up”, or any other treatment, contact me here at the Toronto Acupuncture Clinic!