CHANG Xili,HUANG Sipeng,SUN Wuquan,et al.Mechanical Loading Improves Qi-Blood Nourishment in "Sinew Wei (痿)"via Mitochondrial Regulation[J].Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2026,67(07):725-729.
CHANG Xili,HUANG Sipeng,SUN Wuquan,et al.Mechanical Loading Improves Qi-Blood Nourishment in "Sinew Wei (痿)"via Mitochondrial Regulation[J].Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine,2026,67(07):725-729.DOI: 10.13288/j.11-2166/r.2026.07.005.
(痿), which is mainly characterized by the fai-lure of
qi
and blood to nourish the sinews. A mechanical-biological response framework is constructed with mitochondria as a key component, explaining the modern interpretation of the disease location of sinew transmitting to
qi
and blood pathology. Mechanical loading, as a physical stress stimulus applied to the body, manifests primarily as passive loading formed by external forces such as massage, and active loading resulting from voluntary muscle contractions, such as
dao yin
(导引). Mechanical loading can regulate mitochondrial function through two pathways, mechanical signal transduction an
d metabolic demand-driven regulation. Skeletal muscle mitochondrial dysfunction is regarded as the core microscopic basis of
qi
imbalance in sinew
wei
, highlighting the intrinsic connection between
qi
and mitochondrial energy metabolism, as well as between blood and microcirculatory efficiency. Accordingly, distinct regulatory patterns of mechanical loading are identified.
Wei
associated with
qi
stagnation may correspond to mitochondrial network fragmentation and can be treated by regulating
qi
through passive loading, such as tuina, to restore mitochondrial dynamics. In contrast,
wei
caused by
qi
deficiency is attributed to insufficient mitochondrial biogenesis and may be treated by tonifying
qi
through active loading, such as
dao yin
, to promote mitochondrial biogenesis. This framework reveals the biological differences in mitochondrial regulation induced by distinct mechanical loading modalities and provides a microscopic mechanism-based explanation for the principle of "treating the same disease with different methods" in sinew
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