"The insertion of needles or the prescription of a plant formula represents the final act of a refined process of analysis and discrimination. The same manifestation (biao) may have different roots (ben). Thus, facial pain may be due to heat or to cold, to fullness or to emptiness, to environmental factors or to internal disharmony.

Moreover, certain emotional imbalances, such as the repression of emotions, play an important role in the development of painful pathologies. Conversely, persistent pain may have psycho-emotional repercussions. Adapting the treatment — for example by calming the mind, in order to take this level into account — and providing appropriate emotional support are two crucial factors in cases of chronic pain.

Thanks to traditional diagnosis and to the differentiation of treatment, true Chinese medicine will combine the treatment of the root (the underlying problem) with that of the symptoms (the manifestation)." (excerpt from the foreword by Peter Deadman)

In this work: the pathophysiology of pain in traditional Chinese medicine; principles of treatment; choice of acupuncture points and their combinations; acupuncture and/or phytotherapy treatment of pain syndromes (from the most common to the most complex); evaluation and adaptation of treatment; clinical cases.