Reframing Inflammaging: How Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine Support Healthy Ageing

Ageing, Inflammation & Vitality

How Chinese Medicine Helps You Move Better, Sleep Deeper, and Age with Resilience

Inflammaging refers to the chronic, low-grade inflammation that accumulates in the body as we grow older. It’s increasingly recognised as a core factor behind the symptoms many experience with age—fatigue, joint stiffness, digestive issues, restless sleep, and slow recovery. Even in the absence of a formal diagnosis, these signs can profoundly affect day-to-day life.

This is where Chinese medicine—especially acupuncture and herbal medicine—offers a valuable perspective. Rather than simply masking symptoms, these therapies aim to restore function, improve circulation, reduce inflammation, and build resilience.

What Is Qi—Really?

You may have heard of qi (pronounced “chee”) described as a kind of mystical energy, but that’s a misconception based on early mistranslations. In modern Chinese medicine, qi refers to your body’s ability to function optimally: to circulate blood, digest food, adapt to stress, and regulate hormonal and immune systems. When qi is compromised, people often feel tired, sluggish, foggy, or unwell.

A Functional View of Health in Chinese Medicine

From a Chinese medicine perspective, healthy ageing means that the body can:

• Efficiently deliver oxygen and nutrients to all tissues

• Regulate inflammation and recover from stress

• Maintain coordination across immune, digestive, and hormonal systems

When these systems start to falter—as they often do with age—people may notice slower healing, disrupted sleep, low energy, aches and pains, or cognitive changes. Chinese medicine recognises these not as isolated symptoms, but as interconnected patterns of imbalance.

How Acupuncture Helps

Research supports acupuncture’s ability to:

• Lower systemic inflammation (e.g., reducing CRP and IL-6 levels)

• Enhance peripheral circulation and oxygenation

• Regulate the nervous system to support restorative sleep

• Improve mitochondrial function and cellular energy production

A meta-analysis involving nearly 18,000 patients across 29 clinical trials found acupuncture significantly reduced chronic pain (Vickers et al., 2018). Additionally, it has been shown to improve energy and quality of life in people with persistent fatigue (Kim et al., 2015).

The Role of Herbal Medicine in Healthy Ageing

Chinese herbal medicine has been used for centuries to nourish the body and delay age-related decline. Contemporary studies confirm its relevance in supporting long-term health. For example, it can:

• Reduce low-grade inflammation — useful for managing arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, or chronic skin issues like eczema

• Boost immune resilience — helping those prone to repeated infections or recovering from viral illnesses

• Enhance digestion and absorption — for people experiencing bloating, irregular bowel movements, or reduced appetite

• Support hormonal balance and emotional health — easing menopause, PMS, or stress-related mood issues

• Improve vascular health — by enhancing circulation and reducing arterial stiffness, which supports brain and heart function as we age

A large review of 84 clinical trials confirmed that Chinese herbal medicine improved fatigue and lowered inflammation in people with chronic fatigue syndrome (Zhang et al., 2022).

Why This Matters as We Age

Even in the absence of a clear diagnosis, it's important to take early signs of physiological change seriously. No single system of medicine holds all the answers—including Western medicine. For people navigating chronic conditions or complex symptoms, Chinese herbal medicine can offer meaningful improvements in quality of life where conventional approaches may have limited options.

At On the Pulse Clinic, we integrate evidence-informed acupuncture and herbal strategies to help patients:

• Feel more vibrant and move more easily — with less stiffness and more freedom of movement

• Sleep better — drift off more easily, stay asleep longer, and wake feeling refreshed

• Rely less on multiple medications — reducing the risk of side effects and interactions

• Improve day-to-day wellbeing — because it’s not just about living longer, but living well

Thinking Differently About Ageing

Western and Chinese medicine can work together to provide more comprehensive care. Chinese medicine doesn’t replace your GP—it has a lot to offer to improve your overall health through a more systems-oriented, holistic lens. With increasing research bridging both systems, the future of integrated care is becoming more collaborative.

You don’t have to believe in tradition or philosophy to benefit. The research is growing, the results are real, and millions worldwide are already using Chinese medicine to age with greater vitality.

📍 On the Pulse Clinic, South County Dublin
🔗 onthepulse.clinic | Integrated care for fatigue, inflammation, and healthy ageing

Why Do We Ache More As We Age?

It’s not just “wear and tear.”

Low-grade inflammation plays a major role in those stiff joints, sore muscles, and slow recovery.

It’s common to associate getting older with stiffness, soreness, and “creaky” joints. But these sensations aren’t just a result of wear and tear. Increasingly, researchers understand that low-grade inflammation plays a key role in why we feel more achy, tense, or sore as we age—even without an injury.

Here’s what’s happening beneath the surface:

🔹 Cartilage Wears Down Faster

As we age, the cartilage that cushions our joints becomes thinner and less elastic. This makes movements feel less smooth and increases friction in the joints. Chronic low-level inflammation can accelerate this process, leading to stiffness and discomfort—particularly in the knees, hips, and spine.

🔹 Muscles and Fascia Lose Tone

Ageing muscles naturally lose some strength and volume, but inflammation slows recovery and contributes to that heavy, tired feeling in the limbs. Even light exercise or everyday tasks may leave you feeling unusually sore. The connective tissue (or fascia) that wraps around muscles can also tighten and become less pliable, adding to that sense of stiffness.

🔹 Nerves Become More Sensitive

Low-grade inflammation doesn’t just affect joints and muscles—it can also “turn up the volume” on your nervous system. Inflammation can sensitise pain pathways, making minor sensations feel more intense. A small ache that you would have ignored years ago might now feel like a nagging discomfort that’s hard to shake.

🔹 Weather Really Does Affect Pain

You’re not imagining it—cold, damp, or changing weather can make inflammation feel worse. Lower barometric pressure and cool temperatures can cause tissues to swell slightly, leading to increased pressure in joints and a flare-up of symptoms, especially if inflammation is already present.

🌿 A Chinese Medicine Perspective

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), this achy, stiff, and reactive state is often described as “wind-damp” invading the joints, especially when the body's natural defences are weakened. Ageing is seen as a time when yang energy declines and circulation slows, allowing cold, damp, or wind-like influences to settle in the body—particularly the joints and lower back.

Rather than masking the pain, Chinese medicine works to:

• Improve circulation and fluid movement

• Clear inflammation from tissues

• Strengthen the body’s natural resistance to environmental stressors

• Support the organs (like the Kidney and Liver) that govern joint and tissue health

✨ In Short

Aches and pains aren't just something to “put up with.” They’re often a signal that your body’s internal systems—especially inflammatory and recovery pathways—need support. With the right care, many people experience relief, better mobility, and improved energy well into older age.