A Revised Neuromyofascial Understanding for the Neck, Head and Facial Channel Sinews based on the Ling Shu

The Channel Sinews (‘Jing Jin’, 筋經), originally described in the Ling Shu (Divine Pivot), have lost much of their
clinical significance and relevance in modern acupuncture practice. In the contemporary traditional Chinese
medicine (TCM) curriculum, the Channel Sinews are presented as symbolic descriptions of the myofascial system.
This approach has its limitations, as myofascial anatomy alone does not adequately account for the pathways of
the Channel Sinews on the neck, head and face. We have found that when the cranial and cervical nerves are
included, there is a very high degree of overlap between neuromyofascial anatomy and the traditional pathways
and disease descriptions of the Channel Sinews. This paper compares the Channel Sinews on the neck, head
and face with neuromyofascial anatomy and assigns precise anatomical structures and landmarks. Our analysis
demonstrates that there is a very high probability that the Ling Shu was recording precise neuroanatomical
structures when describing the Channel Sinew pathways of the neck, head and face.