In clinic, I often notice a curious pattern. Some people don’t just have “aches and pains” — they have one-sided aches and pains. Their shoulder, hip, knee, jaw, or back always seems to flare on the left… or always on the right. Even accidents and injuries often follow the same pattern, as if the body has chosen a preferred side through which it expresses distress.

From a Western medical perspective, this may be explained by posture, old injuries, biomechanics, or nerve pathways — all of which are valid and important. Yet Chinese Medicine invites us to listen on another level as well: the body as a messenger, expressing not only physical strain but also emotional, energetic, and even existential themes.

In Chinese medicine, the body reflects the dynamic relationship of yin and yang, complementary forces in constant dialogue. Broadly speaking, yang is associated with activity, direction, outward expression, doing, and engagement with the world. Yin relates to rest, nourishment, inner life, receiving, feeling, and being.

When an issue shows up predominantly on one side, it often suggests a strain in how that quality is being lived, resisted, overused, or under-expressed.

For some people, symptoms appear mainly on the right side, the side traditionally associated with yang. These clients are often highly capable, responsible, and outwardly strong. They are the doers, the ones who carry, organise, lead, and “hold things together.” Physically, this may show up as tight shoulders, headaches, jaw tension, or recurring injuries on the right. On a deeper level, the body may be expressing the cost of constant effort — the strain of giving without receiving, of acting without pausing, of being defined by what one does rather than who one is. The question beneath the pain is often: Where am I pushing when I might need to soften?

For others, symptoms consistently arise on the left side, associated with yin. These patterns often accompany people who are deeply sensitive, intuitive, and caring — sometimes to the point of self-neglect. Left-sided pain may reflect difficulty receiving support, allowing rest, or honouring emotional needs. Old grief, unspoken sadness, or long-standing disappointment can be held quietly in the tissues. The body may be asking: What am I not letting in? Where do I need nourishment rather than endurance?

From a Chinese medicine perspective, one-sided patterns are rarely just mechanical. Qi, Blood, and the Organ systems do not move randomly; they follow pathways that reflect how a person inhabits their life. Over time, when certain ways of being are repeated — over-responsibility, self-sacrifice, emotional suppression, relentless striving — the body adapts. Tension settles. Circulation becomes uneven. What began as a coping strategy becomes a physical habit.

At an even deeper level, some Daoist teachings describe one-sided patterns as arising when we are caught between who we are and who we feel we must be. When inner truth and outer life are no longer in conversation, the body may “carry the burden” in a particular direction. In this sense, pain can be seen as a form of protection, as the body holds what we have not yet been ready to face.

In treatment, my role is to support you in understanding what your body is communicating and how to respond to it. While not every ache carries a deeper message — sometimes pain is simply pain — in my experience, it is rarely without meaning. Our bodies are not separate from our lives. They remember, respond, and reflect the ways we move through the world.

If you notice that your discomfort, injuries, or tension tend to favour one side, you might sit with it quietly and ask: What quality does this side represent in my life? Where might I be overusing it, resisting it, or neglecting it altogether?

Not to judge or overanalyse, but to begin listening in a different way. While we naturally want to ease pain, sometimes the most lasting change comes when we understand what the body is asking of us, and respond to that.

Acupuncture and practices like Qigong can help restore communication within the body — between left and right, between effort and rest, between doing and being. As balance begins to return physically, there is often a subtle shift emotionally as well: a softening, a clarity, a sense of coming back to oneself.

If you’re noticing this pattern in yourself, you don’t have to make sense of it alone. Sometimes, having a space to explore this with someone can make all the difference.

Acupuncture can gently support this process, offering a space to explore what your body is holding and how it might begin to shift, while my Seasonal Self-Care workshops and eBooks offer simple, practical ways to deepen your understanding and support your body more fully.

Small shifts often begin with simply noticing, and being willing to respond differently.

Your feedback and questions are always welcome – please feel free to leave a comment below.

For further information about Chinese Medicine, you can contact Tania Grasseschi, practitioner of Acupuncture, Chinese Herbs, Qigong and Wholefood counselling. Tania is an AHPRA registered practitioner of Chinese Medicine, based in Katoomba, NSW and previously lectured at the Endeavour College of Natural Health (Sydney campus) for six years.

The information provided on this site is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare provider if you are seeking medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You are responsible for your own health and wellbeing at all times.