초록
Recently, the range of meridian muscle has expanded to muscular membranes, tendons and sinews as well as muscles, comprehending the modern manual therapy and its theories. So, in this study, the movement of body is explained through the assignment of meridian muscles into 3 Yins and 3 Yangs, and the modern manual therapy is understood with body's movement principles rather than with simple muscular movements. For this, the ground that the meridian muscles can expand to muscular membranes, tendons and sinews is researched in newest papers and studies rather than in the conventional studies that have analyzed the meridian muscles just in anatomic viewpoints. And, to find out how it can be applied to the actual clinic, its relationship with modern manual therapies such as Positional Release Therapy and Muscle Energy Techniques which are in the spotlight lately is also researched, getting the following results: Modern manual therapy is to keep the mutual balance of Yin-Yang meridian muscles after all and secure the stability of body to relieve the pains due to the stagnation of energy and blood. In the main body, they can be allotted into the opening of Great Yang/Great Yin, the closing of Bright Yang(陽明)/Small Yin, and the pivoting of Small Yang/Growing Yin (厥陰). The bending and stretching of meridian muscles as well as the movement of body can be explained according to the principle of opening, closing and pivoting. When the body is divided into 3 Yins and 3 Yangs, the viewpoint of Yin-Yang-Inside-Outside can be applied to the protagonist and antagonist muscles, giving a theoretic basis to the modern manual therapy. In the process to understand Positional Release Therapy and Muscle Energy Techniques in the viewpoint of Meridian Muscle, it turned out that the meridian muscle theory of Oriental Medicine which used to be known only in documents can well explain the movement mechanism of human body. The stress reaction through the reciprocal inhibition in Positional Release Therapy and Muscle Energy Techniques can also be understood with Yin-Yang-Inside-Outside.