Dr. Na Zhai Clinic Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine

For Physicians 

Why Standard Protocols Fail Complex Patients

Modern medical guidelines and "Evidence-Based Medicine" are built on statistical averages. They work beautifully for the average patient. But complex, refractory chronic patients are not average—they are the exceptions. They are the patients who fall outside the guidelines.

In the laboratory, science deals with isolated, static cells. In the clinic, we deal with dynamic, chaotic human beings. The same disease can present completely differently in two patients. You cannot treat a complex human being with a one-size-fits-all statistical average.

Dr. Na's system succeeds because it does not rely solely on lab data; it relies on the art of clinical observation—treating the individual patient's root cause, not just their diagnostic label.

Dr. Na Zhai and Dr. Claude Fortin, a neurologist at Springfield Clinic. Their collaboration was featured in the State Journal-Register, December 20, 1999.

A Note from Dr. Na

I was educated in both Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). I hold a Master's in Western Medicine and a PhD in TCM from China.

But I chose to practice only TCM in the United States—because this country needs more TCM healers.

I understand how drugs work, how surgery saves lives, and why emergency medicine is essential. So, why TCM? To help patients who have tried everything and failed. To assist primary care physicians (PCPs) with the patients who need both.

I was a PCP myself in China. I know the feeling when everything has been tried and failed. It is hard to feel hopeless in front of a crying patient—and to wish you had more tools and power to help them.

Here is my own story. [My Story]

Fortunately, we have two parallel medical systems in China: Western medicine and TCM. I remember whenever I was pushed into a corner, telling my patients, "I am sorry"—they got better from TCM. This forced me to take a serious look at TCM, follow its practitioners at work, learn from patient to patient, work in the labs with scientists, and finally start my own journey of TCM practice.

In the West, acupuncture is usually associated with pain control. But its applications are much broader. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes acupuncture as a safe and effective treatment for a variety of medical conditions.

My specific acupuncture technique was developed based on my own scientific research on cerebral responses to stimulating different acupoints, completed under Professor Yutaka Futaesaku at his electron-microscope laboratory in Japan. This research directly revealed the connection between acupuncture and the brain.

The fact is, acupuncture works whether you believe it or not. The needles are not magic bullets. They stimulate our body system to repair, to balance, to uplift—to be its best. After all, it is not the needle but the body system at work.

The Patients You Cannot Help

Every PCP knows the feeling. A patient comes in. You have tried everything. The medications are not working. The specialists have nothing more to offer. The patient is suffering—and you have run out of tools.

You are not failing. The system has failed them. You were given one set of tools—medication—and asked to solve a problem those tools were never designed to solve.

I have another set of tools.

The Formula That Nails Down the Root

In the early years of my practice in the U.S., around 2000, I worked with Dr. Claude Fortin, a chief neurologist at Springfield Clinic. Together, we offered TCM treatment in the clinic.

I had a patient who was 82 years old with 30 years of severe diarrhea. [Nancy's story]

She had tried everything, including steroids. Nothing worked. She was referred by her GI doctor to Dr. Fortin. After exams and a review of her records, Dr. Fortin led the patient to me with a diagnosis: severely inflamed colon.

For her, I designed a herbal formula named Body Clean, in conjunction with acupuncture treatment. Within months, she was completely healed—no more diarrhea, no more drugs. She gave a testimonial on stage while I was giving lectures to PCPs. [link: Body Clean: The Formula That Started It All]

This successful healing event made me realize that everyone—all of us—has the same digestive system, lives similar stressful lives, eats a similar modern diet. Colon issues must happen to everyone. The only difference is more or less.

Just like the sewage system in a house that needs cleaning from time to time—not only to work better but to last longer—the same is true of our body system. Start earlier, keeping our long colon clean, free from accumulating waste, free from inflammation and ulceration, before it gets worse like the patient. A healthy and efficient colon is a must for longevity.

Immediately, I started using the same herbal powder—Body Clean—for every patient as my first clinical protocol, no matter what problems the patient had.

Everyone? Yes, to every patient, no matter what brought them here.

Safety? An 82-year-old, very sick woman could handle it. That indicates the herb is gentle enough.

Efficacy? It healed a 30-year severe inflamed colon.

There is an old, well-known saying: "Death from the colon." It did not say what disease, man or woman—because we all have the same hardware.

Today, scientists have realized that inflammation is the root of all diseases, but they have nothing to offer. Compared to air pollution, hygiene, or the food we consume, keeping the "sewage system" clean and efficient is the first must. It is indeed the root related to most chronic diseases caused by systemic inflammation and long-term malnutrition.

This means I do not need a different cure for every disease. I use the same protocol—my specific acupuncture technique to boost the body's own healing power, and Body Clean to unload the garbage. These methods have been refined since 2000.

A Proven Model: The Springfield Clinic Model

In early 1999, Dr. Claude Fortin called me and asked me to work with him at the Neurology Institute in Springfield Clinic. He learned about me and my work through my patients.

Springfield, Illinois, was then very much closed to the outside world—especially to acupuncture. It took him six months to convince the clinic to accept me. But within one year, 90% of physicians in the clinic trusted our TCM service, and we had a flood of referrals—diseases from top to toe.

How did we work together?

All patients—whether from physician referral or self-referred—went to Dr. Fortin first. He examined them, made a clear diagnosis, filed them, and then brought the patients to my office, which was across the corridor from his. While I was treating all patients, Dr. Fortin supervised and monitored patients' progress. This double-secure medical service won the hearts of the masses, especially patients who did not respond well to modern medicine and those refractory cases.

My friend Dr. Robert Trapp, a rheumatologist, sent me patients he could not help—patients with migraines, arthritis, and chronic pain. They got better. He kept sending more. [link: Anna & Ann stories]

That is the model—You give a clear diagnosis, as accurate as you can through all current modern tools. I treat. And we evaluate together—from both Western medicine and TCM.

What This Means for Your Practice

• Reduce medication dependence. Fewer opioids. Fewer antibiotics.
• Improve clinical outcomes. Better pain scores. Better patient satisfaction.
• Lower healthcare utilization. Fewer ER visits. Fewer hospitalizations.
• Reduce your stress. Help the patients you cannot help.

The letters and testimonials on this website are not marketing. They are clinical documentation. They include:

Letters from Dr. Claude Fortin [Read]
Letters from Dr. Robert Trapp  [Read]
Testimonials from patients, in their own words  [Read]
Media coverage from the State Journal-Register  [Read]
Media coverage from the Illinois Times  [Read]
Teaching feedback from SIU School of Medicine  [Read]

These are real patients. Real outcomes. Real documentation.

"Invited Guest Faculty at the 1999 'Integrative Medicine' CME Conference in Springfield, IL, presenting alongside Dr. Claude Fortin (Neurology) to educate physicians on non-pharmacological treatments."

What's Next?

I am not currently accepting new patients or available for individual consultation or training. My practice is at capacity, and my time is committed to my existing patients.

But I am actively seeking a partnership with an organization that shares my vision—to help scale this work so more patients can benefit.

If you represent an organization interested in that conversation, please reach out.

Acupuncture by Dr. Na Zhai

    1200 S 5th Street,         Springfield IL 62703

drnazhaiclinic@gmail.com