Understanding Retinitis Pigmentosa
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of inherited retinal disorders in which the photoreceptor cells — the rods and cones responsible for night vision, peripheral vision, and eventually central sight — progressively deteriorate over time. Most people with RP first notice difficulty seeing in low-light conditions, followed by a gradual narrowing of the visual field that can feel like looking through a tunnel. In later stages, central vision may also be affected. Because Western medicine currently has no established treatment to halt or reverse the progression of RP, many patients and their families are left searching for supportive care options that address quality of life and functional preservation.
At Makari Wellness in Oceanside, we take a fundamentally different view of what it means to support a patient living with retinitis pigmentosa. While we make no claim to cure or reverse genetic retinal disease, Chinese medicine offers a sophisticated lens for understanding why tissues degenerate, how circulation and nourishment reach the retina, and what systemic patterns may be accelerating or slowing a person’s trajectory. Our care is integrative, evidence-informed, and built around you as a whole person — not just a diagnosis.
How Chinese Medicine Understands Retinal Degeneration
In classical Chinese medicine, the eyes are considered a direct extension of the Liver organ system. The Liver is said to “open to the eyes” — meaning that the quality of Liver blood and Liver yin is directly reflected in visual acuity, color perception, and the health of the retinal tissues. When Liver blood is abundant and Kidney jing (the body’s deepest constitutional reserves) is strong, the eyes are nourished, bright, and resilient. When either becomes deficient — through aging, chronic illness, constitutional weakness, or prolonged stress — the tissues that depend on them begin to lose their vitality.
In retinitis pigmentosa, Chinese medicine practitioners often recognize a pattern of Kidney and Liver yin deficiency, sometimes combined with elements of blood stasis and qi deficiency that impair microcirculation to the eye. The retina is an extraordinarily metabolically active tissue, and anything that compromises the fine delivery of blood, oxygen, and nutritive substances to the posterior eye can contribute to its gradual decline. Qi stagnation and blood stasis — two patterns seen frequently in degenerative conditions — can restrict flow through the small vessels supplying the retinal and choroidal layers, potentially accelerating cellular loss.
Some patients also present with concurrent Spleen qi deficiency, which in TCM affects the body’s ability to transform nutrients from food into the blood and fluids that nourish every tissue, including the retina. When the middle jiao is weak, even a diet rich in nutrients may fail to adequately sustain peripheral and posterior structures. This is one reason why the same genetic mutation can manifest with dramatically different rates of progression across different people — constitutional strength, lifestyle, and systemic patterns all play a role in how quickly or slowly tissues deteriorate.
Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine for Eye Support
Acupuncture Approaches
Acupuncture treatment for retinitis pigmentosa is aimed at improving local circulation to the eye, reducing inflammation and stasis in the posterior segment, and tonifying the underlying organ systems whose deficiency may be contributing to degeneration. Our practitioners draw from multiple acupuncture traditions to build a treatment strategy tailored to each patient’s pattern presentation.
- Local eye-area points — Classical points around the orbit, including Jingming (BL-1), Zanzhu (BL-2), Tongziliao (GB-1), Chengqi (ST-1), and Qiuhou (Extra), are used to stimulate local circulation, support the optic nerve, and bring qi and blood into the periorbital and retinal vasculature.
- Distal constitutional points — Points along the Liver, Kidney, and Spleen channels address the root deficiencies driving degeneration. Taichong (LV-3), Taixi (KI-3), Sanyinjiao (SP-6), and Zusanli (ST-36) are commonly used to tonify qi and blood, nourish yin, and strengthen the digestive foundation that sustains tissue repair.
- Scalp acupuncture — The Visual Area of the scalp, located over the occipital cortex, is a specialized microsystem target that may stimulate the visual processing centers of the brain, supporting the integrity of the entire visual pathway from retina to cortex.
- Electroacupuncture — In select cases, mild electrical stimulation applied to periorbital and scalp points can enhance the therapeutic signal, particularly for patients with more advanced degeneration or sluggish circulation patterns.
Classical Herbal Formulas
Chinese herbal medicine offers a sophisticated pharmacopeia for supporting the Liver-Kidney axis and promoting ocular health. Classical formulas that tonify Liver and Kidney yin — such as Qi Ju Di Huang Wan (a formula specifically refined for eye symptoms arising from yin deficiency), Ming Mu Di Huang Wan, and base formulas from the Liu Wei family — have been used for centuries in the management of vision decline associated with depletion patterns. When blood stasis is also present, practitioners may incorporate herbs that move blood and open the small collateral vessels supplying the retina, such as Dan Shen, Hong Hua, and Chuan Xiong, carefully balanced within the formula to avoid over-dispersing an already deficient constitution.
Herbal treatment at Makari is always individualized. No two patients with retinitis pigmentosa will present the same clinical picture, and the formula strategy is built around your current pulse, tongue, and symptom pattern — not a generic protocol tied to your diagnosis. Formulas are adjusted over time as your pattern evolves and as we gather information from your clinical response.
What to Expect at Makari Wellness
Your first visit at our Oceanside clinic is a comprehensive intake lasting approximately 75 to 90 minutes. We take a detailed history that spans your eye symptoms, your overall health trajectory, your constitutional tendencies, and your lifestyle. We perform a thorough tongue and pulse examination, which gives us a real-time window into the systemic patterns your body is expressing. If you have recent imaging or ophthalmology records, we welcome those as part of our picture — we work alongside, not in opposition to, your retinal specialist.
From there, we build a treatment plan that typically includes weekly acupuncture sessions during the initial phase of care, paired with a customized herbal formula dispensed in our clinic. As your pattern stabilizes, treatment frequency often shifts to bi-weekly or monthly maintenance. Many patients begin noticing broader systemic improvements — better sleep, more stable energy, reduced eye fatigue, and improved cold tolerance — before noticing any direct changes in their visual field. These systemic shifts are meaningful signals that the underlying pattern is responding to treatment.
We are transparent about what Chinese medicine can and cannot offer for retinitis pigmentosa. We do not claim to reverse photoreceptor degeneration or halt a genetic process. What we can offer is thoughtful, individualized support that addresses the systemic environment in which your retina lives — the circulation, the nourishment, the inflammatory tone, and the constitutional reserves that influence how any tissue ages and degrades. For many patients, this kind of systemic care is a meaningful complement to the monitoring and management they receive from their ophthalmology team.
Integrating Chinese Medicine Into Your Retinitis Pigmentosa Care
Living with a progressive visual condition is emotionally demanding as well as physically challenging. At Makari Wellness, we believe that care for retinitis pigmentosa should address the whole person — including the anxiety, grief, and fatigue that often accompany a diagnosis of this magnitude. Chinese medicine has always been a whole-person medicine, and that orientation shapes every aspect of how we work with patients navigating chronic and degenerative conditions.
We serve patients throughout the greater San Diego region, including Oceanside and surrounding North County communities, who are looking for skilled, evidence-informed Chinese medicine care as part of their integrative health strategy. Whether you are newly diagnosed and exploring your options, or you have been living with RP for years and are looking for additional support, we welcome the opportunity to sit with you, understand your story, and explore what this medicine might offer.
If you are ready to explore Chinese medicine as a complement to your retinitis pigmentosa care, we invite you to Schedule Your Initial Visit with our clinical team at Makari Wellness — and take the first step toward care that sees the whole of you.
Specialized Training in Ophthalmological Acupuncture
Not all acupuncturists are trained to treat eye and vision conditions. Ophthalmological acupuncture — like neurological rehabilitation and stroke recovery acupuncture — is a distinct specialty within the field, requiring advanced post-graduate clinical training that goes well beyond standard acupuncture licensure. When seeking acupuncture for an eye or vision condition, it is important to work with a practitioner who has received specific training in this area.
Michael Woodworth, L.Ac., is one of a small number of practitioners in the United States certified in Micro Acupuncture 48 (M48) — a specialized microsystem developed by Dr. Andy Rosenfarb, L.Ac., N.D. M48 maps the entire body to 48 acupuncture points located on the hands and feet, offering a precise, targeted approach to treating degenerative and inflammatory eye conditions including macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa, diabetic retinopathy, and optic nerve conditions. M48 certification represents a level of clinical focus that distinguishes its practitioners from general acupuncture practice — and Michael is among the few in Southern California who hold it.