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Chinese Medicine
Chinese medicine is the oldest form of medicine
still practiced today; it is also one of the most wide spread, as a
quarter of the world's population makes use of its benefits. Even If
you have not yet consulted an acupuncturist or herbal therapist, there
is a good chance that you know several people who have.
There are four major branches of Traditional
Chinese Medicine: Acupuncture Therapy, Herbal Therapy, Massage Therapy
and Qigong (Energy Cultivation).
1. Acupuncture Therapy
 Acupuncture
consists of stimulating with precision certain special points on the
body known to be effective in the treatment of specific health
problems. Points are selected and stimulated in combination to insure
equilibrium among the major systems of the body.
Points are mostly stimulated by the
insertion of thin needles on the body’s surface, placed strategically to
influence physiological function. More information on the acupuncture page.
2. Herbal Therapy
Chinese Herbal Therapy consists of treating
imbalance with the use of plant, mineral or animal based products. This
category of therapy includes nutritional education (dietetics), and the
use of teas, oils, balms, liniments, compresses, decoctions, powders
and pills. Often called Chinese pharmacology. See section: Nutrition
3. Massage Therapy
Defined as tissue manipulation
techniques, there are a number of such techniques in Traditional
Chinese Medicine, the most common being: Tui
na (muscle manipulation), Gua sha (Scraping Therapy), Jie gu (Bone
Setting), and An mo (Massage used for Visceral Manipulation).
4. Qi Gong Therapy
An integral part of the Chinese healing arts is a practice called Qigong, a term that may be translated as energy cultivation. This
therapy is the oldest of the Traditional Chinese Medical arts, and its
primary focus is to help the patient partake in optimizing his/her own
health. Qigong is foremost an exercise practice that combines breathing
techniques with movement, visualization and the focus of intent. See section: Qi Gong
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Treating the Patient
The central preoccupation of
modern medicine is the treatment of disease, and it is without equal
when it comes to intervening in a timely fashion in cases of serious
illness. It offers, among other solutions, surgery or medication to
re-establish safe bodily function. Western pharmacology has given us
powerful tools to fight against life threatening pathogens. Luckily in
the West today, many serious infectious diseases are considered banal,
since highly effective
antibacterial
agents are readily available. However, there is adown side to
Western Medicine in that, while it is extremely effective when it comes
to fighting disease and pathogens, it is less successful when it comes
to treating disease characterised by mismanagement of the body. Some
examples are: chronic fatigue, depression, insomnia, P.M.S., menopause
and allergies. If no disease is clearly detected, there is little that
Western Medicine can do to help the body heal.
By contrast, the primary focus of
holistic approaches like that of acupuncture is the person, not his
disease; helping the body to heal and to re-establishing natural
healthy balance are its goal. Chinese medicine has been successfully
treating patients suffering from a wide variety of diseases for
thousands of years. No matter the severity of a disease, there is
almost always something that can be done to help or to improve the
quality of the sufferer's life. Unlike Western medicine, the Chinese
medical approach consists of the treatment of imbalance characterised
by mismanagement before the body has yet suffered significant
structural damage.
Example 1:
As example, let us say
that you are so unfortunate as to break a bone. Once you have been to
the emergency room and the bone has been set and the inflammation
placed under control, the healing process begins. It is at this point
that Chinese medicine may best serve you. Acupuncture can help manage
the discomfort and inflammation it can also help your body heal more
effectively, therefore reducing the risk of complications.
Example 2:
A woman suffering from Pre-Menstrual-Stress
decides to consult a medical practitioner in the hopes of alleviating
her cramps, moodiness, and headaches.
A: She consults a conventional G.P. who examines
her and runs certain tests. After the results come back showing that
all is within normal parameters, in most cases, there is little that
can be done for her, either she must try and live with her symptoms, or
to take painkillers and/or hormones to attenuate them.
B: When she consults an acupuncturist, she will
begin treatment to help alleviate the discomfort, but also to help her
body regain proper balance. The acupuncturist takes the time to explore
different facet’s that may have contributed to the imbalance (ex: sleep
patterns, lifestyle, eating habits, etc.). The course of
treatment will most likely span three menstrual cycles, with more than
one treatments per cycle.
To an acupuncturist, symptoms like those faced by
individuals suffering from P.M.S. are signs that the body is under
duress and needs help. As always in Chinese medicine, the focus of
treatment is to assist the body to regain wellness.
Unfortunately in our society, many
people have learned to disregard and ignore what are perceived as minor
health issues, as these issues are not the main focus of conventional
Western medicine. One should not forget, however, that the origins of a
major illness often initially manifest as a minor imbalance. Do
you find yourself overlooking signs of imbalance?
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East and West
To get a better sense of
Traditional Chinese Medicine it is useful to compare it to the approach
of modern medicine. The chart below shows that both medicines have much
to offer in today’s healthcare systems; both have their respective
strengths and weaknesses, and are in fact, complimentary
Please note, these are necessarily
simplified comparisons, made only to indicate the complimentarily
of the two approaches.
| Eastern |
Western |
| The focus is on treating the individual, helping the body’s natural defences and ability to heal. |
The focus is on treating the disease, intervening against pathogens and abnormalities. |
| Strength
lies in preventive medicine: the treatment of disorders characterized
by bodily mismanagement and intervening before the symptoms become
threatening or overwhelming. |
Strength lies in emergency medicine: saving lives when extreme measures are necessary and beneficial. |
| Medications
are designed to remedy the body, helping it to function optimally;
comprised mostly of naturally occurring substances: plants, roots,
minerals, shells, etc. |
Medications are
designed to help in the elimination of what is undesired and are
comprised of chemicals, radiations, antibacterial agents, etc. |
| Practitioners
consider the body, the mind and the spirit as one. Any influence on one
aspect will result in a change in the whole. For health and
wellbeing to be maintained, all aspects must be nourished. |
The physical and
mental bodies are separate aspects that co-exist. They are separate
medicines. It is accepted that mental states affect the physical body,
but little attention is given to the relationship. Spirituality has
little place in this medicine. |
| Practitioners are first
and foremost generalists, because they focus on examining the whole as
well as the parts. Importance is placed on how each system functions in
relation to the others and to the whole. The body in its entirety is
treated, not simply the system with manifest symptoms. |
When disease sets in, generalists
refer to specialists with expertise in a specific field. Each system
constitutes a specialty on its own. The body is viewed as comprised of
several systems, but each one is treated separately. |
| The
body is viewed much like a garden: for health to flourish or for
disease to be overcome, balance in the person’s as a whole life must be
regained. Ideal living conditions must be encouraged, such as: proper
nourishment tailored to specific needs; stress management; proper
physical activity; and respect of healthy body cycle. |
The body is
viewed as a complex machine: when it breaks down or malfunctions, parts
are repaired, removed, even replaced if such is determined to be
necessary. |
The Language of Chinese Medicine
Chinese terminology, especially as
it pertains to medicine and the arts ,can be confusing to someone who
doesn’t have a background in Chinese culture. Practitioners, and those
who have studied the traditional arts, often confuse their Western
audience by overusing Chinese terminology. Most people have heard of
terms like Yin, Yang, and Qi, but more often then not, these terms are
misused or misunderstood by Westerners. It is also very common to hear
these terms used to explain supernatural and esoteric phenomenon. In
truth, Chinese medicine is an empirical science that is very down to
earth and deals with patients in a very practical manner.
The goal of this website is to
give the visitor a brief introduction to acupuncture and qigong, not to
convince you of the validity of a terminology that is socially,
philosophically and spiritually very complex. Here on this site an
effort has been made to refrain from the excessive use of such
terminology in the hope of promoting better understanding among those
with an interest in Chinese medicine, yet unfamiliar with its
traditional concepts.
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“The language of
Chinese Medicine has been developing for two thousand years. It is at
once rich, complicated, and difficult to understand. Though many, if
not most, contemporary Chinese consider it almost unapproachably
difficult, nearly everyone in China is familiar with its basic
vocabulary, for Chinese medical words are common to much of traditional
Chinese culture. Naturally, this vocabulary also contains numerous
technical terms. However, unlike the terminology of Western Medicine,
the language of Chinese Medicine is derived from words that the Chinese
use in their daily lives. “Zhang Yu Huan & Ken Rose. Who Can Ride the Dragon? An Exploration of the Cultural Roots of Traditional Chinese Medicine. McGraw-Hill/Contemporary. September 1999
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