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. See section: Acupuncture
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. |
| The major strength is in preventive medicine: the treatment of disorders characterized by bodily mismanagement and intervening before the symptoms become threatening or overwhelming. |
The major strength is 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.
"To use words wrongly is not only a fault itself; it also corrupts the soul" - Socrates
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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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