Embedded Files
(Here, TCM refers to acupuncture and herbal treatment in a narrow sense)In a time when great technological advances are being made in the field of medicine, the idea of going to a pracitioner who inserts needles is unfamiliar and intimidating, and taking herbs can seem like a leap of faith. Our goals in seeking any type of medical treatment are normally the following:
to get rid of unnecessary suffering
to preserve to improve the quality of our health
to enhance our constitutional strength.
to prevent disease from happening
"The best treatment is to prevent disease from happening" is a quote from chapter 55 Adverse and favorable circumstances, Spiritual Pivot, the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, Nei-Jing Ling-Shu, 黃帝內經靈樞．逆順第五十五--"上工治未病". This, in my opinion, is the ultimate goal of TCM treatment which is achieved through adjusting the constitution of the person.
There is an essential difference between the modern western medicine and Traditional Chinese medicine, TCM. The treatment of modern medicine is based on physical changes we can find and see. Its approach is either surgical or chemical, drugs. Traditional Chinese medicine, TCM, adjusts health from an energetic approach based on the energetic changes found from the patient. Because of this fundamental difference, when used in the right way, TCM benefits people who want to get rid of their suffering or want to improve the quality of their health.
In terms of our approach to treatment, TCM differs from modern medicine in three ways:
a. Holistic approach.
Even when the target is just a symptom on a regional part on the body, TCM always wants to know the full patho-mechanism, in another words, the real underlying reason for the suffering. A TCM doctor is like a detective who wants to find out what is the real cause of the problem. TCM diagnosis tries to identify what and which energetic pattern is the more crucial one when the person is checked. Good treatment always comes from thorough understanding of the patho-physiology of the complaint instead of just suppressing or controlling the symptoms. You will be encourage to share more with these who tries to help you.
b. Individualized approach.
Good treatment should be tailored to fit patient's unique situation. Even when the complaints are similar, such as tension headache, the full pathology can be very different from person to person. For instance, the physical dynamic of the tension headache of a skinny female who is aggravated during menstruation and the tension headache of a chubby busy successful businessman will never be the same. A good treatment should always be based on the person's unique condition each time. The good TCM treatment comes from the awareness of a lot of subtle differences from the patient. Treatment should be tailored accordingly each time we see the patient and fine-tuned as precisely as possible to get the best result.
c. Energetic approach.
TCM uses the term Qi. My translation for it would be life-energy. This is the energy that maintains every different life function in the body. Qi circulates in the meridians or channels in the body. This is one of the most important physiological tenets in TCM. There are 12 channels and 8 extra-channels on the human body. Each of them has a unique connection to the inner organs in our body and each one of them circulates in different directions. Good TCM treatment approaches the patient based on the holistic and individualized information we have gathered, and accordingly we can decide the right direction and potency for each treatment. Chapter 10 Meridine from the Spiritual Pivot of the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, Nei-Jing Ling-Shu, said "if we understand this life energy well, we will be able to adjust the quality of health, treat all kinds of disease and improve the prognosis of health." (經絡者，所以決死生，處百病，調虛實者也。〔黃帝內經靈樞．經脈第十〕) This approach is very different from a chemically approached treatment, such as a drug.
All three above are the unique way to treatment passed down to us to enhance our natural body strength to achieves health. For instance, acupuncture is not just poking needles onto our body. The skilled therapist will know from the process of needling, of course which is not pleasant, how is the body energy doing. Not just that, he or she can change it and you will notice it from what you perceived through the process.
Rene Dubois, who discovered the first antibiotic (gramicidin, which was used for several years before penicillin) and worked at Rockefeller University here in NYC, wrote this: "I have always felt that the only trouble with scientific medicine is that it is not scientific enough. Modern medicine will become really scientific only when physicians and their patients have learned to manage the forces of the body and the mind that operate via vis medicatrix naturae [the healing power of nature]."
Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, from whose book I lifted this quote, continues to say that "From this point of view, we are, paradoxically, unwitting victims of the formidable achievements of Western medicine. Surgery, antibiotics, radiotherapy are extraordinary steps forward. But they have led us to overlook the body's own healing power. However, it's possible . . . to enjoy the benefits of medical progress and the body's natural defenses at the same time."
“Before pathogens can attack the body, the body must be deficient to invite this.” 邪之所湊，其氣必虛, is a quote from chapter 33 Comments on hot diseases from Essential Questions Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic (Su Wen黃帝內經素問評熱病論篇第三十三). This quote shows us in traditional Chinese medicine, disease is created by two aspect of forces. One is the evil, the other is the body's ability to stay healthy. The evil part we know quite well. The constitutional ability is something we know only in a very vague way. Traditional Chinese medicine can deal with this kind of functional stage situaltion before it really becomes an organic pathological finding from contemorary medicine.The two quotes above shows traditional Chinese medicine is designed to adjust this vital energy with needles, moxa, herbs and body work etc.
I am a MD from Taiwan myself. Modern medicine has a great contribution to human health. In my opinion when matched well, the two can compensate each other very well.
The process can be simplified with the following four steps through sessions with you.
A. Symptomatology—information gathering. This includes all the subjective and objective findings from the patient. It's amazing even after seeing the same person for a few years already, suddenly the person pops out some extremely important information that they never mentioned. If you are a patient please remember to offer as much information as you can. The more you can help me to understand you, the better I can help you.
B. TCM Diagnosis – This is the TCM diagnosis, not the contemporary medical diagnosis and we usually get a few from the patient, for instance, Liver qi stagnation, Spleen deficiency and Kidney yang deficiency etc. This diagnostic system is very different from the modern medical diagnosis.
C. Treatment principle – To decide which one or few TCM diagnosis should be the aim of each session. This will be the major guideline for the treatment in each session.
D. Treatment –With the targeted diagnosis we finalized from the 3 steps above, we then have to decide the prescription with the potency that best fits. This applies to both the acupuncture and the herbal treatments.
The goal of the treatment is to help to strengthen the health quality of the patient. The direct result depends on the complexity of the person's condition.
Above is a brief summary of the classical TCM treatment I do clinically. If you want to discuss more in detail or if you have any questions, please contact me. Thanks for reading!
All the pictures on this page were taken by the famous modern photographer Cornelia Hediger.
Page updated
Report abuse