What Is Traditional Chinese Medicine & How Does It Work?

Traditional Chinese medicine is the oldest professional, continually practiced, literate medicine in the world. This medical system’s written literature stretches back almost 2,500 years. And currently, ¼ of the world’s population makes use of it. One can say that modern Western and traditional Chinese medicines are the two dominant medical systems in the world today.

Is Chinese medicine safe?

Yes, very. When practiced correctly by trained, qualified professional practitioners, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are extremely safe. In fact, when practiced correctly, they have no side effects and produce no iatrogenic or doctor-caused disease. If a patient reports side effects from a Chinese medical treatment, the practitioner modifies the treatment until there is healing without side effects. This is because Chinese medicine seeks to restore balance to the entire person, not just a piece or part. Side effects mean there is imbalance which needs to be corrected.

Does Chinese medicine only work for Chinese?

Chinese medicine has worked for thousands of years on literally billions of people. Because of the diverse population of China and its varied geography, Chinese medicine has proven itself effective on all sorts of ethnic groups in all sorts of climates and lifestyles. In fact, Chinese medicine is so universally effective that the World Health Organization has selected it for world-wide promotion. At this time, thousands of practitioners around the world are proving every day that Chinese medicine works no matter where one lives or what race one belongs to.

Isn’t Chinese medicine just a system of folk healing?

No. This system has been created by some of the best educated and brightest scholars in Chinese history. These scholars have recorded their theories and clinical experiences from generation to generation in literally thousands of books. It is estimated that there are between 30-40,000 books on Chinese medicine still in existence that were written before the turn of the century. Since then, thousands more books and articles in professional journals have been written and published in the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

How does Chinese medicine work?

Chinese medicine works by re-establishing balance and harmony within the body. This means balance between yin and yang, balance between the five phases, balance between the viscera and bowel, and balance between the qi, blood, and body fluids. This balance is re-established by supporting the body’s healthy or righteous energy and attacking and unhealthy or degenerating energy. Doctors of traditional Chinese medicine seek to promote or restore health by diagnosing and treating imbalances in the qi, or natural vital energy of the body. When symptoms arise, we always strive to find the root of the disease to correct the imbalance, and as such, the symptoms of illness will disappear.

How does the Chinese medical practitioner determine what is out of balance?

Practitioners and doctors of traditional Chinese medicine diagnose what is out of balance in a person’s body by employing for basic examinations. The first is questioning about one’s signs and symptoms, medical history, and course of disease. The second is visually inspecting one’s face, body, and especially one’s tongue and its coating. The third is listening to one’s breathing as well as smelling any doors emanating from one’s body. And the fourth is palpating various areas of the body and especially the pulse at both wrists. Using a combination of one’s signs and symptoms, tongue diagnosis, and pulse diagnosis, the practitioner can determine the pattern of disharmony which requires rebalancing.

How are practitioners trained and licensed in Canada?

The provinces of British Columbia and Alberta are the only provinces in Canada in which the education and licensing of practitioners of acupuncture and herbal medicine, and doctors of Traditional Chinese medicine is government regulated. Anyone practicing the above mentioned medicine must be provincially board certified and have had over 3400 hours of training.

Chinese medicine as a system is extremely complicated and extensive. It is not just a bunch of techniques that can be added to some other health care profession. Just as one does not call an electrician to fix their plumbing, one should only seek treatment from professionally trained and qualified practitioners of Chinese medicine.

How is this rebalancing accomplished?

If something is too hot, the practitioner or doctor seeks to cool it down. If something is too cool, they try to warm it up. If something is too wet, they try to dry it out. If something is too dry, they try to moisten it. If something is too much, they try to make it less. If something is too little, they try to build it up. If something is stuck, they try to move it, and if something is flowing inappropriately, they try to make it flow in the right direction and amount.

What methods are used to re-establish balance within one’s body?

The main professionally applied methods of re-establishing balance are Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture/moxibustion. Chinese herbal medicines may be prescribed internally or applied externally. Acupuncture and moxibustion seek to regulate the flow of qi and blood within the body by either inserting fine, sterile, one-time use only needles at certain acupoints or warming certain acupoints by various methods. In addition, Traditional Chinese medicine incorporates adjunctive techniques such as acupressure and cupping; manipulative and massage techniques such as tui na; preventative exercises, such as tai qi, qi gong or dao yin; and they typically counsel their patients on diet and lifestyle, all according to the theories of Chinese medicine.

What is Chinese medicine good for?

Traditional Chinese medicine is a complete medical system which attempts to treat the full range of disease, acute and chronic, traumatic, infectious, and internally generated. That being said, if a disease is extremely virulent or far advanced, and especially if there are serious changes in organic tissue, Chinese medicine itself is sometimes not powerful enough or too slow. In particular, Chinese medicine is an excellent and effective choice at the beginning of any disease or for diseases which modern Western medicine either does not understand or for which it has no effective treatment. Furthermore, Chinese medicine can also speed up the healing process when used in conjunction with modern Western medicine.

Doctors of TCM use tools such as acupuncture, massage, qigong, and herbal medicine to restore balance and health to the body. A change in diet may also be recommended. For example, if someone's condition is showing too much dampness and cold, the practitioner may suggest cutting out cold foods such as salads, and recommend drying and warming herbs for dietary support. If the condition is more a physical problem, such as an injury, the treatment may focus on the muscles, nerves, tendons, and circulation at the site of the injury, with acupuncture, massage, and anti-inflammatory herbs all being prescribed.