An Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine

When you hear about Traditional Chinese Medicine, what is the first
thing that pops into your mind? Odd stuff in jars in dark smoky rooms
where equally odd old men mutter strange incantations in Chinese as
they burn incense in a pot? Actually, there may actually literally be
such places and maybe they do practice some form of Traditional
Chinese Medicine too – but in these modern times, Traditional
Chinese Medicine can also mean medicine that is practiced by even
Western followers of the traditional ways of treating patients as the
Chinese have learned all these centuries. And for such Western
practitioners, Traditional Chinese Medicine may not mean burning
incense as well but rather keeping rather immaculate and clinical
treatment rooms where any modern patient would feel comfortable being
treated for whatever is ailing him.

One part of Traditional Chinese Medicine that many Westerners may have
heard of is acupuncture which is closely related to acupressure. Both
acupuncture and acupressure are based on the premise that throughout
our body certain points exist at which energy might be strongest. When
the Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner finds some energy points
to be "blocked", he might prescribe a round of acupuncture
(meaning, sharp sterile needles are inserted at such pressure points
to release your vital energy that has been blocked there), or simply
press down on the pressure points in a prescribed way so that the
blocked energy finds itself flowing again through your body and the
ailment is relieved. Though some Westerners may find this Traditional
Chinese Medicine belief to be a bit strange, many other Western
medical practitioners now advocate these two Traditional Chinese
Medicine practices and may even use them in their own clinical
practice.

Depending on who you talk to, Traditional Chinese Medicine may be
considered either a form of alternative medicine or a form of
complementary medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicine may be a type of
alternative medicine in that you can opt for Traditional Chinese
Medicine practices rather than the conventional Western style of
medical treatment – thus you chose an alternative. Traditional
Chinese Medicine practices become complementary medicine when you
allow both a Western style of medical treatment and the Traditional
Chinese Medicine practices to be used side by side at the same time
when you are undergoing treatment for your ailment. It may be easier
to determine the efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine when you opt
to have it by itself, rather than mixing it with other forms of
treatment. This is because the symptoms of your ailment might get
relieved under a complementary medicine type of treatment program so
you might get confused as to which treatment option really worked for
you.

Not surprisingly, many people of Oriental lineage are strong believers
in Traditional Chinese Medicine and may eschew modern ways of
treatment so that they can favor Traditional Chinese Medicine
treatment options alone for themselves and their loved ones. Is this
good? It depends on the ailment – there are some ailments that
modern ways of treatment seem to have been very effective at treating
(such as cancer) for which there is little evidence that Traditional
Chinese Medicine can cure. If you want to be sure of getting well, you
may want to pursue Traditional Chinese Medicine only after modern
scientific ways of diagnosing an illness have failed to show what you
are really ill with. There is some evidence of a so-called placebo
effect when complementary medicine methods are used where modern
treatment practices have failed to give the desired cure.

_By: *Xiang Lin*_

*About the Author:*

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