Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments can include:
- Acupuncture (stimulation of specific points on the body using a range of techniques)
- Chinese herbal medicine (oral medication, external wash, herbal bath)
- Cupping
- Moxibustion
- Gua Sha (massage using smooth ceramic spoon/pebble)
- Tui Na (a form of Massage)
- Diet and lifestyle education
In our clinic the most popular treatment is acupuncture and herbal medicine. Acupuncture was developed in China hundreds of years ago and continues to be developed today. It is considered a traditional medicine because of its long history and cultural basis. Acupuncture can be used in many different types of disease treatments and should be practiced by registered and experienced practitioners to ensure safe treatment. Acupuncture can be used beyond assisting asthma or musculoskeletal treatments, which are the most common conditions people think of with acupuncture, it can also be used to assist with pregnancy, cancer chemotherapy, difficulties with sleep as a few other examples.
How do your treatments aim to improve health?
In TCM the definition or concept of health may be slightly different to the concept of health defined by Western medicine, which is more familiar to most people today. TCM started centuries before the atom, electron or what we know as modern science today, it can be difficult to translate the concepts using the modern terms we know today. It would be similar to interpreting the works of Shakespeare, it requires context.
In TCM the definition of health is not exactly based on making a specific diagnosis with the aim of naming the disease. Rather it can be thought of as viewing a person’s body like a tiny universe with different elements that interact with each other for the body to function. The aim is to identify imbalances in the body and to help rebalance the elements in the tiny universe so a person can feel and function well again.
There are two main theories used in TCM, the “Yin Yang Theory” and “Five Elements Theory”. Since there was no pathology labs back in the day, people developed different detective methods to determine what was wrong with someone. This relied on using one’s own senses – making visual observations, listening for any abnormalities, asking about the person’s symptoms, using touch to palpate for abnormalities and the superpowers of interpreting the pulse beyond how many beats per minute your heart is beating, and of course everyone’s favourite, using smell or taste.
Observation 望, Hearing and smelling 聞, Interrogation 問, Palpation切
