What is traditional Chinese herbal medicine?

Its origin

China, known for its long history and large population, is a nation with a venerable civilization. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been playing an important and effective role in curing illness and promoting and maintaining the health of the Chinese for the last three thousand years.

About traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine is a complete medical system that has diagnosed, treated, and prevented illnesses. While it can remedy ailments and alter states of mind, Chinese medicine can also enhance recuperative power, immunity, and the capacity for pleasure, work, and creativity. Two classic medical texts, the Huang Di Nei Jing (The Yellow Emperor Classic of Internal Medicine, compiled from 100 B.C. to 100 A.D.) and the Nan Jing (written circa 100 to 200 A.D.) were important early documents that presented the core concepts of TCM, and they have informed generations of scholars and practitioners ever since.

The western world catches on

It wasn’t until 1971, however, that the Western world really became aware of TCM and of acupuncture in particular. This came about because James Reston, a New York Times reporter became stricken with appendicitis while doing a story on a ping-pong tournament in Beijing, and was treated for post-surgical pain with acupuncture. In a front-page Times story, he wrote, “I’ve seen the past, and it works!”

This exposure came at a time when many Americans were looking for a more holistic, naturalistic approach to health care, and caused quite a stir among the Western medical community. Since then, acupuncture has become a widely accepted form of treatment in the US and UK, and other aspects of TCM are gaining supporters as well.

The basic principles of TCM

The Chinese approach to understanding the human body is unique. The principle and practices of TCM are based on the Daoist understanding of a universe where everything is interdependent and mutually interactive.

Within this universe, our mind, body and spirit are merely different manifestations of the same life force and consequently cannot be considered separately. The Chinese believe that health is achieved, and disease prevented, by maintaining the body in a ‘balanced state’.

This concept was applied to both individuals and society at large. In individual terms, the ancient Chinese physicians preached moderation in all things, such as alcohol intake and gastronomic excess. They also stated that daily activities should include mental as well as physical tasks.

Did you know? The wealthier Chinese visited their doctor when they were well, paying a retainer to the doctor to keep them healthy. If they became ill, the doctor lost his fee.

TCM today

Such a highly sophisticated and personal system of health care is impracticable within the current limitations of Western society, but the concept behind such ideas represents a radically different approach to health and disease.

Practitioners of Chinese medicine define their patient’s illnesses in terms that naturally emerge from the Daoist philosophical principle. The diagnosis will place the signs and symptoms into an interdependent tapestry where physical symptoms and emotional reactions are set alongside social and environmental factors in order to understand how the energy dynamics of the individual lead to health and disharmony.

As TCM evolved over the centuries, it came to include the treatment of disease using acupuncture, herbal medicine, dietary principles, physical manipulation of the body tissues, therapeutic exercise and movement (Tai Chi), and the mind-body practice of Qi Gong.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a technique in which practitioners stimulate specific points on the body, usually by inserting thin needles through the skin. Studies suggest that acupuncture stimulates the release of the body’s natural painkillers and affects areas in the brain involved in processing pain. Real acupuncture may help ease types of pain that are often chronic, such as low-back pain, neck pain, osteoarthritis/knee pain, and carpal tunnel syndrome. It also may help reduce the frequency of tension headaches and prevent migraine headaches.

According to traditional Chinese belief, humans are interconnected with nature and affected by its forces. The human body is seen as an organic whole in which the organs, tissues, and other parts have distinct functions but are all interdependent. In this view, health and disease relate to balance or imbalance of functions. TCM treatments aim to cure problems by restoring the balance of energies.

There are important components that underlie the basis of TCM. 

Yin-yang theory is the concept of two opposing but complementary forces that shape the world and all life. The balance of yin and yang maintains harmony in your body, mind and the universe.

Qi (pronounced chee) energy or vital life force flows through your body along pathways known as meridians and is affected by the balance of yin and yang. It regulates our spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical health. If there is a blockage or imbalance in the energy flow you become ill. TCM aims to restore the balance of qi energy.

The 5 elements – fire, earth, metal, water, and wood – is a concept that explains how the body works and the elements correspond to particular organs and tissues in the body.

The TCM approach uses eight principles to analyse symptoms and put particular conditions into groups – cold and heat, inside and outside, too much and not enough, and yin and yang.

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