Overview

Chinese Medicine is based on a "five element theory" and those elements are wood, earth, metal, fire, and water. Our bodies have two energy channels (meridians) representing organ systems in each of those five elements of nature. Optimally, these all work in balance and in synchronized harmony We opt not to short circuit our energy systems (like our nervous system) by lack of water, the basic conductor of electrical energy. That creates imbalance, which leads to disease disorder and illness. Basic health is determined by what goes into and comes out of our bodies. How and what we think and believe determines how we manage this system and our spirit or Qi (pronounced Chi) or energy is the driving force of life.

For thousands of years, the doctors and researcher who develop Chinese medicine herb formulas have had only one main objective--- To eliminate ailments by eliminate the cause of ailments. Especially for chronic ailments, using the formulas will boost the patient's self-healing power and let patients recover themselves. On the other hand, the west herb formula is more likely a food supplement and mainly used for improving patient's nutrition status.

History

Oriental Medicine is a term with many variations of a general meaning. Among the majority of american practitioners it refers to a system of medicine which originated approximately 4000 years ago in in far east Asia. This area included what are now China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, and Vietnam.

Research on Oriental Medicine has been continual in China since the early 1950’s. After the civil war was settled in 1948, the Communist Government of China realized it could not afford to train, let alone equip, a sufficient number of allopathic doctors to meet the needs of the country’s population. The government evaluation of the traditional medicine showed that it had enough effectiveness to warrant not only active use and perpetuation but development. Today Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is practiced in allopathic hospitals, in traditional hospitals, in conjunction with allopathic medicine, and hybrids of both forms of medicine have been developed.

Benefits

The Traditional Chinese Medicine patient derives general health benefits and endocrine system balancing from specific regimes. Pregnancy becomes easier to achieve and postpartum recuperation happens faster. Medical studies have been done in China to verify this type of whole body health enhancement.

Procedure

Traditional Chinese Medicine incorporates several traditional medical treatment procedures: acupuncture, Tik Dah (including bone setting and Chinese massage), herbs and diet. These treatment procedures can be generally classified as Inside Treatment and Outside Treatment.
 
Inside Treatment involves taking medicine or herbs orally to encourage the circulation of qi and blood and the correct functioning of the inner organs eg. kidneys, liver, lungs, spleen and heart. Outside Treatment is the hands on approach of Tik Dah to treat and correct injuries and misplacements of tissue and bones. Acupuncture can treat both inside and outside problems.
 
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