Traditional Chinese Medicine
What is Traditional Chinese Medicine ?
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an ancient form of oriental medicine that employs Acupuncture and Herbs as a form of treatment. TCM views disease or lack of wellness as an imbalance in the body.
TCM practitioners are trained to restore the body back into balance so that it can function optimally. But first the practitioner must assess (via a questionnaire and interview), diagnose by reading the pulses on both wrists (there are three points and three depth levels that reveal enormous amounts about the body’s organ systems and their condition).
Treatment then depends on which energy channel (meridian) is affected so that the imbalance can be corrected with herbal remedies, dietary recommendations, acupuncture or acupressure massage.
In summary, a typical TCM assessment comprises:
- Determination of the balance between yin and yang
- The balance between the energy (Qi) and blood
- The balance between the systems that are in excess and those that are deficient
- The balance between the five elements of Chinese Medicine which
govern the following organ systems:
Liver, heart, digestion, lung, kidney
- Determination of which organ of the network needs attention first
Because TCM has such a strong preventative component and is often employed to maintain health rather than to treat illness, TCM practitioners in China were once paid to keep people well and were not paid when they were required to treat a patient who had fallen ill.
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