Traditional Chinese medicine, a complete system of therapy dating back to 200 B.C. that is still in use today
Traditional Chinese medicine is a complete system of therapy that dates back to 200 B.C. in written form. Korea, Japan and Vietnam have all developed their own unique versions of traditional medicine based on practices originating in China. In the traditional Chinese medicine view, the body is a delicate balance of two opposing and inseparable forces: yin and yang. Yin represents cold, slow or passive aspects of the person, while yang represents hot, excited or active aspects. A major theory is that health is achieved through balancing yin and yang and disease is caused by an imbalance leading to a blockage in the flow of qi. Among the key assumptions in traditional Chinese medicine are that health is achieved by maintaining the body in a "balanced state.”
Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners typically use herbs, acupuncture, massage or other therapies to help unblock qi and blood in patients in an attempt to bring the body back into harmony and wellness. Therapies in traditional Chinese medicine are typically tailored to the subtle patterns of disharmony in each patient and are based on an individualized diagnosis.
There are three main therapeutic modalities:
- Acupuncture and moxibustion – the use of heat from burning the herb moxa on or near the skin at an acupuncture point
- Chinese Materia Medica – the catalogue of natural products used in traditional Chinese medicine
- Massage and manipulation
Although traditional Chinese medicine proposes that natural products catalogued in Chinese Materia Medica or acupuncture can be used alone to treat virtually any illness, quite often they are used together and sometimes in combination with other modalities (massage, moxibustion, diet changes or exercise, for example).
(SOURCE: NCCAM, National Institutes of Health)
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