A Basic Overview of Chinese Medicine

There is an undeniable mystique that accompanies Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM, a range of traditional medical and therapeutic practices developed in China over thousands of years. In fact, one of the earliest known compilations on Chinese medical practices dates back to 2698 B.C. To the uninformed, it is assumed that TCM is all about the use of exotic products such as bat excrement and cow urine as medicine. Many also wrongly assume that the diagnosis and treatment offered by TCM practitioners is nothing more than just guesswork; and that these practitioners do not really have actual abilities to discern the patient's symptoms.

In truth, Traditional Chinese Medicine is a complex and centuries-old system that has been shown to be effective in the treatment and management of various ailments ranging from sinusitis to muscle spasms. Chinese herbal concoctions have also shown efficacy in providing migraine reliefs and lower back pain relief, and everything in between.

The core concepts of traditional Chinese medicine can be found in Chinese philosophy, with Wu Xing and the concept of yin and yang as the primary foundations of both diagnosis and treatment practices. The basic perception of the body in Chinese medicine is that it is a whole, but with separate parts. The parts are designed to work together in harmony, generally by balancing their naturally opposing concepts against one another. Each part not only serves a physical function, but is also important to mental processes. This explains the belief in Chinese medicine that what affects one's physical health also has consequences for one's mental health, with each imbalance in the body having a counterpart imbalance in the mind. This aspect echoes the principles of yin and yang, which is best summarized as a blending of two opposing but complimentary concepts, with neither one being superior in any way over the other. Disharmony is said to occur when yin or yang becomes more prevalent in the body than the other. This disharmony or imbalance is thought to be the reason behind human illnesses.

The Wu Xing aspect comes into play in terms of analyzing how the disharmony came about. Wu Xing is similar to the classical concept of the basic elements which are composed of fire, water, wood, earth, and metal. Each of these elements can be found in the body, with varying concentrations in different areas of the body. Combined, the elements produce a delicate balance and results in the normal state of a person's physical and mental health. This balance can be affected by internal and external factors, which can sway the elemental balance in a variety of ways. In theory, an increase in certain elements in areas that perform certain functions can sway the yin and yang balance, thus affecting a person's health.

The treatment for the condition, whether it be sinusitis, lower back pain, knee pain, migraine headaches, visual migraines, insomnia or whatever else ails the patient is ultimately determined by where the imbalance is and what caused it. For example, an excess of water that swayed the balance more to the yang in the nasal area is sometimes cited to cause problems such as colds and sinusitis. To counter this, a traditional Chinese doctor might prescribe a formula composed of herbs and more exotic ingredients to help suppress the water element and, thus, restore balance to the yin and yang.

Traditional Chinese medicine also espouses a number of other treatments, including those based on the manipulation of the patient's diet.

Another famous aspect or branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine is called acupuncture, a technique that involves the insertion of needles into the skin on specific points around the body to help restore “balance” between the Yin and Yang. Acupuncture is also the branch of TCM that is concerned with the treatment of what Western medicine would term as mental health disorders including anxiety and phobias. Acupuncture is seen as an effective means of balancing the flow of “chi” or internal energy throughout the body. In TCM, the need to balance the yin and yang of the mind and heart is as important as attaining balance in the human body.

Modern TCM practitioners in China, however, do acknowledge that there are situations when the traditional remedies can no longer put the body back in proper balance. In most cases, when such situations are encountered, the patient is advised to consult a doctor who practices Western medicine. However, this does not create a conflict between the two schools since most Chinese patients and doctors actually appreciate the “balance” between Eastern and Western medical theory and practice. For example, Chinese people will have no problems with surgery for appendicitis. At the same time, they will see no conflict in using traditional herbal formulas to help recover after the surgery, or to prevent the appendicitis in the first place. This is often in sharp contrast to the attitude of some practitioners of traditional Western medicine who tends to dismiss other medical philosophies, theories or schools as mere quackery.

Alternative Methods For Dealing With Sinusitis

Sinusitis is one of the most annoying nasal ailments known to man. Aside from the headache, eyestrain, and stuffy nose that comes with sinusitis, one also has to bear with the difficulty of breathing. To get rid of this nasal problem, people often turn to a wide variety of medications available in the market. After having tried in vain to get sinus relief from Western medicine, some people have began to develop a “taste” for alternatives. Aside from looking for a cure from traditional Chinese medicine, others have looked to growing all-natural medicines movement as a source of lasting, effective treatment for sinusitis. The herbal lore and medical traditions of China have fascinated Western medicine-trained doctors and resulted in the conduct of in-depth research. The Indian healing system ayurveda is also gaining some recognition in the West as an alternative form of medicine. Ayurvedic theory views all human ailments as rooted in an imbalance in the body and that the proper cure is attained by restoring that balance. The main difference from traditional Western medicine is that rather than simply matching a patient's problem with the appropriate medication, ayurveda experts first determine the cause of the problem and work from there. As such, if ten people come to the same ayurveda healer for their sinusitis problem, he might need to prescribe ten different methods, depending on what he perceives to have caused the imbalance in each particular patient. A massage using herbal oils can be given for someone if the healer thinks the root of the problem lies in some chemical impurity, with the oils formulated specifically for the impurity in question. Meanwhile, if the healer thinks that the root of the imbalance lies in stress, a meditation regimen might be advised. In traditional Chinese medicine, sinusitis is like any other medical ailment. In other words, it is a disruption of the natural elemental harmony of the body, similar to how Feng Shui sees how placing water in the wrong place would disrupt the harmony of within a house or building. Going with this philosophy, Chinese healers discovered that certain herbal formulas, when mixed together in the proper proportions, can slowly realign a person's elemental harmony and, as a result, remove the sinusitis. Cang er san is a typical herbal formula that most traditional Chinese doctors will work with when dealing with sinusitis. Typically, the proportions are altered slightly, depending on the discretion of the doctor preparing the mix. Once the sinusitis has cleared up, traditional Chinese doctors can also provide some herbs to help secure the re-harmonized body using dang shen or huang qi. Another alternative medication for sinusitis comes in the form of the art of acupuncture. Acupuncture is more than just sticking needles in random locations. Acupuncture follows the ancient Chinese concept of the “chi,” which is the living energy that flows within and through all life, similar to the concept of “The Force.” There are certain parts of the body that act as focal points of the chi, with sicknesses emerging when the flow of the chi is blocked, delayed, or somehow stunted. According to some older texts, if the chi focuses or centers in one part of the body for too long, it can also cause an imbalance, though the consequences may prove more severe. The point of acupuncture is to stimulate these “wells of chi” to resume regular flow, eventually clearing up the problem by restoring the proper ebb and flow of the body's internal energy. In most cases, acupuncture is accompanied by traditional herbal medications to supplement the “restoration of the body's natural harmony.”