Understanding Chinese Medicine
What
is it?
Introduction
Chinese medicine is a complete system of medicine with
its own forms of diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and therapies. Chinese medicine
views the body as an energetic system in dynamic balance. Qi, which can be translated
as energy or life force, flows in a regular pattern through a system of channels
- or meridians - to all parts of the body.
When the flow of Qi is unimpeded
there is harmony, balance, and good health. When there are Qi blockages, too much
or too little qi, there is an imbalance which can lead to disharmony and disease.
Chinese
medicine helps restore the body to balance and works on an energetic level to
affect all aspects of a person: mind/body/spirit. The beauty of Chinese medicine
is that it can be used to correct imbalances that have become illness and pain,
or even correct imbalances prior to the appearance of symptoms, preventing disease.
Chinese
medicine treatments address imbalances using food therapy/diet, acupuncture, herbal
remedies, Chinese exercise, and meditation along with Western therapies. Chinese
medicine is the longest existing continuous medical system practiced in the world,
with over 3000 years of history.
Chinese Medicine Philosophy
The primary
goal of Chinese traditional medicine is to create wholeness and harmony within
a person, allowing the mind/body/spirit to heal itself. Chinese philosophy states
that there are two polar principles of life, yin and yang, and that are dialectically
opposed to each other. Imbalances of yin and yang within an individual may be
reflected as illness, because the body is considered a microcosm of the world.
Chinese
traditional medicine defines the physiological components of illness using the
concepts Qi (Vital Energy), xue (Blood), jin-ye (Body Fluids), jing (Essence),
and shen (Spirit), as well as Organ Systems. Organ Systems are domains within
the body that govern particular body tissues, emotional states and activities.
For
example, as is the Western kidneys, the Kidney System manages fluid metabolism.
In Chinese medicine, the Kidney System is also responsible for reproduction, growth
and regeneration. The bones, inner ear, marrow, teeth, and lumbar area are all
part of the Kidney System. Frequent urination, low back pain, and the emotional
state of fear may be associated with the Kidney System.
Each Organ System has
functions that are unique.
Chinese traditional medicine theory postulates that
it is the internal ability of the body to remain strong that is the key to health.
In this theory, people are born with a certain amount of Original Qi, which is
easily depleted as energy is used by the body and not replaced. It is not easy
to increase the Original Qi, and a person must work hard during life just to retain
it. Chinese exercise programs - along with proper eating and sleeping habits -
are highly recommended for maintaining Original Qi . According to Chinese medical
philosophy, if a person consistently lacks sleep, lacks proper nutrition, abuses
drugs or alcohol, or has excessive or unsafe sex, they become deficient in Qi
and other substances. When weakened, the person is more susceptible to infection
by harmful external pathogens.
Roots of Disharmony:
Causes of Disease
in Chinese Medicine
Ancient Chinese Medicine does not talk about viruses or
bacteria as triggers of disease or disorders. Instead, it talks about influences,
which cause disharmony in yin/yang, the Essential Substances, the Organ Systems,
and the Channels.
There are several categories of influences that produce
disharmony: The Six Pernicious Influences and the Seven Emotions.
The Six Pernicious
Influences - Heat, Cold, Wind, Dampness, Dryness and Summer Heat - are External
climatic forces that can invade the body and create disharmony in the mind/body/spirit.
For example, if you are exposed to excess Heat or Cold or Wind for a long time,
or if you are exposed to such Influences when your body is already weak, you may
develop an illness. This illness, triggered by External Influences, can migrate
inward and become more serious - as a slight cold may become pneumonia. This happens
when the External Pernicious Influences overpower the body's natural protection
against disease.
1. Cold When hypothermia hits a skier or a mountain climber,
muscle control fades, motion becomes slow and awkward, fatigue sets in, the body
shuts down. That's the same effect that the Cold Pernicious Influence has - it
saps the body's energy and makes movements cumbersome. The tongue becomes pale;
the pulse is slow. A person may develop a fear of cold and feel like sleeping
in a curled up position. Cold is yin and when it invades the body it chills all
or part of it. If there's pain, it's eased by warmth.
When External
Cold attacks the body, acute illness may develop, along with chills, fever and
body aches. When the External C old moves inward and becomes an Interior disharmony
it is associated with a chronic condition that produces a pale face, lethargy
an d grogginess, a craving for heat and sleeping for longer than usual periods
of time.
2. Heat disorders feel like you've been playing tennis for two hours
in the blazing sun. You're weary and at the same time, strangely cranked up. You
can't stop talking about the game, but your words stick in your mouth. You don't
feel like yourself again until you cool down and quench your thirst.
Heat
disorders cause overactive yang functions or insufficient yin functions. They
are generally associated with bodily heat, a red face, hyperactivity and talkativeness,
fever, and thirst for cold liquids and a rapid pulse. Symptoms include carbuncles
and boils, dry mouth and thirst. Confused speech and delirium arise when Heat
attacks the Shen.
3. Dampness: Think about what happens to your backyard when
it rains for two days - it becomes soggy and water collects in stagnant pools.
That is how Dampness affects the body. Damp pain is heavy and expansive. Dampness
blocks the flow of life energy and causes a stuffy chest and abdomen. When External
Dampness invades, it enters the Channels and causes stiff joints and heavy limbs.
When Dampness invades the Spleen, it can cause upset stomach, nausea, a lack of
appetite, a swollen abdomen and diarrhea. Interior Dampness - caused by either
the penetration of External Dampness to the Interior or by a breakdown in the
Spleen's transformation of fluids - is associated with mucous, which in Chinese
medicine is more than simply bodily secretions. It is produced when the Spleen
or Kidney is beset with disharmony and can cause obstructions and produce tumors,
coughing, and if it invades the Shen, can lead to erratic behavior and insanity.
Once Dampness has taken root, it is hard to displace.
4. Dryness is a frequent
partner with Heat; just think about the cracked bottom of a dried up riverbed.
But where Heat creates redness and warmth, Dryness creates evaporation and dehydration.
External Dryness invading the body may create respiratory problems such as asthmatic
breathing and a dry cough, acute pain and fever.
5. Summer Heat feels like
the humid, oppressive weather that creates the Dog Days of August. It attacks
the body after exposure to extreme heat and causes a sudden high fever and total
lethargy. It is always an External influence and often arises along with Dampness.
6.
Wind animates the body, stirring it from repose into motion just as wind moves
the leaves of a tree. When Wind enters the body, it is usually joined to another
influence such as Cold. If the body is infiltrated by Wind, the first symptoms
usually appear on the skin, in the lungs, or on the face. Tics, twitches, fear
of drafts, headaches and a stuffed-up nose are symptoms. When External Wind invades
the body more deeply, it can cause seizures, ringing in the ears and dizziness.
Therapeutic Modalities Used in
Chinese Traditional Medicine
The various
therapeutic modalities of Chinese traditional medicine include dietary therapy;
massage therapy, heat therapies, exercise, meditation, acupuncture, and herbal
medicine. Heat therapies include the use of moxibustion, which is the burning
of the common herb mugwort over certain areas of the body to stimulate or warm
these areas. Exercise therapy ranges from martial arts to more subtle forms of
movement such as t'ai chi and qi gong. Acupuncture, perhaps the most well known
form of Chinese traditional medicine in the United States, is the art of inserting
fine sterile metal filiform needles into certain points in order to control the
flow of energy in the meridians.
Diagnosis
TCM Offers
a Different Way to Diagnose Your Health
In Chinese Medicine texts, there is
no discussion of diseases or disorders as we know them in the West: If you go
to see an herbalist, acupuncturist or Chinese medicine doctor because you are
suffering from chronic migraine, the practitioner may diagnosis you as having
Liver Qi Stagnation, Liver Heat, Dampness, Qi and Blood Deficiency or Excess Yang,
depending on the signs and symptoms that accompany your headache. If you have
nausea, gas and bloating you may be diagnosed with Deficient Spleen System Qi
.
What Does It Mean?
The practitioner describes the disharmonies in terms
of the patterns they manifest. These are known as the Eight Fundamental Patterns:
Interior, Exterior; Heat, Cold; Excess, Deficiency; Yin, Yang. These terms are
used to describe the way that disharmony is created in the mind/body/spirit.
Interior
and Exterior patterns tell the practitioner where in the body the disease resides.
"
Interior patterns of disharmony are indicated if the disharmony is chronic, produces
changes in urine and stool, if there is discomfort or pain in the torso and no
aversion to cold or wind.
" Exterior patterns of disharmony often come
on suddenly and are acute. Common signs include chills, fever, a dislike of cold
and an achy feeling overall.
" Heat and Cold describe the activity of
the body and the nature of the disease. Cold patterns are caused by Deficient
Yang or an External Pernicious Cold Influence. With Cold everything slows down,
a person becomes withdrawn and sleeps in a curled up position. Pain is relieved
by warmth, bodily secretions are thin and clear and there is a desire for warm
liquids.
" Heat patterns are caused by invasion of External Pernicious
Heat Influence, the depletion of Yin substances and Excess Yang. With Heat, the
body's processes speed up and a person may talk excessively, have a red face and
hot body and prefer cold beverages; secretions become thick, putrid and dark.
"
Deficiency and Excess express the impact of the disharmony on the body's resistance
to disease (Normal Qi ). With Deficiency there is underactivity in the Organ System(s),
weakness and tentative movement, a pale or ashen face, sweating, incontinence
and shallow breathing and pain that is relieved by pressure.
" Excess
is associated with overactivity of bodily functions; heavy, forceful movements;
a loud, full voice; heavy breathing; pain increased by pressure.
" Yin
and Yang encompass the other six Fundamental Patterns. Yin encompasses Interior,
Cold and Deficient; Yang encompasses Exterior, Heat and Excess.
Deficient Spleen
System Qi
The common symptoms are loose stools, poor appetite, abdominal distention
and pain, pale complexion, fatigue and lethargy, weight gain due to fluid retention,
edema, shortness of breath and a pale bright face. A subset of Deficient Spleen
Qi is Sinking Spleen System Qi, characterized by muscular weakness and prolapsed
organs, particularly of the uterus, bladder and rectum. Spleen System Not Able
to Govern the Xue (blood), another subset of Deficient Spleen Qi, is associated
with Xue circulating outside its proper pathways. The symptoms are chronic bleeding
such as bloody stools, nosebleeds, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, excessive menstrual
bleeding, non-menstrual uterine bleeding, easy bruising and purpura (purple spotting
indicative of bleeding beneath the skin).
Acupuncture
Chinese traditional medicine includes acupuncture as one of its most commonly
used therapies. Acupuncture is the art of inserting fine sterile metal needles
into certain body or ear points to readjust the body's Qi (vital energy) in order
to allow the body to heal itself.
After a Chinese traditional medicine diagnosis
is given for a client, an acupuncture treatment plan is developed considering
the overall nature of the disease, the individual presenting complaints, as well
as any underlying constitutional Chinese traditional medicine patterns of illness.
On a symptomatic level, acupuncture treatment may address the digestive functions,
appetite, energy level, stress/anxiety/depression, pain associated with organic
illness, and other complications.
Acupuncture is relatively painless,
often accompanied with a heavy sensation, warmth, or movement of energy at the
point of insertion or along the energy channels. Acupuncture relieves pain and
rebalances energy to help heal symptoms.
Acupuncture is used extensively at
Chicken Soup Chinese Medicine clinic for many issues including as part of chronic
hepatitis protocols, to decrease nausea associated with pregnancy or chemotherapy,
to work with mental issues such as depression and anxiety, and help to relieve
pain from both musculoskeletal and organic problems.
Herbal
Therapy
Chinese herbal medicine works through the physiological action of the
herbs, and pays special attention to the powers unleashed through combinations
of herbs. For example, a Chinese herbalist will choose an herb for a specific
effect and complement it with another herb that will increase that beneficial
effect. However, sometimes along with the positive effects an herb may possess
qualities that are not suitable for an individual because of his or her unique
constitution. Then the herbalist must know what other herbs to add to the mixture
to eliminate that undesired action. An herb formula is built to suit the individual
diagnoses of each person - there is never one pat prescription for everyone who
has the same symptoms. A compound of three or four or more herbs may be designed
to address the person's particular needs.
In Chinese medicine, we do not usually
treat specific symptoms with Chinese herbs; instead we treat the symptom complex
known as the syndrome. Every individual is different, so even when we use a general
herbal combination we can add herbs to individualize the formula.
Chinese herbalists
know that there are specific rules for herb combining - some herbs have potentiated
effects when combined with certain other herbs. Some herbs are traditionally contraindicated
for use in the same formula with other herbs because of negative or toxic effects.
Combining Chinese herbs is an art. Two or more herbs may be combined to form an
herbal prescription. Some contain only one herb and often we find up to twelve
or fifteen herbs in a formula, depending on the condition of the person and the
actions of the herbs needed. Medicinal substances are combined in order to enhance
the effectiveness of individual herbs within the formulas, to minimize unwanted
effects, or to deal with complex situations, and to alter the actions of the substances.
There
are many ways to ingest or use Chinese herbal formulas. Formulas may be taken
in bulk tea that has been cooked, in liquid extract form in hot water, in powder
extract form in pills or hot water, in pills, or even used topically in teas,
plasters, liniments as well as many other forms.
In my clinic I use many traditional
formulas that have been made into herb pills, often called patent formulas. Various
Chinese herb companies produce pills as well as extracts and powders of traditional
Chinese formulas. Some companies also produce modern Chinese herbal formulas as
well as variations of Chinese traditional formulas for a more Western constitution.
Close
supervision is necessary when any type of medication is ingested. This includes
Chinese herbal formulas. A person receiving Chinese herbs should be under the
care of a competent licensed practitioner who can differentiate any possible side
effects of herbs from organic conditions. Receiving herbs from unlicensed or untrained
personnel, such as in health food stores, is not good practice.
Side effects
are possible with herbal formulas. The most common problem is that persons may
have some digestive difficulties immediately upon beginning herbal intake that
can last for a few days. This can include diarrhea and/or constipation. This is
usually due to the sudden addition of increased fiber in the diet, particularly
for those unused to much fiber. If this lasts more than a few days or is severe,
several measures are taken to ameliorate the effects. Side effects can generally
be controlled through varying the time of ingestion or through altering the dosage.
Sometimes we need to change the formulas or give a digestive formula in conjunction.
Dietary
Therapy
In Chinese medicine, food therapy and diet are the first treatments
given to people who are trying to stay well, remain in balance, or who are suffering
from illness. There are many ways in which we eat that can either keep us well
or can make us sick.
In Chinese thought, we must keep the digestion healthy
or we easily become ill. Food intake is very important to healthy digestion and
assimilation of food. In Chinese medicine, our understanding is that the Spleen
and Stomach are the organs of digestion and assimilation, the Stomach brings food
energy into the body and the Spleen distributes it. Therefore, anything that disrupts
the function of the Spleen/Stomach or the digestion is injurious to the body's
energy as a whole.
Some concepts of Chinese medicine that are most important
for digestion and Spleen/Stomach function are:
1. Eating at regular times
2.
Eating cooked foods - this is due to the fact that it takes much more energy of
the body to warm the Stomach to digest foods. Cold and raw foods are injurious
to the Spleen and Stomach energy according to the traditional concepts, and should
be eaten sparingly.
3. Eating foods that are in season and grown as close to
home as possible. There is more Qi available from these foods, as they are fresher
and have more food energy.
4. Herbs can be added to foods to increase their
vitality and for certain conditions.
A basic food used for healing in Chinese
medicine is rice along with other grains. Congee or porridge is a very therapeutic
food and is often used traditionally during chronic weakness diseases and during
convalescence from illnesses. There are many varieties suitable for different
conditions but it is usually made from rice. Your Chinese medicine practitioner
can give you recipes that are specific for your situation.
Massage
THE
HEALING TOUCH: Qi Gong Massage and Other Forms of Body Therapy
Massage, whether
done solo, with a partner or by a professional massage therapist, offers the energy
of acupuncture, the serenity of meditation and the spiritual refreshment that
comes through being touched. Massage can be an important part of your every day
health care routine.
There are many types of Asian massage and acupressure
such as Chinese Qi Gong massage, Jin Shin Do, Japanese Shiatsu, and other Asian
acupressure forms. Western reflexology techniques are very popular in the United
States and Europe and China today. There are many other forms of massage, each
valuable for restoring harmony: Swedish deep muscle massage is done with long,
smooth motions and is effective for muscle aches, stiffness, lower back pain and
stress reduction; Cranio-Sacral bodywork manipulates the pulses, flow of blood
and the bones of the skull with micro-movements. It provides deep calming of the
spirit and the body, eases joint pain and muscle tension, improves concentration
and opens up the Channels; Trager massage works on the nervous system, using gentle
shaking and rocking to stimulate energy and promote relaxation and pain relief;
Esalen massage, like Swedish, is a long stroke massage that works on muscles and
joints to ease tension; Rolfing works on tissue realignment on a deep level. When
it come time to choose one of these forms, or any other type, select what you
find most pleasurable and effective.
Qi Gong Massage is an extension of Qi
Gong exercise/meditation. Among the more skilled masters of the art, self-massage
can be done with the mind, moving Qi and Xue through the Channels, relaxing muscles,
massaging Organ Systems mentally. For the rest of us, manual Qi Gong massage -
done on ourselves or with a partner or practitioner - is an important part of
any preventive health care program, since regular massage helps nourish the mind/body/spirit
and maintains harmony in all systems.
Exercise & Meditation:
Qi Gong
Chinese medicine practitioners often recommend medical Qi Gong, a form
of Chinese healing exercises. At Quan Yin Healing Arts Center in San Francisco,
Qi Gong master Larry Wong has been teaching classes for people with hepatitis
C, AIDS, and cancer for many years.
The energy conserving, Qi -channeling,
practice of Qi Gong is perfectly designed to keep you in shape without causing
stress and exhaustion.
Chronic illness can make you feel like you body is
beyond your control: appropriate exercise and meditation can help you reassert
your ability to shape the quality of your life and the vitality of your mind/body/spirit.
The specific benefits include:
" Control cholesterol levels and reduce
fat in body
" Keep blood pressure low
" Strengthen cardiovascular
system
" Reduce stress
" Reduce depression
" Maintain
muscle mass
" Reinforce abstinence/decreasing use from alcohol and drugs
Qi
Gong is the traditional Chinese discipline that focuses on breathing and movement
of Qi to increase physical harmony and strength and establish spiritual/emotional
peace. There are hundreds of different schools of practice, some can be very vigorous
- the martial arts are forms of Qi Gong - others are extremely gentle.
"Careful,
relaxed breathing in the foundation of all Qi Gong movements. For your breath
carries with it the healing powers of well-harmonized Qi and Xue."
-Larry
Wong
Larry Wong has designed a series of Qi Gong exercises that are laid out
in The Chinese Way to Healing, The HIV Wellness Sourcebook and The Hepatitis C
Help Book. He recommends the following simple exercise for However, the best way
to learn Qi Gong is to find a teacher in your area whenever possible, you may
also want to check out videos and other books that focus on medical Qi Gong.
The
Circle of Qi
This exercise is part of a routine to help circulate Qi throughout
the body, replenish depleted Qi and calm the Shen.
1. Sit on the floor with
legs crossed in lotus or cross-legged style. This is important so that Qi does
not stagnate in the lower body, but follows the breathing path through the torso
and the head.
2. Inhale to a count of four to eight, depending on what you
are comfortable with.
3. For Buddha's Breath, inhale, extending your belly
as you fill it up with air from the bottom of your lungs upward; exhale by pushing
the air out from the bottom of your lungs first, contracting the lower rib cage
and abdominal muscles, then the upper torso.
4. For Taoist's Breath, inhale,
contracting your abdomen, exhale letting your abdomen relax outward. You may practice
these breathing techniques on alternate days.
5. As you inhale imagine the
air - and your Qi - flowing evenly along the pathways of the Channels.
6.
Become aware of the air as it enters through your nostrils and moves down the
center of your chest to a spot in your abdomen about 1 to 2 inches below the navel.
This is the dan-tien. (Women should not concentrate on it during their periods.
Concentrate on the solar plexus, instead.)
7. Now breath out slowly and evenly,
releasing the breath from the abdomen, up through the lungs and out your slightly
open mouth.
8. As you exhale image that the Qi which was at the dan-tien is
moving down through your pelvis, through your crotch and then up your tailbone
to your lower back.
9. Keep your exhaling breath in a slow, steady, smooth
stream passing gently over your lips.
10. Now as you inhale again, follow the
Qi as it moves up along your back to your shoulders.
11. Exhale and move the
Qi up the back of the head, over the top of your head, down your forehead, returning
to the nose.
12. At first it may be difficult to follow the flow of Qi through
its cycle. Be patient and keep your breathing calm and your mind relaxed while
focusing on your inhale and exhale.