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Traditional
Chinese Medicine: What is it?
Traditional
Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a comprehensive medical system that came
into being following five thousand years of observation and analysis.
TCM can prevent illness, maintain health and fight disease. It can
effectively treat conditions ranging from the most severe paralysis
to the common cold. It not only relieves physical pain and disease,
but can provide beneficial psychological effects as well. TCM remedies
possess few side effects and, unlike with drugs, tolerance does
not build up over time.
How
Does It Work?
TCM views patients holistically,
composed of body, mind, emotions and spirit. When these elements
are out of balance, disease develops. Factors such as stress, emotional
upset and poor diet can all contribute to this imbalance. TCM helps
restore patients' health by bringing harmony to body, mind and emotions.
TCM treats the entire body. A patient may come in for treatment
for a specific ailment and find that, unexpectedly, long-term unrelated
conditions have improved also. The various components of TCM include
acupuncture, herbal therapy, moxibustion, cupping, and nutrition.
What
is acupuncture?
Acupuncture is the insertion
of fine needles into the body at specific points shown as effective
in the treatment of specific heath problems. These points have been
mapped by the Chinese over a period of two thousand years. Recently,
electromagnetic research has confirmed these locations.
How
deep do the needles go?
That depends on the nature of the
problem, the location of the points selected, the patient's size,
age, constitution, and upon the acupuncturist's style or school.
Usually, needles are inserted 1/4 to 1 inch in depth.
Does
it
hurt?
If your practitioner has obtained
the correct stimulus of the needle, the patient should feel some
cramping, heaviness, distention, tingling , or electric sensation
either around the needle or traveling up or down the affected meridian,
or energy pathway. In any case, if you experience any discomfort,
it is usually mild.
Are
the needles clean?
The best practice among acupuncturists in America today is to use
sterilized, individually packed, disposable needles. Needles should
not be saved and reused for later treatments. This eliminates the
possibility of transmitting a communicable disease by contaminated
needle.
How
many treatments will I need?
That depends upon the duration,
severity, and nature of your complaint. You may need only a single
treatment for an accute condition. A series of five to fifteen treatments
may resolve many chronic problems. Some degenerative conditions
may require many treatments over time.
Are
all
the "herbs" vegetable in origin?
Chinese herbal medicine may include
vegetable, animal, and mineral ingredients, however, the majority
of ingredients are from vegetable sources,. Leaves, flowers, twigs,
stems, roots, tubers, rhizomes, and bark are among the parts of
vegetables used.
How
are Chinese herbal medicines taken?
The most common method of taking
Chinese herbal medicine is drinking a liquid, prepared by boiling
the selected herbs. There are also herbal pills, tinctures, and
powdered extracts for those who do not have the time or taste for
drinking the more traditional liquid form.
Do
Chinese herbal medicines have side effects?
Most of the components of Chinese
herbal medicine have very low toxicity compared to even common,
over-the-counter Western drugs. When they are prescribed according
to a correct TCM pattern diagnosis, they should have few, if any,
side effects, only beneficial healing results.
How
long does it take to see results with Chinese herbal medicine?
In acute conditions, results may
occur in a matter of minutes. In chronic conditions, some results
should be seen within two weeks.
Courtesy of the
American Society of Acupuncturists
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