Chinese Medicine: How It Works
What
It Does
Chinese medicine is a complete medical system that has diagnosed, treated, and
prevented illness for over twenty-three centuries. While it can remedy ailments
and alter states of mind, Chinese medicine can also enhance recuperative power,
immunity, and the capacity for pleasure, work, and creativity.
How It Thinks
Within Chinese Cosmology, all of creation is born from the marriage of two
polar priciples, Yin and Yang: Earth and Heaven, winter and
summer, night and day, cold and hot, wet and dry, inner and outer, body and
mind. Harmony of this union means health, good weather, and good fortune, while
disharmony leads to disease, disaster, and bad luck. The strategy of Chinese
medicine is to restore harmony.
Each
human is seen as a world in miniature, a garden in which doctor and patient
together strive to cultivate health. Every person has a unique terrain to be
mapped, a resilient yet sensitive ecology to be maintained. Like a gardener
uses irrigation and compost to grow robust plants, the doctor uses acupuncture,
herbs and food to recover and sustain health.
Body
Constituents (Qi, Moisture, Blood, Spirit, Essence)
Just as Nature contains air, sea, and land, the human body is comprised of Qi,
(pronounced chee), Moisture, and Blood. Qi is the
animating force that gives us our capacity to move, think, feel, and work. Moisture
is the liquid medium which protects, nurtures, and lubricates tissue. Blood
is the material foundation out of which we create bones, nerves, skin, muscles,
and organs.
Human
beings intermingle psyche and soma, Spirit (Shen) and Essence (Jing).
Shen is the immaterial expression of the individual; and Essence
represents the body's reproductive and regenerative substance. Chinese medicine
appreciates the impact of the unseen upon the visible. Even though it is
impossible to touch or measure thoughts or emotions, they are acknowledged as
inextricably linked to physiology.
Organ Networks (Liver, Heart, Spleen, Lung, Kidney)
As Nature is organized by five primal powers- Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal,
Water- so the body is divided into five functional systems known as Organ
Networks. These Networks govern particular tissues, mental
faculties, and physical ativities by regulating and preserving Qi, Moisture,
Blood, Spirit, and Essence.
For
example, the Kidney Network includes yet extends beyond the job of
managing fluid metabolism which we in the West ordinarily associate with the
kidneys. The Kidney stores the Essence responsible for
reproduction, growth, and regeneration. It controls the treeth, bones, marrow,
brain, inner ear, pupil of the eye, and lumbar region, and is associated with
the emotion of fear, the will, and the capacity for sharp thinking and
perception. So problems such as retarded growth, ringing in the ears,
infertility, low back pain, paranoia, fuzzy thinking, weak vision, apathy, or
dispair are veiwed as dysfunctions of the Kidney Network.
The
Heart not only propels blood through the vessels, but harbors the Spirit
and governs the mind. Symptoms as varied as anxiety, restless sleep, angina,
and palpitations occur when the Heart is agitatied.
The
Spleen is in charge of the assimliation of food and fluids, as well as
ideas, so when this Network is disturbed, indigestion, bloating, fatigue,
scattered thinking, and poor concentration ensue.
The
Liver is responsible for the storage of Blood, flow of Qi,
and eveness of temperament- so when the Liver is thwarted, tension in
the neck and shoulders, high blood pressure, headaches, cramping, moodiness,
and impulsive behavior may follow.
Through
the breath, the Lung sets the body rhythm, defends its boundaries, and
affords inspiration. A troubled Lung might trigger tightness in the
chest, skin rashes, vulnerability to colds or flus, rigid thinking, or
melancholy.
Body Climates (Wind, Dampness, Dryness, Heat, Cold)
In Nature, extreme wind, dampness, dryness, heat, and cold wreak havoc in the
world. These same forces can derange balance within the human body, weakening
or obstructing the movement of Qi in the organs. As winds shake the
trees of the forest, dissasembling leaves and branches, internal Wind
manifests as vertigo, unsteady movement, and trembling. As saturated earth
generates swamps, so Dampness becomes phlegm and edema in the body. As
aridity withers vegitation, so Dryness causes chapping or cracking of
mucus membranes. Just as ice inhibits the rush of water in a stream, so
internal Cold retards circulation and depresses metabolism. And just as
fire scorches the earth, so internal Heat may inflame tissue.
Health and
Illness
Qi, Moisture, and Blood circulate within a web of pathways called
channels that link together all parts of the organism. Health exists when
adequate Qi, Moisture, and Blood flow smoothly. Symptoms as
varied as joint pain, headache, anxiety, fatigue, menstrual cramps, high blood
pressure, asthma, indigestion, and the common cold occur when thier circulation
is disrupted.
All
illness is understood as a consequence of either a depletion or a congestion of
Qi, Moisture, and Blood. Depletionleads to weakness, lethargy,
frequent illness, poor digestion, and inadequate blood flow. Congestion results
in aches, tension, tenderness, pain, a distended abdomen, irritability, and
swelling.
Diagnosis
Practitioners assess a person's health by feeling the pulsations at each wrist
and by observing the color and form of the face, tongue, and body. This
information is interpreted in the context of a patient's present and past
complaints, work and living habits, physical environment, family health
history, and emotional life.
For
example, if Max has red eyes, a yellow coating on his tongue, and a bounding
pulse, this indicates Heat and congested Qi. He may be
complaining of stomach pain, migraine, nausea, fever, or bronchitis. If Emma
has pale lips, brittle hair, a thin pulse, and dry tongue, this suggests
deficiency of Blood and Moisture, which undermines the function
of the Liver, Heart, and Spleen. Her complaints may be
that she feels tense, anxious, and irritable, has been unable to conceive, and
has trouble with chronic fatigue, depression, or insomnia. Diagnosis is a way
of understanding a problem within the categories of Chinese medicine.
Treatment
The goal of treatment is to adjust and harmonize Yin and Yang-wet
and dry, cold and heat, inner and outer, body and mind. This is achieved by
regulating the Qi, Moisture, and Blood in the Organ
Networks: weak organs are tonified, congested channels are opened, excess
is dispersed, tightness is softened, agitation is calmed, heat is cooled, cold
is warmed, dryness is moistened, and dampness is drained.
Treatment
may incorporate acupuncture, herbal remedies, diet, exercise, and massage.
Duration of treatment depends on the nature of the complaint, its severity, and
how long it has been present. Acupuncture is scheduled as often an three times
a week or as little as twice a month. Response varies. some need only a few
sessions while others need sustained care to reverse entrenched patterns
established over time. As symptoms improve, fewer visits are required,
individual progress being the yardstick.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is based on the assumption that Qi courses through the body
just as streams and rivers ebb and flow across the surface of the earth. Every Organ
Network has a corresponding set of channels. The acupuncture points are
located in small depressions int the skin called "men" or
"gates" where the channels come closest to the surface. In ancient
times, when cities were fortified by walls, gates were opened to recieve
sustenance and closed to keep harm away. With acupuncture, the gates of the
body are opened and closed to adjust circulation in the channels and expel
noxious influences from them.
Thin,
solid, sterile stainless steel acupuncture needles are inserted into acupuncture
points to communicate from the outside to the inside. Acupuncture mobilizes Qi,
Moisture, Blood, invigorating proper function of the muscles, nerves,
vessels, glands, and organs.
How It Feels
Insertion of the needles goes unnoticed by some, and to others feels like a
small pinch followed by a sensation of tingling, numbness, ache, traveling
warmth, or heaviness. Sometimes people feel Qi moving at distance from
the point of insertion. Needles remain in place for twenty to forty minutes.
Usually relaxation and an elevation of spirit accompanies treatment. It is as
normal to want to continue resting as it is to be immediately energized. Some
notice a relief of symptoms or feel more energetic in the days that follow
treatment. Most people are pleased to find that sessions are not uncomfortable
and even look forward to them.
It
would be most accurate to say that acupuncture treats disorders of Qi,
Blood, and Moisture, and disturbances of the Organ Networks-but this
does not correspond to the Western vocabulary of named diseases and conditions.
Acupuncture may be helpful for: Withdrawl from addictions such as sugar,
coffee, cigatettes, alcohol, and cocaine; stress reduction; post surgical
recovery; chronic fatigue; the signs of aging; and decreased immunity. Some of
the many conditions for which acupuncture is considered appropriate are listed
by the World Health Organization of the United Nations:
|
Infections |
> |
Muskulo-Skeletal |
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Internal |
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Eyes-Ears-Nose-Throat |
> |
Genito-Urinary |
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Dermatological |
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Mental-Emotional |
Herbal
Remedies and Supplements
Herbal medicine is itself a powerful method of healing. Western drugs often
control symptoms, but do not alter the disease process ( antibiotics eliminate
bacteria but do not improve a person's resistance to infection; diuretics fid
excess fluid without improving kidney function). Chinese herbs treat the underlying
condition as defined by traditional diagnosis, and rarely cause unwanted
side-effects.
Just
as soil becomes depleted through overuse, so the Qi, Moisture, Blood are
eroded by overwork, emotional tension, mental strain, too much or too little
exercise, and inadequate diet or rest, impairing the capacity of the Organ
Networks to do their jobs.
How Herbs Work
Since fatigue results from a lack of Qi, herbs that nourish the Qi
have an energizing effect. Since blurry vision, restless sleep, and irritability
result from depleted Blood, Blood-enriching herbs improve vision,
sleep, and equanimity. Since dry skin and dehydration arise from insufficient Moisture,
herbs that replenish it soften the skin and relieve an otherwise unquenchable
thirst.
Herbs
assist the Organ Networks in the performance of their tasks. Particular
herbs enhance the capacity of the Heart to propel the blood and soothe
the mind, the Spleen to manage digestion and fluid equilibrium, the Lung
to handle respiration and body's defenses the Liver to maintain
resilient emotions an supple limbs, and Kidney to sustain sexual and
regenerative power. Some herbal formulas address ailments such as colds,
allergies, inflammations, or cramps with dramatic and immediate results, while
others fortify body reserves over time.
For
example, Jake's stuffy head and cloudy senses are relieved by herbs that dispel
Heat and Wind. Herbs that strengthen the Lung and Qi
will increase his resistance to colds and flus. Kate experiences menstrual
distress as a result of congested Qi, Moisture, Blood in the abdomen-a
traffic jam that results in sore and swollen tissue, a puffy face,
irritability, lethargy, and cramps. Herbs that invigorate her circulation can
dislodge the pile-up, relieving her symptoms.
Linda
is concerned about the signs of aging that occur as Essence and Blood
diminish. Herbs that nourish the Kidney and Liver replenish Essence
and Blood so that healthy bones, supple skin, shiny hair, and an even
temperament prevail while the fading of sexuality or hot flashes are prevented.
Formulas
Combine Benefits
Chinese herbs are usually combined in formulas to enhance their properties and
actions. Symptoms and signs are matched with therapeutic effects, reflecting
the particular conditions and needs of each patient. Tonic formulas restore
eroded body resources; regulating formulas decongest the Qi, Moisture,
and Blood , relieving discomfort; and purging formulas eliminate adverse
climates, inviting clear weather.
Formulas
are available in a variety of forms: crude herbs to be boiled into tea, liquid
bottled extracts, ground herbs packaged in pills, and powders. Herbs, more like
foods than drugs, can suppliment our diet and fortify our constitution as well
as prevent or remedy ailments. Sometimes long-term use of herbs is desireable
whereas extended use of pharmaceuticals would not be healthy.
How Western
and Chinese Medicine Differ
Because Chinese medicine views people as ecosystems in miniature, it seeks to
improve our capacity to balance and renew our resources. Chinese medicine can
minimize the erosion of our soil by enriching it, maximize the flow of
nutrients by increasing circulation, and help prevent bottlenecks that obstruct
movement.
Often
Western medicine intervines only after crisis arise, whereas Chinese medicine
anticipates problems by sustaining our interior landscape. By correcting
depletion and stagnation at earlier stages, greater problems later on are
avoided.
Sometimes
Western medicine has nothing to offer for nagging chronic complaints that Chinese
medicine can help. The two are not a substitute for each other. They are often
complementary. Whereas Western medicine may heroically rescue us, Chinese
medicine can protect and preserve our health day to day.
Regulation of
Practice
The regulation of health care practices differs from state to state. Since 1976
California has licensed qualified acupuncturists as primary care providers
through its Board of Medical Quality Assurance. Safe an effective practice
standards have beed established by the National Commission for the
Certification of Acupuncturists (NCCA). All practitioners certified by this
Commission or the state comply with strict requirements for sterile needles.
Many health insurance policies elect to cover acupuncture treatment.