Chinese medicine: a healing tradition

by Marla Hardee Milling

Chinese medicine Do you suffer with a chronic illness or persistent pain?The remedy may be in changing the way you take care of yourself. Traditional Chinese medicine offers an alternative approach to treating illnesses and maintaining good health. It also emphasizes the role of patients in being more observant in the care of their physical bodies.

"Chinese medicine doesnt just treat diseases. It actually teaches people how to live more healthfully," says Dr. Jocelyn Eberstein, a licensed acupuncturist and founder of The Eberstein Center, one of the largest Eastern medicine facilities in Los Angeles. "Doctors in ancient China did not get paid if their patients got sick, because their job was not to treat their patient, but to teach their patients," she explains. "Therefore most forms of Chinese medicine involve what the patient does for himself, which makes this medicine highly cost effective and practical."

Chi (also called qi) refers to the flow of energy or vital life force. Every living thing contains chi. Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes that disease is really an imbalance in the flow of chi. The four most popular forms of Chinese medicine: acupuncture, qi gong, herbal medicine, and massage (Tuina)—promote the flow of chi and help restore balance.

Many people associate needles with pain, but in Chinese medicine, strategically placed needles are used to help heal and prevent disease. The process is known as acupuncture.

The chi runs through conduits or roadways in the body, which are called meridians or channels. "Acupuncture heals and prevents diseases by stimulating points along these pathways through the use of pressure, needles, light, heat and the introduction of electrical stimulation," says Eberstein. "The acupuncture points have been shown to have bioelectrical conductive properties and the stimulation of these points actually normalizes this conductivity. The conduction effects can then be measured through the use of instrumentation such as a volt meter."

"Acupuncture is widely used for acute pain and trauma of sprains or strains of tendons and muscles, as well as other acute trauma conditions such as postoperative wound healing," Eberstein continues. "But its strength over Western medicine lies in its ability to heal and address any chronic disorder—meaning any illness that is [more than] two to three months old. By definition, chronic illness is a failure of Western medicine because Western medicine was not able to deal with the disorder in the acute stages. It is because of this that acupuncture and Oriental medicine should always be considered in any chronic illness."

Acupuncture has produced successful results in myriad disease categories including, but not limited to:

• acute sinusitis
• acute tonsillitis
• migraine headaches
• low back pain
• neurological problems
• digestive disorders
• gynecological problems
• arthritis
• asthma
• stress and behavioral disorders

Another way to keep the chi in balance is through the practice of qi gong. Pronounced chee-gung, qi gong combines the art of meditation with physical exercise to promote and maintain better health, mental well-being and spiritual development. You may be more familiar with tai chi, a martial arts form of qi gong.

If you break the term apart, qi stands for breath of life or vital essence (the same concept as chi), and gong means work and self-discipline. The qi gong workout is comprised of slow, gentle movements, meditation and breathing techniques. While qi gong is usually practiced standing up, it can also be performed while sitting or even lying down. There are thousands of forms of qi gong, ranging from easy to complex.

Chinese herbalists use literally thousands of different herbs and plants to treat illness, as well as to maintain health and to prevent disease. One of the keys to Chinese herbal medicine is that herbalists usually combine several herbs to produce the most beneficial effects.

Its important to let a trained practitioner monitor the amount and combinations of herbs used, because some Chinese herbs can be toxic. Chinese herbal remedies can be prepared in a variety of ways, including:

• steeped in hot water to make tea
• boiling
• powders
• pills or syrups
• poultices that are applied to the skin

"Herbal medicine has been used for a variety of medical conditions," says Dr. Yu Shao, the Central Laboratory Director and Quality Control Manager at Vitamin Research, Inc. "Generally, herbal preparations are less toxic than their synthetic counterparts and offer less risk of side effects. In addition, the mechanism of action of an herb is often to correct the underlying cause of illness," Shao explains. "In contrast, a synthetic drug is often designed to alleviate the symptom or effect without addressing the underlying cause. That is why more and more people are interested in herbal medicine, and why its estimated that more than $11 billion dollars worth of plant-based medicine are purchased each year in the United States alone."

Tuina dates back to the Shang Dynasty of China (1700 B.C.E.) and helps promote healing and pain relief by using oscillating and pressure techniques to increase the circulation of chi in the body. The pressure of the massage ranges from light to heavy, and the rate of application from slow to quick.

Tuina practitioners generally begin the session by asking the patient about specific problems. Then, they ask the patient to lie down on a table, dressed in loose clothing. The practitioners then focus on specific pain sites, acupressure points, muscles, joints and energy meridians. They may also use herbal preparations to enhance healing. This form of massage is especially beneficial for patients suffering with musculoskeletal and nervous system problems, as well as chronic stress-related disorders of the digestive, respiratory and reproductive systems.

Tradition Chinese medicine teaches that health is determined by a multitude of factors, and that it is important to pay attention to the things you do on a daily basis—particularly nutrition, weight management, vitamins, herbal medicines individualized for specific conditions, therapeutic movements, breathing therapies and even sexual therapies.

"Sex is required in Chinese medicine to keep the body healthy and to treat certain disease—positioning is very specific," says Dr. Eberstein. "Meditation and relaxation techniques are also designed to keep the body as close to its ground state and away from its adrenaline state as possible."

Chinese or Eastern medicine should not replace Western medicine, per se. But enlightened consumers—and increasingly, their practitioners—are asking for both. As far as medicine goes, East can meet West.