TraditionalChinesemedicineislargelybasedonthephilosophicalconceptthatthehumanbodyisasmalluniversewitha setofcompleteandsophisticatedinterconnectedsystems,andthatthosesystemsusuallyworkinbalancetomaintainthe healthyfunctionofthehumanbody.Thebalanceofyinandyangisconsideredwithrespecttoqi("breath","lifeforce",or "spiritualenergy"),blood,jing("kidneyessence",including"semen"),otherbodilyfluids,theWuXing,emotions,andthe soulorspirit(shen).TCMhasauniquemodelofthebody,notablyconcernedwiththemeridiansystem.UnliketheWestern anatomicalmodelwhichdividesthephysicalbodyintoparts,theChinesemodelismoreconcernedwithfunction.Thus, theTCMspleenisnotaspecificpieceofflesh,butanaspectoffunctionrelatedtotransformationandtransportation within the body, and of the mental functions of thinking and studying.Therearesignificantregionalandphilosophicaldifferencesbetweenpractitionersandschoolswhichinturncanleadtodifferencesin practice and theory.Theories invoked to describe the human body in TCM include:Channels, also known as "meridians"Wu XingQiThree jiaos also known as the Triple Burner, the Triple Warmer or the Triple EnergiserYin and YangZang and FuTheYin/Yangandfiveelementtheoriesmaybeappliedtoavarietyofsystemsotherthanthehumanbody,whereasZangFutheory, meridian theory and three-jiao (Triple warmer) theories are more specific.Therearealsoseparatemodelsthatapplytospecificpathologicalinfluences,suchastheFourstagestheoryoftheprogressionofwarm diseases, the Six levels theory of the penetration of cold diseases, and the Eight principles system of disease classification.DIAGNOSTICS METHODSFollowingamacrophilosophyofdisease,traditionalChinesediagnosticsarebasedonoverallobservationofhumansymptomsrather than"micro"levellaboratorytests.TherearefourtypesofTCMdiagnosticmethods:observe,hearandsmell,askaboutbackgroundand touching.Thepulse-readingcomponentofthetouchingexaminationissoimportantthatChinesepatientsmayrefertogoingtothe doctor as "Going to have my pulse felt."TraditionalChinesemedicineisconsideredtorequireconsiderablediagnosticskill.Modernpractitionersoftenuseatraditionalsystemin combination with Western methods.TechniquesPalpation of the patient's radial artery pulse (pulse diagnosis) in six positionsObservations of patient's tongue, voice, hair, face, posture, gait, eyes, ears, vein on index finger of small childrenPalpationofthepatient'sbody(especiallytheabdomen,chest,back,andlumbarareas)fortendernessorcomparisonofrelative warmth or coolness of different parts of the bodyObservation of the patient's various odorsAsking the patient about the effects of their problem.Anything else that can be observed without instruments and without harming the patientAskingdetailedquestionsabouttheirfamily,livingenvironment,personalhabits,fooddiet,emotions,menstrualcycleforwomen, child bearing history, sleep, exercise, and anything that may give insight into the balance or imbalance of an individual.METHODS OF TREATMENTThe following methods are considered to be part of Chinese medicine:Acupuncture(fromtheLatinwordacus,"needle",andpungere,meaning"prick")isatechniqueinwhichthepractitionerinserts fineneedlesintospecificpointsonthepatient'sbody.Usuallyaboutadozenacupointsareneedledinonesession,althoughthenumber ofneedlesusedmayrangeanywherefromjustoneortwoto20ormore.Theintendedeffectistoincreasecirculationandbalance energy (Qi) within the body.Auriculotherapy, which comes under the heading of Acupuncture and Moxibustion.Chinesefoodtherapy:Dietaryrecommendationsareusuallymadeaccordingtothepatient'sindividualconditioninrelationto TCMtheory.The"fiveflavors"(animportantaspectofChineseherbalismaswell)indicatewhatfunctionvarioustypesoffoodplayinthe body.Abalanceddiet,whichleadstohealth,iswhenthefivefunctionalflavorsareinbalance.Whenoneisdiseased(andtherefore unbalanced), certain foods and herbs are prescribed to restore balance to the body.Chineseherbalmedicine:InChina,herbalmedicineisconsideredastheprimarytherapeuticmodalityofinternalmedicine.Of theapproximately500Chineseherbsthatareinusetoday,250orsoareverycommonlyused.Ratherthanbeingprescribedindividually, singleherbsarecombinedintoformulasthataredesignedtoadapttothespecificneedsofindividualpatients.Aherbalformulacan containanywherefrom3to25herbs.Aswithdiettherapy,eachherbhasoneormoreofthefiveflavors/functionsandoneoffive "temperatures"("Qi")(hot,warm,neutral,cool,cold).Aftertheherbalistdeterminestheenergetictemperatureandfunctionalstateof thepatient'sbody,heorsheprescribesamixtureofherbstailoredtobalancedisharmony.OneclassicexampleofChineseherbal medicineistheuseofvariousmushrooms,likereishiandshiitake,whicharecurrentlyunderintensestudybyethnobotanistsand medicalresearchersforimmunesystemenhancement.UnlikeWesternherbalism,Chineseherbalmedicineusesmanyanimal,mineral and mineraloid remedies, and also uses more products from marine sources.Cupping:AtypeofChinesemassage,cuppingconsistsofplacingseveralglass"cups"(openspheres)onthebody.Amatchislitand placedinsidethecupandthenremovedbeforeplacingthecupagainsttheskin.Astheairinthecupisheated,itexpands,andafter placingintheskin,coolsdown,creatingalowerpressureinsidethecupthatallowsthecuptosticktotheskinviasuction.When combinedwithmassageoil,thecupscanbeslidaroundtheback,offeringwhatsomepractitionersthinkofasareverse-pressure massage.Moxibustion:"Moxa,"oftenusedinconjunctionwithacupuncture,consistsinburningofdriedChinesemugwort(Artemisia vulgaris)onacupoints."DirectMoxa"involvesthepinchingofclumpsoftheherbintoconesthatareplacedonacupointsandlituntil warm.Typicallytheburningconeisremovedbeforeburningtheskinandisthought,afterrepeateduse,towarmthebodyandincrease circulation.Moxacanalsoberolledintoacigar-shapedtube,lit,andheldoveranacupuncturepoint,orrolledintoaballandstuckonto the back end of an inserted needle for warming effect.Physical Qigong exercises such as Tai chi chuan, Qigong and related breathing and meditation exercise.Tuinamassage:aformofmassageakintoacupressure(fromwhichshiatsuevolved).Orientalmassageistypicallyadministered withthepatientfullyclothed,withouttheapplicationofgreaseoroils.Choreographyofteninvolvesthumbpresses,rubbing,percussion, and stretches.If you would like additional information regarding our services or to request an appointment, you can contact us by phone (952 80 53 68) or by email.
TraditionalChinesemedicineislargelybasedonthe philosophicalconceptthatthehumanbodyisasmall universewithasetofcompleteandsophisticated interconnectedsystems,andthatthosesystems usuallyworkinbalancetomaintainthehealthy functionofthehumanbody.Thebalanceofyinand yangisconsideredwithrespecttoqi("breath","life force",or"spiritualenergy"),blood,jing("kidney essence",including"semen"),otherbodilyfluids,the WuXing,emotions,andthesoulorspirit(shen).TCMhasaunique modelofthebody,notablyconcernedwiththemeridiansystem. UnliketheWesternanatomicalmodelwhichdividesthephysical bodyintoparts,theChinesemodelismoreconcernedwithfunction. Thus,theTCMspleenisnotaspecificpieceofflesh,butanaspectof functionrelatedtotransformationandtransportationwithinthe body, and of the mental functions of thinking and studying.Therearesignificantregionalandphilosophicaldifferencesbetween practitionersandschoolswhichinturncanleadtodifferencesin practice and theory.Theories invoked to describe the human body in TCM include:Channels, also known as "meridians"Wu XingQiThreejiaosalsoknownastheTripleBurner,theTripleWarmer or the Triple EnergiserYin and YangZang and FuTheYin/Yangandfiveelementtheoriesmaybeappliedtoavariety ofsystemsotherthanthehumanbody,whereasZangFutheory, meridiantheoryandthree-jiao(Triplewarmer)theoriesaremore specific.Therearealsoseparatemodelsthatapplytospecificpathological influences,suchastheFourstagestheoryoftheprogressionof warmdiseases,theSixlevelstheoryofthepenetrationofcold diseases, and the Eight principles system of disease classification.DIAGNOSTICS METHODSFollowingamacrophilosophyofdisease,traditionalChinese diagnosticsarebasedonoverallobservationofhumansymptoms ratherthan"micro"levellaboratorytests.Therearefourtypesof TCMdiagnosticmethods:observe,hearandsmell,askabout backgroundandtouching.Thepulse-readingcomponentofthe touchingexaminationissoimportantthatChinesepatientsmay refer to going to the doctor as "Going to have my pulse felt."TraditionalChinesemedicineisconsideredtorequireconsiderable diagnosticskill.Modernpractitionersoftenuseatraditionalsystem in combination with Western methods.TechniquesPalpationofthepatient'sradialarterypulse(pulsediagnosis) in six positionsObservationsofpatient'stongue,voice,hair,face,posture, gait, eyes, ears, vein on index finger of small childrenPalpationofthepatient'sbody(especiallytheabdomen,chest, back,andlumbarareas)fortendernessorcomparisonofrelative warmth or coolness of different parts of the bodyObservation of the patient's various odorsAsking the patient about the effects of their problem.Anythingelsethatcanbeobservedwithoutinstrumentsand without harming the patientAskingdetailedquestionsabouttheirfamily,living environment,personalhabits,fooddiet,emotions,menstrualcycle forwomen,childbearinghistory,sleep,exercise,andanythingthat may give insight into the balance or imbalance of an individual.METHODS OF TREATMENTThefollowingmethodsareconsideredtobepartofChinese medicine:Acupuncture(fromtheLatinwordacus,"needle",and pungere,meaning"prick")isatechniqueinwhichthepractitioner insertsfineneedlesintospecificpointsonthepatient'sbody. Usuallyaboutadozenacupointsareneedledinonesession, althoughthenumberofneedlesusedmayrangeanywherefrom justoneortwoto20ormore.Theintendedeffectistoincrease circulation and balance energy (Qi) within the body.Auriculotherapy,whichcomesundertheheadingof Acupuncture and Moxibustion.Chinesefoodtherapy:Dietaryrecommendationsareusually madeaccordingtothepatient'sindividualconditioninrelationto TCMtheory.The"fiveflavors"(animportantaspectofChinese herbalismaswell)indicatewhatfunctionvarioustypesoffoodplay inthebody.Abalanceddiet,whichleadstohealth,iswhenthefive functionalflavorsareinbalance.Whenoneisdiseased(and thereforeunbalanced),certainfoodsandherbsareprescribedto restore balance to the body.Chineseherbalmedicine:InChina,herbalmedicineis consideredastheprimarytherapeuticmodalityofinternal medicine.Oftheapproximately500Chineseherbsthatareinuse today,250orsoareverycommonlyused.Ratherthanbeing prescribedindividually,singleherbsarecombinedintoformulas thataredesignedtoadapttothespecificneedsofindividual patients.Aherbalformulacancontainanywherefrom3to25herbs. Aswithdiettherapy,eachherbhasoneormoreofthefive flavors/functionsandoneoffive"temperatures"("Qi")(hot,warm, neutral,cool,cold).Aftertheherbalistdeterminestheenergetic temperatureandfunctionalstateofthepatient'sbody,heorshe prescribesamixtureofherbstailoredtobalancedisharmony.One classicexampleofChineseherbalmedicineistheuseofvarious mushrooms,likereishiandshiitake,whicharecurrentlyunder intensestudybyethnobotanistsandmedicalresearchersfor immunesystemenhancement.UnlikeWesternherbalism,Chinese herbalmedicineusesmanyanimal,mineralandmineraloid remedies, and also uses more products from marine sources.Cupping:AtypeofChinesemassage,cuppingconsistsof placingseveralglass"cups"(openspheres)onthebody.Amatchis litandplacedinsidethecupandthenremovedbeforeplacingthe cupagainsttheskin.Astheairinthecupisheated,itexpands,and afterplacingintheskin,coolsdown,creatingalowerpressureinside thecupthatallowsthecuptosticktotheskinviasuction.When combinedwithmassageoil,thecupscanbeslidaroundtheback, offeringwhatsomepractitionersthinkofasareverse-pressure massage.Moxibustion:"Moxa,"oftenusedinconjunctionwith acupuncture,consistsinburningofdriedChinesemugwort (Artemisiavulgaris)onacupoints."DirectMoxa"involvesthe pinchingofclumpsoftheherbintoconesthatareplacedon acupointsandlituntilwarm.Typicallytheburningconeisremoved beforeburningtheskinandisthought,afterrepeateduse,towarm thebodyandincreasecirculation.Moxacanalsoberolledintoa cigar-shapedtube,lit,andheldoveranacupuncturepoint,orrolled intoaballandstuckontothebackendofaninsertedneedlefor warming effect.PhysicalQigongexercisessuchasTaichichuan,Qigongand related breathing and meditation exercise.Tuinamassage:aformofmassageakintoacupressure(from whichshiatsuevolved).Orientalmassageistypicallyadministered withthepatientfullyclothed,withouttheapplicationofgreaseor oils.Choreographyofteninvolvesthumbpresses,rubbing, percussion, and stretches.Ifyouwouldlikeadditionalinformationregardingourservices ortorequestanappointment,youcancontactusbyphone (952 80 53 68) or by email.