What is Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)?
By Crystal Zhao, Jenny Ou
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a holistic medical treatment system developed in China more than 3,000 years ago. TCM includes two important aspects, “holistic concept” and “treatment based on a deferential ion of symptoms.”
The Holistic Concept
The “holistic concept” attaches great importance to the unity and integrity of the human body and its interrelation with nature. TCM focuses on strengthening your body’s defenses, strengthening rehabilitation and maintaining good health. TCM covers the interaction of the human body with all aspects of life and the environment, including seasons, weather, time, diet and your emotional state. The key to health is the harmonious balance of physical, mental, and spiritual functioning, and the balance of health depends on the passage of “vital energy” through unimpeded flowing meridians.
TCM Diagnosis Method and Indications
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners emphasize the treatment of Dialectical Theory, or “treatment based on a deferential ion of symptoms” with “comprehensive analysis by the four examination methods,” including Looking, Smelling-Listening, Asking, and Touching-Palpation, and collecting disease information to determine the appropriate treatment.
Looking: Looking at the patient’s facial expression, complexion, skin color, body movements, red lesions and swollen tongue.
Listening-Smelling: Listening to a patient’s voice (weak, strong, or mute), listening for a cough, smelling the patient’s breath, odors of the body, stool and urine.
Asking: Asking the patient how they feel, such as where they feel pain or itch and the degree (how much), fever or no fever, tiredness, how the body and heart feel, about their urine, stool and other conditions, and listening to a patient’s voice (weak, strong, or mute) or if they have a cough.
Touching-Palpation: Palpation of the patient’s skin and lesions temperature, pain rate, soft and hard mass, touch to check the patient’s pulse to understand the state of blood circulation, the depth of the disease Extent, etc .; Evaluate and diagnose the condition of the patient from the objective findings of symptom reports and palpation, observation and physical examination. With the diagnosis, appropriate treatments, such as acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine formulas, and cupping massage can be used to help restore the balance of the patient’s body. By treating the disease while protecting the patient’s body, we can avoid side effects to avoid injuring the patient’s body.
Various Specialists within TCM
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a complete medical system with comprehensive sub-departments, such as internal medicine, acupuncture, orthopedic surgery, gynecology, dermatology, pediatrics, tuina massage, and so on. With the development of medicine, sub-divisions have become more detailed similar to how they have in the Western medicine system.
TCM Healing Benefits
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has very important healing benefits, can treat chronic diseases, treat functional imbalances and disease with a particularly good result. It can help prevent disease and improve health. For example, TCM has helped treat a number of ailments, such as pain, insomnia, stress, depression, stomachache, enteritis, hepatitis, cold, cough, asthma, allergy, dermatological eczema, psoriasis, urinary tract infection, cystitis, gynecological infertility, and irregular menstruation.