About Chinese Medicine

About Traditional Chinese Medicine TCM

For more than 3000 years, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been the national medicine of China and other Asian countries. TCM is now commonly practiced in many regions such as the United States, Europe, Australia and Latin America. It is a complete medical system that includes acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, therapeutic massage (Tuina) and nutritional therapy.

TCM is a holistic view of the body, which believes that disease can only exist if there is a disharmony between the mind, body and spirit. When harmony is re-established in the body, health will return. Chronic health related problems that occur apart from traumas, breaks or falls, are in many cases related to an internal disharmony or constitutional weakness of the individual. Every individual has a specific constitutional weakness. It is for that very reason TCM can be seen as a preventive medicine. Treatments aim at supporting the constitutional weakness therefore improving the overall health of the individual as well as the symptoms. In the case of an individual who is receiving treatment from a trauma or external injury, both the constitutional weakness of the individual and the injury site are treated together for a quicker recovery time.

How It Works

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an energy-based medicine with a rich philosophic and scientific background. TCM was the national medicine of China for thousands of years. TCM is based on qualitative forms of health evaluation with key concepts including energy meridians, Qi and Blood, the interplay of Yin and Yang and internal organ theory.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) defines TCM as:

Acupuncture is one of the key components of the system of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In the TCM system of medicine, the body is seen as a delicate balance of two opposing and inseparable forces: yin and yang. Yin represents the cold, slow, or passive principle, while yang represents the hot, excited, or active principle. Among the major assumptions in TCM are that health is achieved by maintaining the body in a "balanced state" and that disease is due to an internal imbalance of yin and yang. This imbalance leads to blockage in the flow of qi (vital energy) along pathways known as meridians. It is believed that there are 12 main meridians and 8 secondary meridians and that there are more than 2,000 acupuncture points on the human body that connect with them.

—NCCAM, NIH

East Meets West

In modern day China, hospitals have implemented a medical model that incorporates TCM with western medicine. In this setting doctors have the option of being trained as a western medical physician or both a western medical physician and in TCM. Today in China, hospitals incorporate both western medicine and TCM, using pharmaceuticals, Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture.

For more information about acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, trials and developments, visit our Resources page.