Diagnosing And Treating Conditions The Traditional Chinese Medicine Way

Chinese Herbal medicine is a major branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that also includes Chinese massage therapy (Tuina) and acupuncture in Cleveland among others. In China, herbal medicine has been used for hundreds of years and is supported by a rich and long history of research, use, and development.

The diagnosis and therapies used in Chinese herbal medicine are unique and are all based on the principles of traditional Chinese medicine. For instance, the common cold can be diagnosed as “cold-wind infiltration” and herbs that warm cold and eliminate wind may be recommended. Prescription herbs provided by practitioners are usually taken in pill form, in powder form, or boiled into a tea.

Unlike a Western trained physician who sees a cold as just a cold, a practitioner of TCM looks at a person’s general well-being and health. This practitioner will find out if the Yin and Yang of the patient and his other energetic forces are in balance, or if he is in excess or deficiency in one or the other. According to TCM theory, Yin and Yang are the two complementary and opposing forces in nature, Yin, refers to the female force while Yang refers to the positive.

A doctor of TCM’s recommendations addresses the patient’s specific excesses/deficiencies. To him, a cold is more than just a cold, brought about by an external pathogen. The excesses/deficiencies in the patient’s body also play a part in his sickness, which have left him vulnerable.

The TCM language of the five elements and Yin, Yang is too limiting and too simple by comparison. Medicinal herbs however, work wonders, especially when used alongside lifestyle changes and acupuncture.