There has been a growing public interest in Chinese medicine as more people experience relief from their illnesses using acupuncture and Chinese herbs.  Here at Herboria, our goal is primarily to educate our visitors on the benefits of these herbs.  This article describes in detail of exactly how and why the Chinese medicine works, including:

• A brief history of Chinese medicine
• Diseases which can be treated using Chinese medicine
• An explanation of Qi, or energy flow, throughout the body
• How the Qi flow is central to our well-being
• What Chinese medicine can do to improve your Qi

• Infections- colds and flu, bronchitis, hepatitis

• Internal- hypoglycemia, asthma, high blood pressure, ulcers, colitis, indigestion, hemorrhoids, diarrhea, constipation, diabetes

• Eyes, ears, nose and throat-deafness, ringing in the ears, earaches, poor eye sight, dizziness, sinus infection, sore throat, hay fever

• Dermatological- eczema, acne

• Muscular, skeletal and neurologic- arthritis, neuralgia, sciatica, back pain, bursitis, tendonitis, stiff neck, Bell's palsy, trigeminal neuralgia, headache, stroke, cerebral palsy, polio, sprains

• Mental, emotional- anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia

• Genito urinary and reproductive- impotence, infertility, pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS), pelvic inflammatory disease, vaginitis, irregular period or cramps, morning sickness

(Source: Traditional Chinese Medicine, Richard Craze, Cox & Wyman Limited, Berkshire, 2002.) 

Chinese medicine is one of the oldest medical disciplines in the world. Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine (the Huang Di Nei Ching Su Wen), written approximately around 300 B.C., is considered the world's oldest medical text book. It contains detailed information about acupuncture and Chinese herbs. The mere fact that such information is still actively used in modern times is a strong indication of the powerful healing potential of the Chinese approach to medicine.

However, Chinese medicine is unlike Western medicine in that it uses a different concept of the human body. Chinese medicine recognizes energy flow, or Qi flow, and the paths of the Qi flow are called meridians. 

The Main Meridian Channels

The optimal state of health is when the Qi is flowing through the meridians without blockage. Therefore, the blockage of energy flow is the beginning of illness, and the blockage is expressed by the body as pain, bloating, or depression. Any kind of pain is considered a blockage of energy flow, and the site of pain suggests the place where the energy flow is stuck. For example, when a person complains of headaches, the Chinese doctor knows that the energy flow in the head is severely congested. By inserting small needles into the meridians that connect to the head, the doctor is promoting more energy flow to the head thereby relieving the headaches. A similar principle applies to back pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, and almost any kind of pain in the body. Acupuncture has been proven to be efficient, safe, and a cost effective way to treat various pain and diseases.

At the same time, Chinese medicine searches for the reason why the person is experiencing the blocked energy flow (Qi stagnation). What is going on? Why is the energy not moving? Is it because there is not enough energy to keep the meridians open? Are there environmental factors such as stress and anxiety that congest the energy flow?

Assessing the patient's pattern, individual internal characteristics (i.e. cold  or hot, according to subjective body temperature, etc.), is important in order to find the underlying cause of illness. The Chinese medical doctor will ask questions about the patient's lifestyle, subjective body temperature, appetite, digestion problems, bowel habit, urinary problems, sleep patterns, amount of energy, libido, and menstrual patterns for female patients. The Chinese medical doctor inspects the facial color, general body type, the appearance of the tongue, mental state and facial expressions, and palpate pulse to diagnose the pattern of the patient, because there are many different underlying causes which can contribute to the energy blockage.

In Chinese medicine, the same diagnosis can be treated differently according to the patient's pattern, while in Western medicine the same treatment is always executed for the same diagnosis. For example, non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen are used commonly to relieve headache, and in most cases, it works. In contrast, Chinese medical doctors would differentiate the patient's pattern in order to find out the cause behind the headache. It is always related to the Qi stagnation, but how did the energy get stuck? Was it because there is not enough energy to keep the meridians open, or because there is not enough blood to keep the meridians open? In Chinese medicine, energy and blood always exist together; in other words, energy is the Yang and blood is the Yin. The Yang is light, warm, and outgoing, while the Yin is dark, cold, and inward. The Yang is spirit, and the Yin is matter. This explains why energy is not visible to our human eyes. Although the Yang and Yin are seen as two opposites by Western culture, there is always an element of the other within each concept. In addition to the lack of energy or blood that can cause headaches, there are many possible reasons for the meridians to be blocked, including blood stasis due to blood clots, dampness, damp cold and damp heat. The Chinese medical doctor treats the same headache in many different ways based on the patient's pattern. This concept is the reason why so many people have experience relief from their illnesses with Chinese herbs and acupuncture treatment when Western medicine is just superficially correcting the symptoms.