Transcript Chinese Medicine

Chinese Medicine
By
Patricia Renaud
There are many misconceptions
about Chinese Medicine
• There is a great difference between the
modern philosophy & the ancient
philosophy of Chinese Medicine
• Folk remedy co-exists along side modern
medicine
• Mix Western & Chinese Medicines
• For the Chinese practitioner the mixing is
not important, the results is what matters
Philosophy & Theory of
Chinese Medicine
• Chinese medicine considers illness & cures in the
human body as a combination of emotional,
physical, psychological, environmental & cosmic
factors
• Chinese medicine deals with the mind, body,
general health and disease totally when treating a
person
Origin of Chinese Medicine
• The legendary founders of Chinese medicine for
the Chinese people are:
– The Yellow Emperor (Huang Di) &
– The Devine Farmer (Shen Nong)
• Began to take form 5000 years ago
• Women who can bring down the Spirits & the
cultivation of Spirits play an important role in
early Chinese medicine & remain a predominate
factor in Chinese folk medicine
Two main types of Chinese
medical practitioners
• Official doctors-trained in official training
centers or government colleges
– served gentry
• Unofficial doctors (itinerant or religious
folk doctors)-educated by teachers, often
family members or religious teachers
– served common people & sometimes
upper class
There are several varieties of
Chinese Medicine including
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Acupuncture
Acupressure
Herbology
Chinese Nutrition
Moxibustion
Massage
Qigong
• Diagnosis-Observation
of patient
• Therapy &
Therapeutic
Techniques
• Tuina
• Jiaofa
• Yangsheng
• Mantras
Diagnosis
• The four basic methods of examination
(sizhen) are:
– looking at the patient(wangzhen)
– examination by listening, smelling, &
tasting (wenzhen)
– examination by interrogation (wenzhen)
– examination by touching (qiezhen)
Observing the patient
• Observes body as a whole
• Some diseases show in the way a person moves &
looks
– Observes shape of the body-large, small, thin, fat
– Observes posture of patient-may indicate deviation of
backbone
– Observes color of face & parts of body
– Observes how patient behaves-quiet, aggressive,
disturbed, does he think clearly, does he make sense
– Observes parts of body-head, hair, hands, tongue,
Eight factors that guide the practitioner
• Two basic elements of change-yin & yang
can be called by different names to
distinguish areas but the underlying theory
is still the yin-yang relationship
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biao-on the surface or superficial
li-internal or fundamental
han-cold
re-hot
xu-empty or powerless
shi-over-powerful or full
Chinese Therapy & Therapeutic
Techniques
• Preserving health & preventing disease better than
curing
• Herbal medicines & other external & internal
practices of prevention popular in China
• Have innumerable exercises & herbal preparations
• Prevent disease by practicing qigong & taijiquan
• Physicians advise patient to take up form of
exercise to recover from illness, keep in shape &
prevent recurring illness
• There are pills & medicines for regaining vitality
Eight methods of Therapy
(Curing)
• Han- (sweating) making the patient sweatdamage caused by external circumstances
• Tu- (vomiting) making the patient vomit- like
when food is not digested or person has been
poisoned
• Xia- (lowering) forcing matter in the body
downward- like when there is constipation
• He- (harmonizing) adjust or regulate a body
function- as when upper & lower parts are not in
harmony
superficial
Eight Methods of Therapy
(curing) continued
• Wen- (warning) raising the temperature in an area
of the body- used when cold is cause of disease
• Qing- (purifying) clearing heat & purifying the
body- used when heat is the source of illness
• Xiao- (dispelling) eliminating or dispelling the
cause of disease- eliminate blockages, blocked
body fluid or blocked materials
• Bu- (supplying) improve conditions of bloodfluid
& functions of the body- gives someone more
strength
Acupuncture
• Zhenfa (needle technique) is a way of
influencing bodily functions by inserting
needles in the Xue (acupuncture points)
• Was popular in ancient times then forbidden
in 1822, was rediscovered this century
• Physician must be acquainted with the exact
location of the Xue or can cause damage
instead of cure
Acupuncture Needles
• Originally used 9 needles but now use many more
• Needles originally made of bone, stone or metal
including gold or silver now they are made of
stainless steel
• Needles used differ in both length & thickness
• Smallest needles measure less than one inch but
largest can be one foot in length
• Needles can be inserted perpendicular or slanting
• Speed of insertion, depth of insertion differ
• Once inserted needle may be turned, pulled, heated
Set of Acupuncture Needles
Documented Successes with
Acupuncture
• Acupuncture is combined with herbs in the treatment
of Chronic Fatigue
– considered a paradigm shift that causes damp heat, latent
heat, Qi deficiency & blood deficiency
• Acupuncture used for Back pain
– considered blood stagnation causing damp heat &kidney
pathology(can be anything from stones to deficiency in
Yin or Yang)
• Acupuncture & herbs successfully used for treatment
of “Women’s problems”
– (Menopause, PMS, Pain occurring with menstruation and
excessive flow or spotting)
More successful uses of Acupuncture
• Lupus-acupuncture combined with herbal
formulas for full recovery of patients
• Sciatica-acupuncture combined with acupressure
for full relief of pain
• Varicose veins-acupuncture combined with hot
herbal decoction to soak & wash area to speed
healing
• Infertility-acupuncture has been combined with
traditional Chinese medicine in the successful
treatment of various causes of infertility in both
male & female patients
Acupressure
• Similar to Acupuncture in use of points but
uses pressure instead of needles
• Pressure on different points can relieve or
cure many different ailments (including
pain in bones, joints, muscles & nerves to
blockages like carpal tunnel)
• Continued use will relieve many conditions
that normally require surgery in Western
countries
Moxibustion
• Application of very powerful & pungent
essence to strategic points
• Mainly used in combination with
Acupuncture
• Moxibustion is the burning of the Moxa
herb
• Moxa particularly effective when patient is
suffering from cold or dampness
Moxibustion
• Herb thought to be pure Yang in nature
therefore suitable for warming
• One method of treatment is burn herb
rolled in paper a short distance from
the skin along the track of the jing
(meridians)
• also burn over holes to allow to enter
body (as ears, mouth, nose)
Chinese Massage
• Consists of internal & external aspects
• Influence conditions of the skin & muscles
• May be directed at the bones, joints,
bloodfluid, or other internal parts or functions
• Uses techniques like chiropractic in the West
• All parts of the body can be treated
• Self-massage is form of this therapy
There are eight fundamental
techniques of massage from
which all other forms derive
• Tui (pushing)
• Na (grasping)
• An (pressing or
pushing downward)
• Qian (pulling)
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Da (beating)
Dong (moving)
Mo (rubbing)
Gun (rolling like
waves)
Different systems of Massage
• There are many combinations derived from the
eight fundamental techniques of massage such as:
– Tuina (pushing & grasping)
– Anmo (pressing & rubbing)
– Dianxue (touching of the holes)
• Who techniques are practiced:
– One hand
Combination of hand & foot
– Two hands Using other parts of body
– With feet
Using a massage medium (such
as sticks, rollers or herbal preparation)
Qigong
• The skill of directing & controlling Qi
– Rapid development of Qigong is based on clinical
results & supported by scientific research
• Includes methods similar to hypnosis,
psychotherapy, trance, laying of hands and
magnetism
• Is used for many things including the treatment of
cancer
• IS also the practice of exercise (Physician must
undergo a long period of body & mind training
before they are allowed to practice or teach)
Qigong continued
• Physician uses concentration & relaxation in his
body to make his own qi flow in the direction he
wishes ( he can transmit it into the patients body
directly or by touching the person)
– When this is done, magnetic, bio-electrical
reactions, hormonal & molecular changes occur
– Greatest changes seem to be within body cells
• Qigong physician is employed at every respectable
hospital to teach patients health exercises both for
rehabilitation or to prevent development of disease
Chinese Herbal Medicine
• The oldest medical book that mentions
herbs is the Huang Di Nei Jing (The Yellow
Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine)
• Book is dated to between 800 BC & 200 BC
• Compendium of medical theory & practice
attributed to Yellow Emperor thought to
have lived c.4700 BC (he may be a mythical
character used to provide credence to the
work though)
Period of the Nei Jing
• This period one of great creativity & change
• Period of transition from shamanistic
medicine to one based on theory &
accumulated knowledge of body
• Book discusses theory of medicine &
knowledge even though it was suppose to
have been written 2500 years prior to this
• The 28 substances & 12 prescriptions are the
first mention of Chinese Herbal Medicine &
continues to be practiced today
Herbology & Other
Medicines
• Pharmacology is an ancient Chinese
science
• Ingredients used range from herbs to
minerals to animal components
– Almost anything within these boundaries
is suitable for use in a medication
Preparation of Medicine
• When preparing medicines they take
into consideration the basic
compatibility or incompatibility of the
different products, the volume used,
the way it will be used (orally or
externally), the restrictions &
prohibitions or counter-indications of
the products
Herbs
• Unique strength of herbal therapies is that the
prescription is made to order according to the
needs of a specific person
• A formula for one person for a headache will
contain different ingredients for that person
than it would for another person also with
headaches
• Ingredients are all natural
• Can be without animal products (for a
vegetarian)
There are many uses of Ginkgo
• Memory impairment such as Alzheimer’s
disease & other mental disorders from poor
circulation-improves the memory & mental
acuity in many chronic brain syndromes
• Circulation problems-improves the blood
flow by reducing thickness in blood
• The extract of the nut & leaves of the
Ginkgo tree are used.
• Known as an excellent antioxidant
New product used as a cure for
Tumor or Cancer
• New anti-cancer Chinese prescription proven
& recognized to have 80% curing rate in the
final stages of Cancer patients in clinical tests
all over China & the National Cancer Institute
of the U.S. Called “China No. 1 Tian Xian
Liquid”
– Has been documented to reduce or cure breast lumps
– Breast cancer patients cancer spread to bone tissue yet
after treatment patient returned to work
– Colon cancer patient in final stage is cured
How Chinese medicine is classified:
Yaoxing-nature or Weidao-taste
• Four qi (siqi) of
medicine:
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Han-cold
Re-hot
Wen-warm
Liang-cool
• Medicine not fitting
these categories are
called pingxing yao
(neutral nature)
• Smell & taste of
medicines allow them
to be be classed in
other categories:
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Suan-sour
Ku-bitter
Gan-sweet
Xin-pungent
Xian-salty
Dan-tasteless
Se-astringent
How the medicines work:
• Each & every nature or taste influences the
basic cause of disease and creates a change
in the condition
• The taste makes them harmonize with
certain body functions & through the
relationships of the five agents they affect
the functions either directly or indirectly
How are medicines prepared?
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Choa-frying
Pao-roasting
Zhi-broiling
Zhi-roasting in a liquid (including vinegar,
honey, alcohol, water etc.)
• Wei-stewing (wrapped in wet paper or wet
bread until outer material becomes dark)
Jiaofa
• Jiaofa-(horn-method) where physician uses
glass cups or bamboo segments, heated on
the inside by fire, and stuck to parts of the
patients body
• Cup sticks tightly because of the vacuum
created by the heat and dispels cold &
dampness from the body. It then warms the
Qi and reduces swelling
Yangsheng
• This is the nourishment or cultivation of life
• By taking care of one’s life & daily
influences or activities, disease is prevented
• Uses diet & exercise
• Uses martial arts & even Yoga
• Some knowledge of the body is required for
this
• Stresses the importance of uniting the Qi
otherwise no single method will prolong life
Mantras
• Mantras are powerful therapeutic means to
the Chinese
• Are pronounced silently or aloud
• Promotes health & inner comfort
• Mantras can have the opposite effect
• Fu are talismans (secret writing in red ink or
blood on yellow paper & given to the person)
were used to expel evil influences or as a
spiritual means to make a person more in
harmony with their surroundings
Summary
• The Chinese learned long age that the body
was a circuitry of electrical impulses with a
variety of critical points along the electrical
pathways
• A needle applied to the proper point
energizes a particular organ
• Believed emotional events create blocks in
the circuitry & must be relieved so energy
flow can be restored
Observation on ancient
sciences
• While Chinese were mapping the strategic
points of the body , the astrologers were
mapping the skies.
• Is there one source of wisdom and have
the ancient Chinese & astrologers been
able to tap into it and turn this into their
healing arts with the combination of both
things?????