Chinese medicine dates back several thousand years.It comprises acupuncture, diet, exercise, and herbal therapy.Traditional Chinese medicine shares similar philosophies with other older medicines, including Japanese, Indian (Ayurvedic), and Greek, primarily the concept of life force as a living energy that embodies the organism and its spirit.The Chinese refer to this as qi, or chi, the Japanese call it ki, the Hindus refer to it as prana, and the Greeks call it pneuma.When the life force is blocked or weakened, the energy is reduced in the tissues and organs.This leads to disease and healing results from correcting the blockage.
It is difficult to compare Western medicine to traditional Chinese medicine because the concepts are so different.Yin and yang refers to the balance of positive and negative forces.Yin is passive, cool and moist, and is female.Yang is active, hot and dry, and is male.Nuch of life relates to opposites and disease is related to imbalances.Qi flows through the body in 26 meridians (12 paired and two single) or channels althought no anatomic structure has been identified.Figure 6-1 shows the five Chinese seasons and the elementsthat are associated, and the relationships between them.Traditional acupuncture involves insertion of needles at specific sites depending on the problem with 10-30 needles that are in place for about 20 minutes.
Figure 6-1
WOOD FIRE EARTH WATER METAL
East South Center North West
Dawn Midday Late afternoon Midnight Dusk
Awakening Wakefulness Transition Slumber Quieting
Spring Summer Late summer Winter Autumn
The most benefical indication for acupuncture is pain and so the pratice does have the potential to be useful in many chronic illnesses that result in pain.Succes is often increased with skill of the acupunturist.In Eastern medicine, acupuncture is used to treat all manner of disease states and illnesses.There are plenty of studies to document that acupuncture works in many conditions.The list of conditions includes adult-onset diabetes, sinusitis, asthma,high blood pressure and so on, althought the effects are variable.In some cases acupuncture treats symptoms and in others it alters the course of the disease.It is probably reasonable to consider a trial of acupuncture and if there is no improvement after six treatments it is unlikely that it is very beneficial.It is a safe treatment and most therapists use disposable needles, reducing the risk of infection.
There are differences in the training and ability of acupuncturists.Many states do not have formal licensing procedures.Medical doctors are allowed to pratice acupuncture without formal licensing whereas licensed (fully trained) acupuncturists undergo thousands of hours in training.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar