Greetings All,    

Chinese Medicine as Functional Medicine  

There is a new movement afoot in our modern western medical system called Functional Medicine.  This movement approaches health and disease from a comprehensive model, seeing an individual as body, mind, and (sometimes) spirit, and takes all aspects of a person's lifestyle into account to help identify, treat, and prevent heath issues. This approach is patient-centered rather than disease-centered and is especially tailored for those with chronic disease issues.  It looks at physiological processes, and functional aspects of the organs and their interactions.  This functional model is in contrast to the standard western practice of breaking the body into separate specialties, determining diagnosis primarily through tests that measure anatomical change only, and using pharmaceuticals that simply mask symptoms. 

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Western Functional Medicine treatment pulls from a variety of sources and is aimed at an individual's unique needs.  The intention here is also TO CURE a condition rather than simply cover symptoms. 

This is an exciting and progressive development in the western medical paradigm .  I would like to point out however, that THIS APPROACH IS NOT NEW, but thousands of years old, and is beautifully embodied in the practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine!   

Chinese Medicine is holistic medicine. It is a comprehensive life science, and sees the human being as a seamless blend of body, mind, and spirit.  Emotions and lifestyle have much to do with the manifestation of physical (and emotional) symptoms along with constitution, and diagnosis and treatment aim to determine and neutralize the root cause(s) of symptoms. And, Chinese Medicine, outside of a disease model, also provides instruction on how to create greater vitality, longevity, and joy. 

Of course diagnosis and treatment vary between the eastern and western models.  Many western Functional Medicine clinics acknowledge the value of Chinese Medicine and include acupuncture and herbs in their treatment possibilities. It is all good as far as I am concerned and a wonderful development. To learn more about the western Functional Medicine paradigm click here.  And, for everything you wanted to know about Chinese Medicine and more, click here.

Oh boy, self-tongue diagnosis! As I was cruising around the internet looking for info to share about this, I came upon this website and think it's a winner.  All in good humor, it takes the mystery out of these weird tongues and illustrates the kind of things a practitioner of Chinese Medicine is looking for. 

Often when I ask to look at someone's tongue for the first time I get met with a certain reticence. It is an unusual request if one is not used to it, and I think folks feel it is too intimate or weird or gross or something. It is a major diagnostic indicator in this medicine, though, and provides important information. 

Part of the beauty of Chinese Medicine is that it clearly demonstrates the truth of holographic theory:  the whole is coded in each of its parts.  Thousands of years ago as this medicine developed, there were no instruments available to help with diagnosis (thermometers, stethoscopes, blood tests, etc) and diagnosis was a matter of discerning from your patient what could be gathered through the senses.  Chinese Medicine talks of the Four Diagnostic Techniques:  Looking, Asking, Listening/Smelling, and Palpation.  A major component of the "Looking" diagnosis is looking at the tongue.   

So, if you are up for a little fun I invite you to go for it and see what you can learn.  Remember, it's just an innocent piece of flesh! (And, the tongues on this site are fairly tame.  When I was in school, we were shown slides from China, projected many times their original size, of the worst possible looking tongues from folks who likely just crawled out of a cave, complete with snaggle or completely missing teeth, and some seriously pathological conditions. The tongues on this site are pretty standard and not such a big deal.)

 Many of you have experienced the therapeutic value of the technique known as gua sha. Because it is integral to the practice of Chinese Medicine and because sometimes spouses and other loved ones do not understand or know how to interpret the bruising left on the skin, I am here including a link to a website to further explain what it is and what it does. Gua sha, along with cupping, is a way to release stagnant blood from tense muscles. Cupping uses suction to this end while gua sha uses friction. It is practiced by families in Asian countries routinely and is very safe and effective.   Click here for more info.

And speaking of stress, what better way to reduce it than through the company and love of our favorite pets!  They can get sick and imbalanced too, though, and can also

be treated with CM.  There are a handful of vets in Austin I am familiar with who do acupuncture and even prescribe Chinese herbs.  Short of going to a vet with our pets (cats hate that) there is a book I highly recommend called Four Paws Five Directions, by Cheryl Schwartz, DVM. It is written for lay people and describes much Chinese Medical theory and practical detail on how to deal with our pets ourselves through acupressure, diet, and commonly available supplements and herbs. I give it five stars.  I also like  to recommend www.petsage.com as it is a great resource for  herbs, homeopathy, supplements, and other natural products for cats and dogs.

And, in case you were wondering, the very handsome photographic model for this section of commentary is my own stress reducer (and sometimes creator, I admit) Izzy Moose, who himself has been the recipient of a few well-placed needles on two or three occasions that were able to entirely alleviate symptoms of kitty bladder infection.

NADA, The National Acupuncture Detoxification Association, has been around for over 25 years, I did the training myself in 1989.  It began in New York at the Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx as  part of their addictions recovery program.  It has since enjoyed great success, both as a technique to help with recovery (appropriate in the detox from multiple substances), and also as a model that has applicability to other institutions and settings.  In their years in existence, NADA has trained over 25,000 technicians in their signature auricular protocol (ear acupuncture) and has influenced similar services being offered in over 2,000 clinics and settings world wide.  The US military is currently using this style treatment with veterans with PTSD, and Acupuncturists Without Borders uses the protocol in their trauma and disaster recovery work.  It is also used in many psychiatric hospitals for both in and out-patients, and in prisons and court-diversion programs.  This non-profit organization deserves enormous recognition as they do great work, and all cheaply, easily, efficiently, and without side effects.  I recommend a look at their website for more information, and while there, you can make a donation and sign up for their newsletter.  And, if you care to see some scientific research on acupuncture, substance detoxification, and endorphins and serotonin, click right here!  Thank you NADA!

 

I want to include this list from the World Health Organization in all my newsletters just to remind you of everything acupuncture and Chinese medicine can treat.  As a practitioner I know this is just a partial list, but it is official and great PR! To see the list again click here.