Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western Medicine (WM) differ from each other in many ways. TCM favors a holistic approach, views the universe and body philosophically and develops inductive tools and methods to guide restoring the total balance of the body. In Chinese medicine, the correct balance between Yin and Yang make up the vital energy, Qi, an essential life-sustaining substance of which all things are made. Some Traditional remedies include herbal medicines, acupuncture, massage and moxibustion, an herbal heat therapy. Western medicine is closely linked to the scientific method and emphasizes biochemical processes causes disease, its treatment and health. This form of treatment views all medical phenomena as cause-effect …show more content…
They are really fast when it comes to getting better but can trigger some effects called Boomerang Effects. It happens when a person takes a medication and depends on it to help the person without taking some consideration into it. Many medications in WM contain many chemicals which can harm your body if abused. In TCM, chemicals aren’t commonly used at all because many herbal treatments are given and other practices like massages and acupuncture is applied to treat the symptoms and the illness. The two types of medicine have many similarities although. The main factor of the process is to make sure the patient recovers and is able to do all aspects in her life as it were before the issue occurred. Both acknowledge that the patient is suffering an illness cause by the body. Although they treat the patient differently, both aim for a balance and harmony within the body with their medical knowledge. Thank goodness our society in medicine aims for one solid thing and that thing is peace and harmony within
TCM and WM are in fact different in more ways than they are similar. I could probably list more differences that I can with similarities. When you are first diagnosed using TCM, doctors believe that your body is not balanced. Where as in the west, they diagnose patients by trying to find out what pathogen is attacking your body and making you sick. They believe that microorganisms are key factors of illnesses. For example, if you were
The traditional Chinese treatment of acupuncture is an affective alternative medicine that has been around for thousands of years. Acupuncture is one of the most researched and documented alternative medicines around (Acupuncture). Although a vast majority of people believe Western medicine is the only cure to sickness, many people benefit from acupuncture everyday. Most people disregard the ancient art all together without giving it a chance because are scared of the needles it involves. Also, since no accurate scientific explanation of how and why it works has been found, people shy away from it. The healing powers of the body are taken to a whole different level with this alternative medicine.
The logic and principles of medieval medicine shaped those of Modern medicine. Never was there a more efficient method perfected, so much that it remained through history through so many hundreds of years. Today’s concepts of diagnosis, relationships with the church, anatomy, surgery, hospitals and training, and public health were established in the Middle Ages.
If you were in the desert or woods and bitten by a snake, where you go for help? A call to the local ambulance and a fast ride to the emergency room are not available to you. How would you know what potions to use and what would heal your wounds? This was the dilemma of the Native American People hundreds of years ago. How did they handle it? The medical traditions and customs have remained a mystery to us for hundreds of years. This paper will try to explore some of these customs and possibly uncover some of the mystery.
The alternative medicine of Korean culture is called, Korean Oriental medicine (KOM). “It refers to the medicine native to Korea developed over a period of nearly two thousand years after being grafted with traditional Chinese medicine. It had been called traditional Korean medicine (TKM) since 1986 until recently. Before that, it was simply referred to as traditional Oriental medicine” (Republic of Korea, 2012). Chinese medicine was first introduced to Korea, during the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C. – 668). It was followed by Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) and the Joseon Dynasty (1392 – 1910) and developed its own unique nature as Korean Oriental Medicine. This traditional medicine perceives human body as a small universe and is based on the concept of “yin” and “yang”. According to this concept, it sees every object in the universe in two opposing forces, “such as the sun and moon, summer and winter, north and south, and male and female. It studies o-haeng, or the five phases or elements comprising the universe: geum (metal and rock), mok (wood), su (water), hwa (fire), and to (earth). It also studies the process of yuk-gi, or the Six Atmospheric Influences, in the realm of natural science, which are pung (wind), han (cold), yeol (heat), hwa (fire), seup (humidity), and jo (dryness). Western medicine focuses on the human body’s internal organs and is based on anatomy and cytology. It tends to find the cause of illness
Medical practices used in place of modern medical treatments. Medical systems that are complete diagnostic and treatment methods used in traditional and non-traditional Chinese medicine such as homeopathy and naturopathic medicine.
Diseases and their treatments changed and shaped the modern world. The Tang Dynasty of Ancient China had great value to the medicinal fields and led the way for medical technology and advancements that are used today by standardizing the supreme methods, procedures, and treatments during this time period; therefore, they made it less complicated for people to learn and teach how to practice medicine. Areas of medicine that were greatly improved and exceptionally recorded during the Tang Dynasty were symptomatology, etiology, surgery, orthopedics, and traumatology.
There are still many people on both sides of the spectrum that are skeptical about treatment methods that differ from what they are used to. The validity of an herbal healer in the western world is more likely to be questioned than that of a medical doctor; while in the east, families may have been seeing a healer for decades and are more likely to question the validity of a doctor practicing western
Good health means the yin and yang is in balance and in harmony with each other. According to Jarvis (2012), foods are classified in this theory; yin foods are cold, and yang foods are hot; cold foods are eaten with a hot illness and hot foods are eaten with a cold illness. Chinese people have practiced acupuncture for thousands of years for the reduction of pain and for various disorders using fine needles at specific meridian points on the body (Edelman & Mandle, 2010). The Chinese believe that when there is an imbalance in a person’s system is when a person has illness. For health maintenance, they use preventive measures such eating healthy. Chinese people enjoy drinking a variety of tea after meals for the cleansing effect. Health protection means wearing an amulet or jade, eat correctly and with compatible food (Jarvis, 2012). Chinese people use cupping, acupuncture, moxibustion, and herbs such as ginseng roots, and usually will consult with herbalists, for health restoration.
Historically, their medical system was based on the Chinese medicine i.e. acupuncture and herbal remedies were the normal treatments. The Chinese model is not based on treating specific organs or symptoms directly but rather treating the whole body by balancing the energy flows of the body. While modern medical science still does not understand how the system works. It has been documented to be effective.
The complex structure and foreign nature of Tibetan medicine makes it difficult to relate its practices to Western medicine, making it difficult to determine the clinical efficacy of Eastern medical practice. Several clinical analysis studies have recently been performed in order to determine the efficacy of the “holistic” practices of Eastern cultures. Whether the studies show Eastern or Western practices to be more effective, I believe that the most effective treatment should be a combination of both practices.
Traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, is one of the oldest systems of medicine to exist among humans, and it is extremely prominent to this day. According to legend, the system has been in use since the third millennium BCE. The views of such an old system differ greatly from those found in modern western medicine. Perhaps most prominent is the fact that TCM focuses more on the patient than the illness. The system considers the human to be a microcosm of the universe, implying that the body is affected by the traditional Taoist forces of yin and yang, the five elements, and Qi in the same way the cosmos are. Each of these forces act upon the “zang fu,” or organ system, directly influencing a patient’s health. Healers use qigong to assist in the restoration of stability in the body. Achieving balance, both internally and externally, is the most important aspect of healing in TCM.
TCM, or Traditional Chinese Medicine, can be traced as far back as 1000 BC, where stone acupuncture needles were believed to be used. Texts from that period also talked of Yin and Yang and other concepts. The first written work on TCM is titled the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, Huangdi Newijing (Gascoigne 11). This book was written in 300 BC, but entries date back to the early 2700’s BC. The book is still used in universities of Chinese Medicine around the world and is often called the bible of TCM. Today, TCM is still thriving in China and all of Asia. In recent years, information on TCM has become available to people in the United States. The United States has several schools of TCM, and it is now much easier to buy the necessary
As it has been around for centuries, there are many procedures to treat your illness. The theory behind TCM, as said in Encyclopedia of natural Healing, is to start with a symptom, and then look for a specific cause of that illness.One method to help cure your ailment is to use the theory of Yin and Yang.Yin and Yang is what TCM doctors use to help with headaches, smale pain, aches, and tiredness. When a person has too much Yang, headaches will occur along with pain. If you have too much yin, you will experience tiredness or chills. Another popular method of TCM is acupuncture, a very common one this day. It is used to cure pain, and disease. The way it is used is based on the theory of meridians. Meridians are channels throughout the body where your qi can be blocked (Williams 47). Once your qi is blocked, you will experience a multitude of ailments. This is where acupuncture comes into play. TCM doctors lie you down on a table and then proceed to stick thin needles into your body where the meridians lie. By doing this, your qi will be unblocked and your symptoms and will quickly dissipate. Another common remedy are herbal concoctions, mixtures of different plants and animals to cure your ailment. Most herbal remedies consist of a chief, deputy, assistant, and an envoy (Schoenbeck 2035). Each mixture is different for every illness
These therapies have proved to be of much benefit in supporting the normal healing course of the body. Even though there are many modern alternative remedies, with different beliefs, all of them operate under some common principles. One of these principles is that the body has the capacity to heal naturally and maintain stability (Paquette, 2000). The other one is that adverse health conditions can occur as a result of factors emanating from mind, emotions and the body. Alternative medicine, according to Goldberg, Trivieri and Anderson, (2002), focuses on determining the chief cause of a particular condition, and dealing with the whole person rather that concentrating on symptoms. If a person pays close attention to his/her health he/she can contribute to his/her wellbeing. Alternative medicine holds firmly to the principle that one treatment cannot be used for all people even though they may be suffering from the same condition. Each and every person as per alternative medicine has distinct bodily, mind and spiritual make up (Goldberg, Trivieri and Anderson, 2002).
Herbalism or phytotherapy has many definitions but in essence is the interaction between humans and the plant kingdom (Hoffmann, 2003). Herbalism is based on three principles: 1. The correlation of the herb to the disease or disease picture, 2. The harmony the herb has to an organ system, and 3. The ability of the herb to assist healing in the body (Wood, 2018). Herbalism contains many different branches of which there is Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan and Ayurvedic branches, and is used to treat a wide variety of symptoms. Herbalists make their medication from plants and are dispensed in many