Acupuncture

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Qi flows through your body with your blood as well as along discreet pathways known as Acupuncture Meridians. According to Chinese Medicine, if you are ill in any way (physical, emotional or psychological) then this can be caused or lead to a blockage or stagnation in the flow of Qi in your body. Acupuncture uses micro fine needles inserted along special points along the meridians in order to clear these blockages and stimulate the flow of Qi. This begins to reverse the pattern of illness and helps the body to heal itself. Modern science has shown using brain scans that acupuncture stimulates a brain response which leads to the release of powerful neurotransmitters to help pain relief and affect mood. This is only a small part of what acupuncture can achieve and more scientific studies are ongoing to try to explain the way acupuncture works from a Western viewpoint.

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Chinese Herbal Medicine

 

For over 3000 years, Chinese medicine herbalists have been meticulously experimenting with thousands of herbs and documenting the effects that they have on the body. Chinese Medical doctors have been testing how herbs work in combination and looking at how different herbs have different reactions to different people depending on their physical and psychological make up. With all of this vast knowledge, an expert Chinese Medical doctor can individually prescribe the exact combination of herbs to treat your conditions in a much more detailed way than Western pharmaceutical drugs.

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Conventional drugs are often derived from herbs but the difference is that Western Pharmaceutical companies will synthesize a chemical version of what they consider to be the active ingredients. The purpose is to create a stable and identical pill that they know will have a specific effect on a body process. Western drugs do not take into account the differences between people and pay less attention to the importance of balancing the effects of an active ingredient using a combination of medicinal compounds like those found in nature. Having said this, Western drugs can be very useful for short term treatment in specific circumstances. In most circumstances, pharmaceuticals and herbs can be used in combination to increase the effectiveness of prescribed or over the counter drugs and decrease harmful side effects. All Chinese herbal medicines are prescribed by a nationally board certified herbalist.

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Nutrition Therapy

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Food and drink is the first type of medicine. Consuming different foods will have varying effects on your body and your health. Because of the vital role nutrition plays in health and well being, it is a central component of TCM practice. Not only considering macronutrients, such as protein, fat and carbohydrate, or micronutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, TCM nutrition looks at essential nature of different foods, such as warming or cooling, qi building, toxicity draining and blood moving. Nutritional recommendations are made based on each patient's specific diagnosis, and may be altered over time as the body changes with treatment.

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Lifestyle

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It is very rare for most Western Physicians to take the time to discuss your lifestyle, emotions, relationships etc. This is because Western Medicine is based on a structural view of the body. If there is something wrong then they will try to find the structural/chemical problem and fix it. Chinese Medicine does not see you as a machine separate from your environment but rather as a psycho-emotional and physical person that is intrinsically connected to your environment. Things like your job, the weather, your relationships and your lifestyle all play a major part in your health. Chinese Medical treatment will always take into account these factors and tailor treatment around them as well as offering lifestyle advice to empower you in your process of healing.