The basic conceptual of Traditional Chinese Medicine

One of the major assumptions inherent in traditional Chinese Medicine is that disease is due to internal imbalances of Yin and yang; therefore, disease can be treated by correcting the Yin Yang imbalance, thereby returning the body to a healthy state. The Chinese assume that the body is whole, and each part of it is intimately connected.

The Balance of Nature

The Chinese believes that health is achieved, and disease prevented, by maintaining the body in a ‘balanced state'. This concept was applied to both individual and society.

Yin and Yang and the Yin-Yang Balance

The body is delicate balance of Yin and Yang. Yin represents water, quiet, substance and night, whilst Yang represents fire, noise, function and day. The two are polar opposites and because of this, one must be present to allow the other to exist. The sate of the body is determined by the balanced of Yin and Yang. When there is imbalance, external agents can invade the body and cause disease, these external agents being called pathogens, as the natural forces of the body return to a normal balance the disease is then cured.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been established on the basis of Yin-Yang balance theory, which is ancient Chinese philosophy. The core of the theory is that all aspects of the natural world can be seen as having a dual aspect, for example, day and night, brightness and darkness, movement and stillness, upward and downward direction, heat and cold, etc.

The terms Yin and Yang are applied to express these dual and opposite qualities. Water and fire are symbols of Yin and Yang, and represent the two primary opposite aspects of a contradiction. Based on the properties of water and fire, everything in the natural environment may be classified as either Yin or Yang. When the theory of Yin-Yang is applied to explain the physiological functions of human body, functional activities pertain to Yang (with positive characteristic) and nutrient substances to Yin (with negative one). The normal vital activities of the human body are based on the coordination of Yin and Yang in a unity of opposite. Yin and Yang depend on each other. The various functional activities (Yang) of the body depend on the support of the nutrient substances (Yin). Without nutrient substances, there would be no sustenance for functional activity. At the same time, functional activities are the motive power for production of nutrient substances in the body. In other words, without the functional activities of the organs (system), water and food cannot be transformed into nutrient substance. In this way, Yin and Yang within the human body are mutually supportive. The theory of Yin-Yang is also applied to explain pathological changes. TCM considers that the occurrence of disease results from the loss of relation balance between Yin and Yang. Although the pathological changes that occur in disease are complicated and subject to change, they can be generalized and explained by ‘imbalance of Yin and Yang', either excessive syndromes of Yang/Yin or deficient syndromes of Yang/Yin. Both lead to one relatively high or low to the other. So the treatments should be the tonifying for deficient syndrome, the reducing for excessive syndrome. For instance, the disease caused by imbalance of high Yang and low Yin should be treated by subduing Yang and topping up Yin. The properties of medicinal herbs can also be classified as Yin and Yang. TCM treats the problems by using herbs with the properties opposite of Yin and Yang syndromes. It is different from homeopathy , which likes treat like.

Channels or Meridians system

The channels are a system of conduits that carry and distribute Qi, or vital energy, throughout the body. Each of the organs of the body is presented by channel, and diseases of a particular organ can be treated by using acupuncture points on the channel representing that organ.

Disease is present when the flow of vital energy through the channels is disrupted, this may occur when the integrity of the channels themselves is damaged by a sprain or strain. The Chinese describes this as a disease of ‘Bi', or pain, caused by a localized disruption to the flow of Qi. The flow of Qi through the channels may also reflect the result of internal disease; for instance, if there is a disease of liver then the flow of Qi through the liver channel will be stagnated.

Acupuncture points

Acupuncture points are quite specific areas on the channels. They represent points of maximum influence on the flow of vital energy, or Qi, through the Channels.

If the internal balance of Yin and Yang is seriously disrupted (so that disease results), then there will be an abnormal flow of Qi, or vital energy, through the channel representing the diseased organ. The diseased organ must be diagnosed and then acupuncture points can be selected from the relevant channel. The use of these specific acupuncture points corrects the flow of Qi in the Channel and this, in turn, has an effect on the diseased internal organ. The overall result of this therapy is to correct the imbalance within the body, and thus heal the disease; an internal disease can therefore be treated by external means.

 Vital Energy (Qi) and Blood

Qi represents the vital energy of the body but it also a material form. It is both substance and function; the substance or material form of Qi is Oxygen (clean Qi) or food, the non-substantive form of Qi is the real but evasive concept of ‘Vital energy'. Qi is disseminated through out the body by the channels.

Blood also exists in the system of traditional Chinese Medicine, and blood production is said to be dependent on the liver, the kidney and the bone marrow.

Pulse Diagnose

The palpation of the pulse enables the acupuncturists to assess which organ is diseased whether the organ is over- or under- active, and pathogen causing the damage. This is achieved by feeling the pulse at three positions at each wrist, and by feeling the pulse at superficial and deep position at each end of three positions on the wrist.

The Five Elements

The five elements refer to five categories in the natural world, namely wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The theory of the five elements holds that all phenomena in the universe correspond in nature either to wood, fire, earth, metal or water. In TCM, the theory of the five elements is applied to generalize and explain the nature of inner organs the-inter-relationships between them, and the relation between human beings and the natural world. With different natures, the character of wood is to grow and flourish, fire to be hot and flare up, earth – to give birth to all things, metal – to descend and be clear and water – to be cold and to flow downwards.

The interpromoting and interacting relationships of the five elements is shown as follows:

Promoting implies promoting growth. Acting means bringing under control or restrain. Five organs correspond to five elements: Liver – Wood, Heart – Fire, Spleen (Stomach) – Earth, Lung – Metal and Kidney – Water. In detail, for example, the Liver (Wood) is promoted by Kidney (Water), promotes the Heart (Fire), is acted on by the Lung (Metal), and acts on the Spleen (Earth). The roles of the other organs can also be explained in the same way. When the function of any organ becomes disordered, it can possibly affect (overacting on) the others. For instance, Liver Qi stagnation is likely to overact on Spleen (Earth). Stress sufferer usually has bloated stomach indigestion (Spleen Qi deficiency) while suffering from anxiety Liver (Wood) Qi stagnation so as to overact on Spleen (Earth).