Many of us have heard of Chinese Medicine but may not be very familiar with what it can do to help improve our health.
Did you know that it takes 7 years for diseases such as diabetes to develop? In that time, many people don’t feel well but blood tests aren’t showing anything is wrong. The truth is the body is trying to bring your awareness that something is wrong but not necessarily has reached a diseased state. This is where Chinese Medicine can bring the body back to wellness and these benefits can be experienced across many health concerns, including skin problems, digestive disorders, fertility issues and auto-immune diseases.
No.1: Chinese Medicine focuses on the cause not the outcome. Practitioners of Chinese Medicine will always ask patients about their past history, family history while gathering information of their current complaint. The basis for this is to build a story around the manifestation of symptoms or diseases that have presented. You see, disease just doesn’t happen over night. Some people may feel it is a sudden onset but it truly isn’t. The human body is a remarkable system of continual communication between cells. Sometimes we are aware of this communication while other times it is done without or knowledge. The importance to maintaining health and wellness comes down to listening to your body when it is communicating with you. Simply ignoring the signs is when the signals get louder or disease manifests. Chinese medicine interprets all these signs and symptoms in the body to understand which areas of health need addressing and what the patient themselves can do to help improve their state of health.
No.2: Is Chinese Medicine Alternative or Complimentary Medicine? Chinese Medicine is described as complimentary as it works very well with other modalities of health such as western medicine. In China doctors are trained in both Chinese and western medicines. We know that Chinese and Western Medicines target the body’s health concerns differently and often based on that, the two modalities of health can work very well together for patients in helping them restore their health.
No.3: Chinese Medicine uses animal products in their treatments. This is true in China, however, in Australia, animal products are used seldom in the treatment of diseases. Many clinics such as my own are free of any animal products as I personal have found patients respond very well to the plant derivatives we use and so there is no need to introduce animal products into our treatments.
No.4: Needles used during Acupuncture sessions are for single use only. If you see an acupuncturist take needles out of a silver jar or anything except a brand new blister pack, then run as fast as you can. All needles are sold in sealable blister packs where the practitioner will remove the needles, use them during treatment and are discarded once removed after your treatment into a sharps container. The metal part of the needle is made from surgical stainless steel and most of them are manufactured in a lab. There are brands that aren’t and I would encourage you to speak with your practitioner to find out more of the quality of needles he/she are using.
No. 5: Chinese Herbs are monitored by the TGA. Chinese herbs are required to pass rigorous testing when being imported into Australia. Practitioner prescribed herbs and the facilities the herbs are manufactured in are TGA approved. Also there are companies in Australia who manufacture their own Chinese Medicine medicines who guarantee quality assurance. That is why when seeking assistance for your health through Chinese medicine it is best to see a qualified Chinese Medicine practitioner in order to be given the best treatment for your condition and the herbal medicine to be of the highest quality possible.
So there you have it, 5 things you may not have known about Chinese Medicine. Although widely used, many people can still find Chinese Medicine a strange treatment to try, but be assured when it comes to this modality of health, the treatment protocol is always to work with the body to return it back to wellness.
