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The Traditional Chinese Medicine Approach to
Treatment
ROOTS
& BRANCHES
A general summary of Traditional Chinese
Medicine's treatment strategies describes their common elements in
terms of a tree. The
condition that brought the patient to the practitioner (which we
call the presenting complaint) is one of the branches. The
other branches are the other signs and symptoms of the condition. The
underlying cause, the illness itself, is the main root of the
illness. Contributing
factors are often also roots.
This gives three possible
types of treatment.
- Treating the branches - making the patient
comfortable.
- Treating the root - restoring health.
- Treating both the root and the branch - the
branches are interfering to the
point that reducing their effects is a high priority.
Health Care
Treatment is a Cooperative Effort.
The acupuncturist brings expertise and
experience to the effort and the patient brings values and
circumstances. Together, the two develop a shared
understanding of the patient's condition and life circumstances.
Next, they compare the patient's treatment goals with the
acupuncturist's assessment of what is needed to reach those goals.
From the acupuncturist's
point of view there are three categories of results.
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The state of absence of disease; temporary or permanent.
Management -
The slowing or halting of the progression of disease and
minimizing the condition's interference with life.
Palliative care -
Treatment that minimizes or relieves suffering. but does not
affect the progression of a disease.
Then they develop and agree on a treatment
plan. The plan will
address the pain of course, but it will also address the secondary
issues; calling for either treatment or a referral to appropriate
services. These range
from educating the patient about secondary issues (such as increased
frustration and irritability) to recommending
the patient see his/her medical social worker for assistance in
coordinating the services needed for healing.
A
Hierarchy of Healing Methods
A look at TCM's hierarchy of healing
methods shows the cooperative and comprehensive nature of the
treatment process (see Chart Below). Sources vary (as they do in any
field of study and practice which is several thousand years old) but
most commonly the hierarchy has seven or eight healing methods which
are ranked by two factors. First, the degree of invasiveness.
Second, the performer of the healing task. Use of the
techniques is not limited to moving from one step to the next in
consecutive order.
The realities of an imbalance (illness) often
require different levels of treatment simultaneously and they may be
not even be adjacent to each other in the hierarchy. The chart below
displays one version of the hierarchy.
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Self-Administered
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Meditation (right-thinking or not-thinking but alert &
being)
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Exercise which cultivates Qi
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Exercise
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Diet - Nutrition
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Practitioner Administered
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Cupping and other manual manipulative techniques
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Moxibustion - burning herbs |
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Acupuncture
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Herbal medicines
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Information presented here is absolutely not intended to replace
consultation with a professional health care provider. The
Chinese Medicine Sampler and Health Balance LLC do not endorse
any company, products or services and accepts no responsibility
for actions of the advertisers or results of their products or
services.
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Copyright 1999 2004 2008 Health Balance LLC
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