Although Chinese Medicine is often considered "alternative medicine" in the United States; in mainland China and Taiwan, it's considered an important part of the health care system.  Chinese Medicine is a range of practices that have been used to heal and prevent disease for thousands of years. From acupuncture, herbal medicine and massage, much of Chinese Medicine is about treating and preventing illness and disease by addressing disharmony.

Two main theories of Chinese Medicine include:

• Everything is interconnected and therefore a holistic (whole-body) approach should be used to treat the patient rather than just focusing on one part of the body.

• Disease and illness are caused by imbalance. By recreating balance in the body, it is possible for one to return to optimum health.

Throughout the years, eight branches of Chinese Medicine's treatment have included Tui Na (Chinese massage therapy), martial arts, feng shui, astrology, acupuncture, food therapy, herbal medicine, moxibustion and Qi Gong (breathing and meditation exercise).

While some forms of evaluation may seem odd to the "traditional" doctor (tongue picture), some Chinese Medicine has found its way into Western medical practice. American doctors, for example, may recommend ginger tea for colds or upset stomachs, or may complement their chiropractic work with acupressure or acupuncture.   Western doctors could learn from Chinese Medicine by incorporating two of its most basic forms of evaluation: observation and listening to the patient.

If you think you're ready to reap the benefits of Chinese Medicine, be sure to ask about licensing and the number of hours of study in the field. While almost anyone can offer these treatments, the real question is: Are they experienced, knowledgeable and licensed to provide effective results?

To learn more, pick up a copy of "The Web that has no Weaver" by Ted Kaptchuk or "Voices of Qi: An Introductory Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine" by Alex Holland.

Cathy Di Maggio, L.Ac., MS. TCM, Dipl. Ac. owns North Springs Acupuncture. Call 719-598-9200 to learn more.

People of all ages from children to the elderly can benefit. Each person is unique, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and adjunctive therapies are unique for each person. Adjunctive therapies include Cupping, Moxibustion therapy, Tui Na ( Chinese massage) and Classical Chinese Herbal Formulas.

Safer than Aspirin
One reason to compare aspirin and acupuncture is that they are both used clinically for managing pain.  Chemically, aspirin is know as acetylsalicylic acid.  This chemical could be the most universally used ingredient in drugs taken by millions of people who are inflicted with every kind of pain conceivable. A few drugs wich contain aspirin are Alka-Seltzer, Ascriptin, Bufferin, Darvon, Easprin, Ecotrin, Empirin, Excedrin, Fiorinal, Percodan, Soma and Talwin.  In the clinic advice concerning drugs or medicines, whether to take them or not to take them is never given.  Individuals are legally permitted to take with discretion as much aspirin as desired at any time needed.  This seems to indicate that taking aspirin is safe for our body and health.  The truth is that there are several gastrointestinal side effects which are know to be associated with taking aspirin.   They include stomach pain, heartburn, nausea, vomiting, and stomach and intestinal bleeding. The occurrence of any or all of them is not necessarily dose-dependent. There has been reported incidents in which one aspirin tablet has caused chaotic turmoil in the gastrointestinal system.

It is no exaggeration to say that aspirin is one of the panaceas for all sorts of pain.  The impact aspirin has had on human civilization must be enormous.  This fact could be  proven by watching TV advertisements for drugs.  No expertise is needed to notice that the drugs wich appear on the TV screen most often are for pain management.   Next after drugs for pain come drugs for excess acid on the stomach, drugs of antacid nature.  Another group of drugs appearing rather frequently on TV is for constipation.  Medically, very little attention has been paid to the interrelation between chronic pain, drugs for pain, antiacid lotions or tablets, and laxatives for constipation.  There must be some cause and effect involved, since patients encountered in the acupuncture clinic have a very high incidence  of gastrointestinal disorders and problems.  The observation leads to a conclusion  that if there is any advantage to accepting acupuncture as a means for pain management, it will be that acupuncture will absolutely be safer than aspirin.

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) have existed for over four thousand years.  A complete holistic medical health care system. TCM focuses on treating the body as a whole versus simply treating symptoms.  TCM is used to treat disease, prevent illness and improve the body's inherent healing abilities. Qi (pronounced "chee") is the vital energy of the body. It keeps the blood circulating, warms the body and fights disease.  In a healthy person, the Qi moves smoothly through the channels, but if the flow is blocked, too weak or too strong, illness occurs. TCM seeks to balance the Qi in the  organs, muscles, tissues, and systems of the body, so that they perform at their highest potential.

What causes disease?
The flow of Qi can be disturbed and the balance of the body upset by: 

• Emotional states such as stress, worry, anger, fear or grief affect the energy balance of the body.
• Diet, malnutrition,  excess salt or greasy food, overeating or erratic eating schedules can cause illness. Drugs, alcohol,  tobacco, caffeine, wrongly prescribed medicines or prescription side effects can over-stimulate or suppress body function.
• Weather conditions such as cold, damp, wind and heat, or even a sudden change in weather can adversely effect the body.

• Too little or too much exercise or rest  can harm the balance of energy.
• Trauma from accidents or operations.
• Heredity factors.
• Poisons and Toxins.
• Epidemics (Flu)

What are the needles like?

Treatment for chronic problems is usually once or twice per week; acute problems can be daily.  The number of treatments depends on the problem and the overall health of the patient.  If the body is depleted and there are no reserves to call upon, healing may be  very slow.  Just as there are people who do not respond to drugs, there are those who do not respond to acupuncture.  Acupuncture works by restoring an energetic balance to the body and stimulating its own healing powers.
 

Only one-time-use disposable needles are used in this practice, so there is no risk of infection from the treatments.

The Jaffe-Mellor Technique

The newest treatment for the pain of:

• Osteoarthritis
• Reheumatoid Arthritis
• Psoriatic Arthritis
• Fibromyalgia
• Crohn's Disease
• Lupus Erthematosus
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Myasthenia Gravis
• Gullain-Barre Syndrome
• Interstitial Cystitis
• Irritable Bowel Symcrome

A NMT practitioner user energy nertralization, intervention and reprogramming techniques which have proven to have dramatic results in tests with Thousands of cases.  An essential energy treatment (EET) for the pain of osteoarthritis is usually a series of six to nine 15-minute treatments spaced about a week apart.  It has been tound that rheumatoid arthritis cases require approximately nine to twenty 15-minute sessions to resolve from 75% to 100% of the pain and accompaning symptoms.  Once treatment ends the body is again restoring cartliage and body tissue.

The JNT technique was developed by Carolyn Jaffe, D.Ac., Dipl. NCCA, Ph.D. and Judy Mellor, R.N., Ph.D., the founders of the Jaffee-Mellor Medical Center near Reading, PA.