Traditional Chinese Medicine can be used to successfully treat a wide variety of illnesses and diseases, including (but not limited to!) the following:

• Musculoskeletal: Whole body aches, strains, arthritis, injuries: acute and chronic
  
  
• Digestion: Dietary guidance and assistance to lose weight and improve health, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, bloating
  
  
• Respiratory: Allergies, asthma, colds, flus, sinus infections
  
  
• Skin: Rashes, eczema, psoriasis, dryness, sudden hair loss
  
  
• Genitourinary: Menopause, menstrual pains, infertility, irregular period, urinary difficulties
  
  
• Mental: anxiety, depression, irritability, stress

  If your chief complaint is not in the list above it is still treatable with Chinese Medicine, which will help your body regain its natural healthy balance.

 

Can It Work With Western Medicine?

Absolutely. The best treatment is using a combination of Allopathic Medicine (Western Medicine) and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Of course, there are times where one is better to use than the other.

For example, if you break your leg, go to the ER to get x-rays and your cast first. Then, you may come to a TCM practitioner to help speed up the healing process. Or, if you have a chronic or acute injury like back pain, TCM may be a better alternative before you allow your body to be filled with narcotics to cover the pain or surgically alter your body from its natural state.

An example of the two working hand in hand is in the treatment of HIV and Cancer. Both of these disease processes require the patient take medicine that is very toxic to their body systems causing several side effects. The use of TCM has proven to help reduce these side effects, allowing the patient to handle the treatment much better.

 

What Happens During Treatment?

Typically a TCM Practitioner will thoroughly interview the patient and ask questions that many feel have nothing to do with the reason they came for treatment. However, since TCM looks at the body as a whole, it is important to find out all that is happening to make an accurate diagnosis. Since TCM is based upon the balance of the energies of the body, the diagnosis will contain the imbalances the TCM practitioner finds. The tongue and the pulse will also be examined—these are important tools of diagnosis.

After a diagnosis and treatment plan are formulated, the patient typically lies on a massage table—face up, or face down, depending on the treatment needed. Then, the needles are inserted with or without stimulation as needed. Generally, the needles are retained for 15 to 30 minutes. After the session, the patient may choose to take herbs to further assist the rebalancing of the body.