Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an approximately 3000-year-old therapy modality. There are many different ways that TCM can be applied, but the most common treatment modality is acupuncture. Although acupuncture has been used in China for many centuries, it is still a relatively new treatment in the West. Other common TCM treatments can include electro-acupuncture (the use of electrical stimulation of acupuncture points), tui na (massage), gua sha (scraping therapy), cupping, dietary, and herbal therapy.
TCM looks at a patient as whole–including the body, mind, and emotions–and looks for any imbalances in these areas that can be affecting the rest of the body.
Diagnosis includes:
- an extensive history taking,
- looking at the persons tongue
- by taking the persons pulse
From this, patterns between the different organs, channels, elements, yin and yang, and more are found to determine the TCM diagnosis and treatment methods to be used. By using this method, each person’s diagnosis and treatment will be different regardless if they have come in with a similar problem or have received the same Western diagnosis. This is because TCM aims to treat the root of the problem to affect the symptoms instead of only treating the main complaint or physical symptoms experienced by the patient.
Read more: Acupuncture, and how it works
Dr. Laura Gauthier is our Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor at Healthy By Nature. You can book an appointment with her by calling 403-452-0029 or by booking online.