Can Chinese Medicine Treat Diseases?

What kind diseases can be treated by Chinese medicine (acupuncture, herbal medicine and Tuina massage)? Generally speaking, Chinese medicine can treat a wide variety of diseases including respiratory, digestive, cardiovascular, genitourinary, endocrine, nervous, musculoskeletal, gynecological or immune system and psychological disorder. Chinese medical theories are very different from traditional Western ones. Chinese medicine focuses on the entire individual while Western medicine concentrates on the specific medical condition. Chinese medicine and Western medicine use different approaches to study the human body and use different words to explain the physiology and pathology, but they perform the same goal-treat diseases and save lives.

Chinese medical theories are based on eastern philosophy, the mechanisms of treatment have been documented by Western research, but most of the treatments can't be explained by modern medicine yet. For example, Western medicine can't explain the Chinese medical concept of Yin and Yang by simple words, but Yin and Yang do exist in the human body one can feel it and experiences it.

Cancer and it's related symptoms have been treated by Chinese herbal medicine is over thousands of years. Some Chinese medical herbs have chemotherapy-like function: they inhibit cancer cell growth in the laboratory and demonstrate irrefutable clinical results. But different cancers require different herbal medicine, so there is a need for Western medical diagnosis. Chinese medical chemotherapy has no side effects, nevertheless its power is weaker than Western medical chemotherapy and radiation. Because of these reason, we give patients chemo or radiation therapy to quickly inhibit the tumor. At same time, we prescribe medical herbs or/and acupuncture to reduce side effects that chemo and radiation caused they also strengthen the immunity and smoothen the treatment procedure. When Western medicine finishes chemo or radiation therapy, we change the treatment plan to herbal "chemo" to continue inhibiting cancer and boosting immunity, improving the quality of life, and extending the patient's life. This is called integrative medicine.

The benefit from integrative medicine is to avoid misdiagnosis from Chinese medicine, to reduce side effects of Western medications, to enhance the positive effects.

The practitioners in All Natural Medicine Clinic have extensive clinical experience that covers department of internal medicine, gynecology, pediatrics, ENT (ear, nose and throat), dermatology, emergency and ICU (intensive care unit). E-mail us at TCM@anmedicine.com or call (301) 770-4480 for more information.

WHO Provisional List for Acupuncture

The following is a list of diseases curable by acupuncture treatment compiled by WHO. Source: Bannerman R H 1979 Acupuncture: the WHO View. World Health, December, p27-28.

Upper Respiratory tract

• Acute sinusitis
• Acute rhinitis
• Common Cold
• Acute tonsilitis

Respiratory system

• Acute bronchitis
• Bronchial asthma

Gastrointestinal system

• Spasms of oseophagus and cardia
• Hiccough
• Acute and chronic gastritis
• Gastric hyperacidity
• Chronic duodenal ulcer (pain relief)
• Acute duodenal ulcer (without complications)
• Acute bacillary dysentery
• Constipation
• Diarrhoea
• Paralytic ileus
• Gingivitis
• Acute and chronic pharyngitis

Disorders of the Mouth

• Toothache
• Post-extraction pain

Neurological and musculoskeletal disorders

• Headache
• Migraine
• Trigeminal Neuralgia
• Facial palsy (early stage)
• Pareses following a stroke
• Peripheral neuropathies
• Sequelae of poliomyelitis (early stage)
• Meniere's disease
• Neurogenic bladder dysfunction
• Nocturnal enuresis
• Intercostal neuralgia
• Cervicobrachial syndrome
• Frozen shoulder'
• Tennis elbow'
• Sciatica
• Low back pain
• Osteoarthritis

Disorders of the Eye

• Acute conjunctivitis
• Central retinitis
• Myopia (in children)
• Cataract (without complications)