Although Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is in every ways a medical system, it is significantly different from western medicine.
In TCM the body is seen as an integrated whole where all parts of the body are linked in obvious or subtle ways. For this reason, a disease may originate locally or in another area of the body caused by an imbalance in the whole system.
TCM does not treat specific disease as such, but regards each patient as having a unique pattern of signs and symptoms that constitute a clearly identifiable syndrome or pattern of imbalance. This holistic diagnostic approach means that each patient is treated on an individual basis.
Chinese Medicine has various distinctive approaches to the treatment of illness:
- Herbal treatment
- Acupuncture
- Moxibustion
- Cupping
- Chinese Massage
- Diet and nutrition
- Exercise