In traditional Chinese medicine, there is historical precedent for the treatment of so-called "Shen" (Heart-Mind) disorder, or disorder/dysregulation of the spirit, which is also considered as distinct but not separate from the cognitive function of the brain.
Herbal Education: What You & Your Patient Need to Know
Long ago I had a patient that didn't fill her herb prescription. I asked her why and she began to reply hesitantly. I stepped in and said, "I understand if you have concerns about products from China. Would you like to know more about why I trust my herbs?" She said, "Yes." After I had shared a few quick facts, she started asking questions.
Photo by Shutterstock 313843037. Image of dried gardenia fruit herbs used in treatments in Chinese medicine sourced from Shutterstock. Available here.
Herbal medicine research and global health: an ethical analysis
Traditional herbal medicines are naturally occurring, plant-derived substances with minimal or no industrial processing that have been used to treat illness within local or regional healing practices. Traditional herbal medicines are getting significant attention in global health debates. In China, traditional herbal medicine played a prominent role in the strategy to contain and treat severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
iStock. (n.d.). [Manos la protección de las plantas de menta]. iStock. Available here.
Traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of symptoms in patients with advanced cancer
Patients with advanced malignancies are often suffered from deficient vital qi, which is clinically presented as cancer-related pain, anorexia, nausea/vomiting, fatigue, fever, indigestion, and constipation, which severely lower the quality of life and even shorten the survival of these patients. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history and rich experiences in treating malignancies. In addition to surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and other modern therapies, the TCM-based treatment can dramatically alleviate the clinical symptoms and improve the quality of life. This article analyzes the TCM treatment for the cancer pain, nausea/vomiting and cancer-related fatigue in patients with advanced malignancies, and the TCM-based emotional care for these patients are also discussed.
Photo by Shutterstock 100744942. Image of a pulse diagnostic hand on a cushion sourced from Shutterstock. Available here.
Placentophagy and Chinese Medicine
By Sabine Wilms
Chinese medicine practitioners involved in reproductive care often find themselves affected by a fairly recent but rapidly growing trend to encapsulate the woman’s placenta, sometimes with the addition of “traditional” Chinese herbs, and have the woman ingest these after delivery, presumably to treat postpartum exhaustion and depression and improve lactation. This issue comes up frequently when I lecture on postpartum care in classical Chinese medicine.
Henry Vandyke Carter [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Adventures with the San Jiao
As a bodyworker, I nickname San Jiao the traveller's meridian, helping us adapt to changing altitudes, different time and climate zones. And adapt to the changes prompted by Menopause and Andropause. It's also the body's thermostat. Buddy of the immune system. Chief movement navigator of fluids around the body.
Wikimedia Commons. (1817). [The Triple Burner (San Jiao), Chinese woodcut]. Wikimedia Commons. Available here.
Biologists find missing link for the ‘safe’ signal in plants
Once a plant detects an insect or fungus, it begins to produce the hormone jasmonic acid, which initiates an immune response that prevents further damage. After the attack, jasmonic acid is quickly broken down again. This is necessary because the hormone inhibits plant growth and development.
Shutterstock. (n.d.). [Hand protecting mint plant in vegetable garden]. Shutterstock. Available here.
Cold and Flu Season: Expanding the Repertoire
It is commonplace to have patients referred to me by other clinicians due to complications in cold and flu scenarios and in almost all of these cases the respective patient was previously administered the patent medicine Yin Qiao San. Upon questioning if they were experiencing Wind Heat symptoms appropriate to Yin Qiao San, the majority of the patients reply: "I don't remember, I was just told this was a good formula for colds or flu regardless of what I was feeling."
Photo by Shutterstock 78454186. Image of Chinese traditional herbs and medicine sourced from Shutterstock. Available here.
The Nectar of Plants: Essential Oils and Chinese Medicine
Unique in the pantheon of plant medicinal preparations, essential oils capture both the substance, yuan qi and the spirit, wei qi, of a plant. Inherent in plants in the same way that blood is inherent to the human body, oils carry the nutrients and the genetics to every corner of the plant. When we extract oils from plants and plant parts, we change both the concentration and nature of a plant's natural oil content, yielding a compact, powerful, and previously unborn substance.
Vecteezy. (n.d.). [Hierbas frescas y una botella]. Vecteezy. Available here.
The Treatment of Pelvic Pain with Acupuncture: Part 1
According to Weisl (1955), the first medical practitioners to express an interest in the pelvic girdle were Hippocrates (460-377BCE), Vesalius (1543CE) and Pare (1643CE). Research over the last 50 years has revealed significant information pertaining to the anatomy and function of the pelvic girdle.
Henry Gray (1918) Anatomy of the Human Body. Bartleby.com: Gray's Anatomy, Plate 319. Image sourced from Wikimedia Commons. Available here.
“Real-World” Massage for Chronic Low Back Pain
Massage is a common treatment option for chronic lower back pain relief. Massage’s effectiveness at treating this condition is well-known and well-documented; this explains why massage is commonly recommended. However, almost no empirical evidence exists supporting massage as a treatment option in “real world” primary health care. That is, those interested in chronic lower back pain treatment wanted to see more evidence of massage’s effectiveness in “real-world” scenarios.
Photo by Shutterstock 160707833. Image of infrared radiation hardening sourced from Shutterstock. Available here.
Building Relationships and Referral Networks with Allopathic Practitioners
Dr. Doug, an orthopedist of 20 years, had heard stories from patients who tried acupuncture. While he was able to address many of their complaints effectively, some appeared to gain additional benefit when their care included TCM.
He couldn't give a recommendation based on anything other than hearsay from patients and was not comfortable referring to acupuncture. But he was curious.
Wikimedia Commons. (n.d.). [Doctor examines patient]. Wikimedia Commons. Available here.
Filling the Gap: The Role of Alternative Practitioners in a Broken Health Care System
Some of the physicians I know are overwhelmed and stressed. They are working with a broken system and they have very limited options to offer their patients. One could argue that they could do something to change it. While I don't know what it's like to be in their position, I do know that most of the patients that come to see me are not getting the care they need, and that sometimes I'm able to help and make a huge difference.
See page for author [CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
New Model Yields Fuller Picture of the Brain in Pain
Using data from six independent studies, a multicenter team of researchers has created a functional MRI-based (fMRI) model that provides new ways of understanding and evaluating the neurobiological components of pain.
See page for author [CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Identifying Chinese herbal medicine for premenstrual syndrome: implications from a nationwide database
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) occurs in women during their reproductive age with a quite negative impact on their daily lives. Women with PMS experience a wide range of physical or psychological symptoms and seek treatment for them. Chinese herb medicine (CHM) is commonly used for PMS and the goal of this study is to investigate the prescription patterns of CHM for PMS by using a nationwide database.
Acupuncture for Spiritual Growth
The concept of Demonology and disincarnate spirits dates back to the Shang dynasty, and was a major branch of Chinese medicine that evolved with the rest of Chinese medicine. The concept that one might become possessed might be too much for the average person to think about.
Photo by Shutterstock 291691319. Image of a close portrait of a young woman during a Reiki session sourced from Shutterstock. Available here.
Length of Acupuncture Training and Structural Plastic Brain Changes in Professional Acupuncturists
The research on brain plasticity has fascinated researchers for decades. Use/training serves as an instrumental factor to influence brain neuroplasticity. Parallel to acquisition of behavioral expertise, extensive use/training is concomitant with substantial changes of cortical structure. Acupuncturists, serving as a model par excellence to study tactile-motor and emotional regulation plasticity, receive intensive training in national medical schools following standardized training protocol. Moreover, their behavioral expertise is corroborated during long-term clinical practice.
Acupuncture as a primary and independent treatment in the acute phases of sudden sensorineural hearing loss
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) is an otological emergency defined as a rapid hearing loss, seriously affects patient's social life. To data, no study has reported the treatment by acupuncture alone in the acute phase. In this report, Acupuncture and Moxibustion therapy of excitation-focus transfer is outlined.
Autorretrato con la oreja vendada (1889) by Van Gogh. En la Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery, obra elegida por Veronica Toniolli. Image sourced from Flickr. Available here.
Analysis of tears following acupuncture treatment for menopausal dry eye disease
After treatment, the Ocular Surface Disease Index scores, symptom assessment scores, scores of sign assessment, and tear break-up time were significantly improved in both groups (P=0.000).
By Vassil (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Practitioner shares experiences as first emergency room licensed acupuncturist
Reinstein began his practice as part of a pilot project. He shared in an interview that his integration into the ER was made easier by the presence of PGI. “They were shifting the culture of the whole organization,” he said, toward openness to complementary and alternative medicine practices.
By U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Nathanael T. Miller [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons