Traditional Chinese Medicine | TCM
Phoenix acupuncture doctors use TCM as a holistic medical system for managing a patients' health. TCM is an ancient system of medicine, that takes the laws of nature and applies them to the human body. It is believed to have been practiced in China a long as two thousand years ago. This system is based on the fundamental principle of Qi, or life energy, and the importance of balance and flow of energy throughout the body. When Qi is blocked anywhere along the meridians, the body will express symptoms. When Qi is deficient in one area of the body other areas will compensate and create symptoms. The main job of the TCM practitioner is to find the disharmony in the body, and use acupuncture, chinese herbs, or other chinese medicine therapies to re-establish harmony in the body. Therefore, illness, is considered to be a manifestation of disharmony. There are several ways in which this disharmony manifests and Traditional Chinese Medicine has specific ways in which it categories disharmony.
The balance of Yin and Yang
One way disharmony manifests is through imbalance of Yin and Yang energy. Yin and Yang energy is a concept that is used to remember that everything in nature has an opposite. Inside our bodies for instance there is only so much energy. When there is a rise in Yin energy the yang will decrease. There are several ways to think about and convey this yin/yang concept. We have to remember that these are simply manifestations of the energy and it itself. Yin is thought of as nurturing, darkness, female, moon, water, cooling, and nourishing. Where yang energy is goal driven, light, male, sun, fire, heat, and depleting. For health these energies need to exist in relative balance that rises and falls through out the day.
The balance of organ functions
The acupuncturist looks at the major organ systems in the body, such as, spleen, lung, liver, and heart, in a much different way than the traditional western doctor. While your western medicine doctor is looking at the physiological properties of these organs, your phoenix acupuncturist is looking more at the energetic functions of these organs. The physical organ has little to no relevance. The energetic functions go beyond physical properties as well. For example, in chinese medicine, the job of the spleen is to nourish the tissue. It also has to nourish the mind and the spirit too. When the spleen energy is deficient other organs will need to compensate for this lack of nourishment.
The balance of the 5 Elements
Historically, practitioners used their understanding of nature and applied that to the human body. This understanding was categorized into 5 elements. The organ functions above each fit into one of the five elements. This is another way we can see how Chinese medicine looks to balance the body using the force of nature within the body. In this way Fire is cooled by water in just the right amount. Fire can also be put out by too much water. Wood is cut down by metal in excess but can shape and guide in just the right amount. In this way using the the five elements to diagnose and treat disharmony in the body, we can re-establigh balance.
Based on the information gathered in your interview, presenting symptoms, and tongue and pulse diagnosis, your acupuncturist will come up with a traditional chinese medicine diagnosis that then determine the acupuncture points to be used, to treat the underlying pattern of dysfunction.
The balance of Yin and Yang
One way disharmony manifests is through imbalance of Yin and Yang energy. Yin and Yang energy is a concept that is used to remember that everything in nature has an opposite. Inside our bodies for instance there is only so much energy. When there is a rise in Yin energy the yang will decrease. There are several ways to think about and convey this yin/yang concept. We have to remember that these are simply manifestations of the energy and it itself. Yin is thought of as nurturing, darkness, female, moon, water, cooling, and nourishing. Where yang energy is goal driven, light, male, sun, fire, heat, and depleting. For health these energies need to exist in relative balance that rises and falls through out the day.
The balance of organ functions
The acupuncturist looks at the major organ systems in the body, such as, spleen, lung, liver, and heart, in a much different way than the traditional western doctor. While your western medicine doctor is looking at the physiological properties of these organs, your phoenix acupuncturist is looking more at the energetic functions of these organs. The physical organ has little to no relevance. The energetic functions go beyond physical properties as well. For example, in chinese medicine, the job of the spleen is to nourish the tissue. It also has to nourish the mind and the spirit too. When the spleen energy is deficient other organs will need to compensate for this lack of nourishment.
The balance of the 5 Elements
Historically, practitioners used their understanding of nature and applied that to the human body. This understanding was categorized into 5 elements. The organ functions above each fit into one of the five elements. This is another way we can see how Chinese medicine looks to balance the body using the force of nature within the body. In this way Fire is cooled by water in just the right amount. Fire can also be put out by too much water. Wood is cut down by metal in excess but can shape and guide in just the right amount. In this way using the the five elements to diagnose and treat disharmony in the body, we can re-establigh balance.
Based on the information gathered in your interview, presenting symptoms, and tongue and pulse diagnosis, your acupuncturist will come up with a traditional chinese medicine diagnosis that then determine the acupuncture points to be used, to treat the underlying pattern of dysfunction.