What is Traditional Chinese Medicine?

    Traditional Chinese Medicine has its origin in ancient Taoist philosophy which views a person as a complex system in which body and mind are unified, each influencing and balancing the other. Unlike allopathic medicine, which attempts to isolate and separate a disease from a person, Chinese Medicine emphasizes a holistic approach that treats the whole person. While the disease is most definitely addressed in treatment, the focus is primarily on the way an individual responds to disease.  If several people catch a cold, you may have seven people with very different groups of symptoms as they respond differently to the disease.  Many people have found Traditional Chinese methods of healing to be excellent tools for maintaining optimum health and preventing illness.

     While acupuncture is the most exotic and popular method of treatment used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are many other methods incorporated in treatment.  There are five branches of treatment commonly used in Chinese medicine: acupuncture, herbal supplementation, Chinese dietary therapy, Chinese massage therapy, and Chinese movement therapy (tai chi & qi gong).