Studies support the benefits of massage for colicky infants, stimulating melatonin secretion and rest-activity rhythms in full-term infants: to quote,
"massage therapy by mothers in the perinatal period serves as a strong time cue, enhancing coordination of the developing circadian system with environmental cues." In essence, massage helped relax infants and urge them to sleep, observing the natural circadian rhythms.
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We’ve got the first
PCOM
-labeled herb bottles from
TCMzone
at the San Diego campus! They’ll be publicly available soon.
Katy visited our center with a seemingly disparate collection of symptoms that were causing her distress. She described a pattern that was episodic in nature and involved abdominal bloating, belching, acid reflux, loose stools, shallow breathing, and palpitations.
Bio-medically, I felt as if her pattern could be explained by looking closely at the vagus nerve.
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Strengthen the Heart with Qi Gong
From high blood pressure to cardiac rehabilitation, the ancient Chinese practice of Qi Gong has been proven to strengthen and revitalize the heart.
What is
Qi Gong
? For those unfamiliar with the traditional Chinese medicine technique,
Qi Gong
is essentially a system involving physical training, philosophy, and preventative and therapeutic health care.
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Menopause and its accompanying discomforts include hot flashes, insomnia, and mood swings. A natural but dreaded condition for American women, menopause does not seem to have nearly the same effect on women in China. It’s an interesting fact that 75% of American women experience noticeable menopausal discomfort, while only 10% of Asian women experience the same.
It’s worth considering that some of the factors involved in this difference are dietary and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) related, which are both comprised of natural elements, unlike the most common Western treatment for menopause: hormone replacement therapy.
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The classical Chinese medical system views health and disease through the “eight-principle and six-syndrome” differentiation
methods. In ancient times, Chinese medical experts identified groups of symptoms as patterns, and associated them with specific formulas. Eventually, with repeated clinical success they recorded these patterns as “
formula patterns
”. Later, during the Eastern Han Dynasty between 40 to 200 AD, Zhang Zhongjing recorded all of this clinical experience handed down from generations in the
Shang Han Za Bing Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases),
which was later edited and separated into the
Shang Han Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage)
and the
Jin Gui Yao L
üe (Essentials from the Golden Cabinet
)
.
These classics illustrate the appropriate clinical application for a group of symptoms with a corresponding formula as well as suggest modifications according to the change of the disease. This medical legacy from Zhang Zhongjing is clearly a gem for Chinese medicine clinicians. The only two major issues we’ve had since then are maintaining these classics, keeping them intact while understanding them correctly and using them effectively in clinic.
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One of the four categories of examination in Chinese medicine is the “looking diagnosis”. Observing the patient’s skin tone, the Shen in the eyes, and checking the tongue are all elements of creating a clear, effective diagnosis. Observing posture can add a layer to the examination that is insightful, especially given the frequent occurrence of postural distortion in modern times.
We can start looking at our patients as soon as we greet them in the waiting room. How do they sit, stand, and walk? What kind of posture do they have? Instinctively, many of us sense that a slouching or hunching patient has a qi deficiency. There is not sufficient qi to be truly upright. The opposite can be true as well: poor posture can
cause
qi deficiency. Both can be simultaneously true, giving rise to a vicious cycle—but it’s a vicious cycle that can be broken.
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Wild Willow Farm - Medicinal Herbs Project
Learn more about the Medicinal Herbs Project happening down at Wild Willow Farm with Pacific College Faculty Member Miles Thomas. Check out some Chinese medicinal herbs that you too can grow! Let us know what you think and if you’d like to get involved. Volunteers are always welcome!
Winter and fall allergies can cause a great deal of discomfort in many people, young or old. Symptoms include sneezing, congestion, runny nose and red, itchy eyes. Western medicine typically prescribes antihistamines, decongestants, or drugs that act on the nervous system. While these may be effective in treating the allergic response, they often have undesirable side effects, such as drowsiness, immune system suppression or over-reliance on medications.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can offer an alternative to these Western approaches, treating the whole person and recognizing that people with chronic allergies often show signs of spleen or kidney deficiency, even lung problems.
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Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Day is observed annually on October 24 as part of an effort designed to increase public awareness of the progress, promise, and benefits of acupuncture and Oriental medicine. Acupuncture and Oriental medicine are more common than you’d think.
An estimated 36% of U.S. adults use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Among the common CAM practices identified by the survey were acupuncture, acupressure, herbal medicine, tai chi and qi gong.
In an NCCAOM survey, a
pproximately one in ten adults had received acupuncture at least one time and 60% said they would readily consider acupuncture as a potential treatment option. Nearly half (48%) of the individuals surveyed who had received acupuncture reported that they were extremely satisfied or very satisfied with their treatment. In addition, one in five of the total NCCAOM survey respondents reported that they’d used some other form of Oriental medicine besides acupuncture, such as herbs or bodywork (e.g., shiatsu).
These studies and others like them clearly demonstrate that CAM therapies such as acupuncture and Oriental medicine are common practice in today’s health care system.
