What is Chinese Medicine & How Does It Work?
Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM, is an umbrella term for a complete system of medicine that has been refined and matured over a long period of time. Chinese medicine is the worlds oldest continually practiced professional medical system with textbooks stretching back across almost 2,500 years. Its main treatments are herbs and acupuncture; other treatments include dietary therapy , massage and a kind of herbal infra-red heat treatment called moxibustion. Like Western medicine, it comprises complex theories of how the body works, but unlike modern medicine it does not involve the use of drugs. Roughly a quarter of the world's population uses TCM as an important part of their medical care and massive amounts of research are carried out into its effects every year. It is fair to say that modern Western and traditional Chinese medicines are the two dominant medical systems in the world today. Although acupuncture was the first TCM therapy to gain wide acceptance in the West, to most Chinese people herbal medicine is the most valued therapy.
