The Four Pillars of Chinese Medicine

Acupuncture is Just One Pillar of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a comprehensive medical system from China. While many people are aware of acupuncture, TCM actually incorporates four major avenues or treatment. These are known as “the four pillars” of TCM, and they are: acupuncture; Chinese herbal medicine and dietary therapy; Tuina, which incorporates medical massage and manipulation; and exercise and movement therapy. Your trained Doctor of Oriental Medicine will evaluate your case and prescribe one or several of these treatments depending on what is needed.

Acupuncture involves the use of very thin, single-use, sterilized needles inserted in various locations to regulate body processes. In the West, acupuncture is most often used for pain relief, for which it is very effective. But this is not the full scope of comprehensive acupuncture treatment; it is actually appropriate in a wide range of illnesses.

Chinese herbal medicine is based on a vast array of medicinal formulas, which are therapeutically balanced combinations of herbs used to treat patterns of medical disharmony. TCM looks for clinical signs and symptoms of these patterns and then prescribe specific herbal medicinal formulas to treat these patterns. TCM pattern differentiation and treatment with herbal Medicinals can offer a safe and effective natural treatment for illness or can complement your treatment prescribed by your Western MD, in some cases possibly enabling your Western pharmaceutical prescription to be reduced or helping deal with side effects.

In addition to the prescription of herbal Medicinals, dietary recommendations can also be used as part of the treatment. This can include general assistance with weight loss or maintenance, or specific food choices and preparations designed to help you manage an existing condition.

Tuina is a Chinese system of clinical massage and joint mobilization. Tuina is derived from two words; tui meaning to “to push” and na meaning “to lift and squeeze”. Tuina uses light, moderate, or deep pressure to mobilize the body’s structures and joints and restore normal movement. It is primarily used for musculoskeletal conditions, but it can also be employed for other condition such as respiratory or digestive problems. Generally, Tiuna focuses on particular regions such as the neck, back, legs, etc., and resembles more clinical styles of Western deep tissue massage therapy. Click here to see a previous post about Tiuna.

Finally, Therapeutic Exercises are often prescribed in China to help treat illness and to maintain and improve health. In particular, tai chi (Taiji) and qigong are therapeutic forms of exercise that improve flexibility, circulation and general wellbeing.

When looking for a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is important to understand that many practitioners focus mostly on one or maybe two of these ‘pillars’ listed above, usually based on a practitioner’s specialization. Practitioners focusing on internal medicine might use herbs more extensively while those treating musculoskeletal pain might be inclined to use Tiuna more. In my clinical practice, I specialize in the treatment of sports injuries and orthopedic pain conditions. So, I primarily focus on acupuncture, Tiuna, and corrective exercises to facilitate rehabilitation from injury, and to correct muscle imbalances that contribute to pain conditions. When I prescribe herbal medicine, it is usually a formula (balanced combinations of herbs) to help with the particular pain or injury. Such herbal formulas may help with trauma; they may address how the body deals with inflammation, or they may regulate the nervous system to reduce over-contraction and tightness in the muscles. The herbs basically support the treatment, while the acupuncture, Tiuna and therapeutic exercise prescription specifically target the region of pain and return normal movement to the body.

Another practitioner who specializes in internal medicine might rely much more on herbs, and their acupuncture treatment might be more supplemental. It is important for patients to know what to look for when seeking a practitioner, as not all have equal training and not all have experience that will make them effective in treating all medical problems.

Most TCM practitioners do use these four pillars, but there is no need to be dogmatic about using only techniques that originated in historical China. If a modern or Western-developed treatment protocol is appropriate and compatible with TCM principles, it can be integrated into a Four Pillars-based treatment plan. For instance, to reduce inflammation, I might prescribe a classical herbal formula, but I might also prescribe fish oil supplementation. Also, I frequently use manual massage techniques and mobilization of joints, but much of my training comes from Western bodywork systems such as myofascial release and structural integration (I am certified in both of these via the CORE Institute). On an even deeper level, my acupuncture treatments rely heavily on Western anatomy and Sports Medicine principles. These techniques are taught in AcuSport Seminar Series and the Sports Medicine Acupuncture Certification Program, on whose faculty I serve. My point is that as Chinese medicine becomes more global, it can include insight from many other viewpoints, especially Western medicine, but the heart of the medicine will continue to focus on these four basic pillars of treatment which are designed to return the body to a balanced state of health.

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