Precision Acupuncture Clinic

How to use TCM to optimize our health?

       We commonly see people doing exercises, such as walking, running, and swimming. It is also understandable to take certain vitamins regularly. All of those make sense as they help us optimize our health and, as a result, we can prevent diseases and live healthier or even longer. Compared with those health-promoting activities, there is a long-standing approach, over 2,000 years old, to regulating our bodily conditions to prevent disease. Still, it is less well known and, as a result, much less utilized by the public. This approach is Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).   

       In the Huang Di Nei Jing (Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor), which established the fundamental dogmas of TCM about two thousand years ago, it was proposed that high-level TCM doctors treat people before disease occurs, with the aim of preventing disease. Indeed, since its birth, TCM has had two clear objectives: to prevent and to treat disease. Today, most patients seek acupuncture treatment after the disease has occurred, while much less commonly, people utilize TCM approaches to optimize their health to stay away from diseases. However, some people do recognize this unique feature of TCM, as a client mentioned that she had been getting acupuncture regularly for several years and, thankfully, had no major health issues. Thus, to share this valuable approach for the benefit of the public, we explain how ordinary people can use TCM to regulate their bodily conditions to achieve optimal health. (For how TCM can treat various diseases and symptoms, please refer to other pages of our website.)
       
       According to TCM, people have different health conditions, among which optimal health is represented by a physiological balance of all the body organ systems. For people with suboptimal health, their physiological conditions deviate from optimal balance and are divided into seven categories by TCM: qi deficiency, yang deficiency, yin deficiency, qi stagnation, blood stasis, phlegm, phlegm heat, and hypersensitivity. While all those terms are TCM-specific and have their own meanings, they roughly represent imbalances in various organ systems as defined in modern medical science. And according to TCM, if those body imbalances are not corrected to optimal, balanced health, various diseases can develop over time. Thus, preventing or reducing the risk of disease is achieved by restoring imbalanced bodily conditions to optimal balance through TCM-specific treatments, primarily Chinese herbs, acupuncture, and other adjuvant methods.

       To help understand how to use TCM to optimize our health, we take a TCM practitioner's perspective to describe the logistics an acupuncturist uses in treating a patient.
       Step 1: To collect clinical evidence that will be used to make a TCM diagnosis
                        Methods: 1) Observation: observing the patient, especially the tongue;
                                               2) Listening: listening to the sound from the patient;
                                               3) Inquiry: asking the patient about possible symptoms;
                                               4) Palpation: palpating body areas, especially the pulse.
       Step 2: To make a TCM diagnosis of the suboptimal, deviated health        
                        Methods: 1) All categories of imbalance of the patient
                                               2) Formulate a TCM diagnosis of an overall TCM Health Pattern(s)
       Step 3: To design and conduct TCM treatments to regulate the body
                        Methods: 1) Design a treatment principle based on the TCM Health Pattern(s)
                                               2) Determine a treatment protocol based on the treatment principle
                                               3) Conduct treatments that make up a treatment course
                                               4) Assess the progress and clinical outcomes of the treatments                  

       From the above description, we can appreciate that TCM has established its own knowledge system and clinical practice guidelines. Consequently, to use TCM to regulate health status, it is essential to work with a licensed acupuncturist to achieve the health goals.
       
       At Precision Acupuncture Clinic, we have developed the following effective protocol to help people regulate their bodily state to achieve optimal health. 

       First, if you are interested in regulating your body health via TCM, please complete the following online questionnaire to proceed to the inquiry step by completing the following online survey by clicking Regulation for Optimal Health. 
       
       Second, our acupuncturist will be happy to conduct the remaining methods for a TCM diagnosis: observation, listening, palpation, and additional inquiry as needed at the time of your first visit. If you are comfortable with the proposed treatment principle(s) for body regulation, we have a variety of treatment methods centered on acupuncture and Chinese herbs. Our treatment methods are summarized in the following illustration.  

       At Precision Acupuncture Clinic, we specialize in optimizing the body's health through key TCM approaches.