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TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE
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Comprehensive and holistic health care utilizing acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, Chinese dietary therapy, moxibustion (thermal stimulation of acupuncture points via the indirect burning of the herb mugwort (Artemesia vulgaris), Tuina (Chinese medical massage), dermal friction and myofascial suction techniques such as Guasha and Cupping, and Qigong (various methods of cultivating and focusing Qi--our vital energy) to balance the Qi in our meridians and improve organ function to improve overall homeostasis within the body, thereby conquering disease and injury at their root. TCM primarily uses the diagnostic and treatment rubrics/ parameters involving concepts of 1. Qi (energy)/ Xue (blood)/ JinYe (body fluids), 2. Organs -- Kidney, Liver, Heart, Spleen, Lungs, and their counterparts Bladder, Gallbladder, Small intestine, Stomach, Large intestine, plus Pericardium and "Triple burner" (a concept of a systemic, global metabolism), and 3.Pernicious factors -- wind, dampness, dryness, heat, coldness and fire. So, TCM treatment involves moving stagnations, tonifying deficiencies, and removing excesses of Qi, Xue, JinYe, Organs, and Pernicious influences in order to reestablish harmony and health. There is no protocol for any given Western/ biomedically diagnosed disease process, but rather TCM is based on an individualized pattern discrimination; in other words, 5 different patients with adult onset, non-insulin dependent diabetes may receive 5 different TCM diagnoses and therefore different treatments based on their individual pattern discrimination. TCM diagnosis is achieved by gathering an array of information both subjective and objective including signs, symptoms, emotional temperament, body constitution and systemic tendencies, radial pulse reading, and visual tongue diagnosis. All these together describe disease processes and tendencies and form patterns which treatment is based on. Pattern discrimination is the essence and key to TCM diagnosis and treatment.
| CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINE
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Chinese herbal medicine is probably the most effective treatment method for dealing with internal medical situations within the whole of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Acupuncture is especially indicated in external disorders and diseases (i.e. neuromuscular / skeletal / rheumatic/ injury/ pain disorders), while herbal medicine is crucial to the treatment of internal diseases (metabolic, organ-related, hormonal). While much of Western herbalism -- because both its diagnostic and treatment ideologies are still Western (allopathic) and therefore symptom-based -- primarily treats symptoms or precisely defined disease processes ( such as headaches, common cold, premenstrual syndrome, etc.), Chinese herbal medicine, being based on an individual pattern-discrimination diagnosis, focuses on the "root" of an internal imbalance manifesting as symptoms. Multiple, and seemingly unrelated symptoms may be alleviated by TCM treatment of the root imbalance, resulting in overall better health. Precise and individualized (non-protocol) Chinese herbal prescriptions utilizing both ancient and modern formulas and their modifications for both internal use and external application are used to treat many conditions. Piedmont Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine prescribes and dispenses tableted and encapsulated traditional and modern formulas from such reputable U.S. suppliers as Seven Forests®™, Mayway®™ (Plum Flower®™), Health Concerns®™, and Thorne Research®™ (naturopathic vitamins/ herbal supplements). Herbal medicine is normally first prescribed in combinations of 1 to 3 traditional, unmodified formulas (in tablets / pills). Having found the perfect "formula" (of perhaps 2 or 3 formulae), we will then move to a totally individualized formula to exactly fit your symptoms (branches) and their underlying cause (root).
| CHINESE DIETARY THERAPY
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Utilizing the 6 flavors (salty, sour, bitter, sweet, bland, and spicy) and thermal energetics (hot, cold, warm, cool, and neutral) of everyday foods (ANY food, not just Chinese!) to complement acupuncture and Chinese herbal therapies by directly and frequently influencing our inner climate, Qi flow, and organ health. Even food colors and preparation techniques are discussed in terms of affecting health. Indeed, Chinese herbal medicine ultimately comes from the culinary tradition-- "let food be your medicine."
| CHINESE ACUPUNCTURE
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The major style of acupuncture taught in U.S. schools and in the world today is what as known as TCM acupuncture; it is a style reflecting acupuncture as it is used within the TCM framework, which is primarily a distillation of many popular styles that occurred in China under Mao. TCM primarily uses the diagnostic and treatment rubrics/ parameters involving concepts of 1. Qi (energy)/ Xue (blood)/ JinYe (body fluids), 2. Organs -- Kidney, Liver, Heart, Spleen, Lungs, and their counterparts Bladder, Gallbladder, Small intestine, Stomach, Large intestine, plus Pericardium and "Triple burner" (a concept of a systemic, global metabolism), and 3.Pernicious factors -- wind, dampness, dryness, heat, coldness and fire. So, TCM acupuncture is typically used with intentions of moving stagnations, tonifying deficiencies, and removing excesses of Qi, Xue, JinYe, Organs, and Pernicious influences in order to reestablish harmony and health. Practically speaking, TCM acupuncture utilizes slightly very thin needles which are then gently inserted into between 4 and 20 acupuncture points. The needles are then gently manipulated to achieve "de qi" ("duh-chee") sensation, signalling the arrival of QI to the point; the needles are then left in place for 15-30 minutes to finish thier job of rebalancing the QI flow. TCM acupuncture is very effective for many disorders, especially for controlling pain, possibly due to increased endorphin release from the needling sensation known as "de qi". As mentioned before, "de qi" indicates the body's QI, or vital energy, has arrived to the acupuncture point. Many TCM acupuncturists insist that this strange sensation -- often warm, heavy, dull, numb, mildly achy, or distending (but not painful)-- is necessary for effective treatment.
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Piedmont Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine
1415 West 1st Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
USA
Ph: 336.777.0037
Fax: 336.777.0037
Boyd3TA@aol.com
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