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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Ping Hu Johnson, MD, PhD, CHES, Health, Physical Education and Sports Science, Kennesaw State University, 1000 Chastain Road, Kennesaw, GA 30314, 770-499-3149, pjohnso2@kennesaw.edu and Roy D. Johnson, PhD, Department of Computer Information Systems, Georgia State University, P. O. Box 4015, Atlanta, GA 30302.
Although Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has gained its popularity worldwide, it seems to be foreign and mysterious to many western public health professionals. From a Chinese doctor’s perspective, this presentation introduces the theory and practice of TCM.
TCM is based on the ancient Chinese philosophical theory of Yin-Yang and Five-Elements. The former considers that human being, like everything else in the universe, has two opposite aspects, yin and yang, which are interrelated and interdependent. If this equilibrium is broken, illness occurs. The Five-Element Theory explains the unity of the human body and the physio-pathological relationship between the five zang-organs (heart - fire, liver - wood, spleen - earth, lung - metal, and kidney - water). Any zang-organ disorder/illness is manifested by the facial color, voice, taste/tongue, and pulse (signs and symptoms).
TCM practice includes acupuncture, acupressure, herbal therapy, massage, moxibustion, and specific exercises (Dao Yin, physical and breathing exercises combined with automassage; Tu Na, ancient meditation). These therapies re-establish/regulate the yin-yang balance and strengthen the body resistance through correcting Qi flow. Herbal therapy includes Zheng Zhi (treatment with drugs opposite to the disease nature, e.g., drugs of hot nature for cold syndromes); Fan Zhi (treating a disease contrary to the routine, e.g., medicines hot in nature for pseudofebrile disease); Biao Ben Huan Ji (relieve symptoms in an emergency, treating symptoms and causes when not in an emergency); and treatment in accordance with the conditions of location, patient, and season. Implications of TCM to western public health practice will be discussed.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Alternative Medicine/Therapies, Herbal Medicine
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.