()

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the practice of health and wellness that has evolved in China for thousands of years.  TCM is based on the balance and harmony of the life energy known as ‘Qi’ which runs throughout the body.  The ‘Qi’ has 2 opposing qualities known as Yin (feminine energy) and Yang (masculine energy) which should always be in balance, for the body to be healthy.  The practice of TCM aims to create a constant harmonious flow of ‘Qi’ because it is though health issues arise when the flow of ‘Qi’ is blocked, reduced or excessive. . 

Image John Hopkins

Treatment Options

1. Acupuncture is a technique whereby the practitioners stimulate specific points on the body by inserting sterile thin needles through the skin along the lines of meridian located throughout the body.  The precise placement of these needles are able to stimulate the release of the body’s natural painkillers and to alter the pain processing processes within the nerve thereby helping with chronic pain relief for conditions such as migraine, spine, back pain and other pain in the limbs.   Acupuncture may also be useful for nerve and functional recovery after strokes or nerve injury.

Click to view John Hopkins video on Acupuncture

2. Herbal medicine is prescribed selectively to provide balance to the body. Herbs which help to ‘cool’ the body would be used if the person feels ‘heaty’.  On the other hand, herbs which can warm the body, will be used to help those whose body feels weak or cold.  Conditions which can benefit from herbal medicine include postpartum (or confinement care for the mother), relief of side effects from cancer treatment such as radiotherapy and some skin diseases like eczema

Click to view Sethlui video on TCM

3. Cupping is a type treatment where a glass jar is applied to the back muscle to induce local congestion through suction of the air out from the jar. This will create suction of the muscles and causes circular marks in different colours from light red to dark purplish marks. Different colours of marks indicate body condition and will slowly subside in 1 week times. Usually cupping treatment is applicable for problems like acute strains and sprains of the back, stiffness of the neck and expel the dampness from body.

Click to view Raffles Medicine video on Cupping

4. Guasha is a technique which uses a flat tool made in jade or plastic to scrape upon neck or back in a gentle pressure. The tool is used to scrape the skin back and forth until the local region skin turned red or until some dark red spots appeared. It is used to clear the ‘heat’ when having low grade fever, headache, and uneasiness of the whole body or relieved the muscle tension of the body like neck stiffness. There is also ‘facial Guasha’ which is Guasha around face for beauty purposes such as slimming or tightening of the skin.  

Click to view Glow Recipe video on Gua sha

See a TCM Health Practitioner to discuss the treatment options available for your health condition


Disclaimer. TELEME blog posts contains general information about health conditions and treatments. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The information is not advice and should not be treated as such. 

If you think you may be suffering from any medical condition, you should seek immediate medical attention from your doctor or other professional healthcare providers. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information on this website.

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating / 5. Vote count:

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

As you found this post useful...

Share it on social media!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?