As well as giving a diagnosis, TCM also includes many treatments to help people stay healthy, including acupuncture, moxibustion (burning an herb above the skin to apply heat to acupoints), Chinese herbal medicine, tuina (Chinese therapeutic massage), qi gong (practices that combine specific movements or postures, coordinated breathing, and mental focus) and cupping.
Acupuncture: Acupuncture is a technique in which practitioners stimulate specific points on the body—most often by inserting thin needles through the skin. I know you want to ask “Does acupuncture hurt?” Surprisingly, although needles are used in acupuncture, treatments are relatively pain-free. In fact, one of the most popular uses of acupuncture is to reduce chronic pain throughout the body in a natural way, and you don’t need to worry about unwanted side effects.
Moxibustion: A burning cigar-shaped moxa stick is usually made of the herbs, which are called mugwort or wormwood. The stick is held near acupoints to stimulate them with heat and improve the flow of qi. It is used along with acupuncture and TCM practitioners may recommend it for improvement of general health as well as for cancer treatment and treatment of chronic conditions such as arthritis and digestive disorders.
Chinese herbal medicine: In TCM, herbal medicine includes thousands of medicinal substances. Most of them are plants, but there are also some minerals and animal products. Different parts of plants, such as the leaves, roots, stems, flowers, and seeds, are used. In TCM, herbs are often combined in formulas and given as tea, capsules, liquid extracts, or powders.
Tuina: Generally speaking, tuina is used in TCM to treat diseases with muscles. Practitioners may brush, knead, roll, press and rub the suffering body parts. For example, if you suffer from back pain, a practitioner may press and rub your back, and then use range of motion, traction, massage, with the stimulation of acupressure points.
Qigong: Qigong has a history of over 5,000 years. It is a mind-body practice as well as an energetic form of movement. People practice it to enhance the flow of qi in the body. By integrating posture, body movements, breathing and focused intention, qigong is designed to improve mental and physical health. Some experts believe that there are more than 3,000 different styles of qigong in existence today.
Cupping: This 2,500-year-old practice involves placing special cups filled with heated air on painful areas of the body. As the cups cool, the volume of air within them shrinks, creating suction on the skin that increases blood flow to the area. It is commonly used to ease aches and pains, relieve respiratory problems, lessen coughs and wheezing and improve circulation. Cupping can leave bruises that can take a week or more to fade. The mysterious dots on Michael Phelps at 2016 Rio Olympics were the result of cupping. Many athletes admit cupping saves them from a lot of pain.
转载自《中医药文化概览》
