What does traditional Chinese medical treatment involve?

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A TCM practitioner will ask you questions about your emotional and mental life as well as your physical symptoms. Knowing whether you are indecisive or have an explosive temper may help him determine what type of gallbladder trouble you're having, for example. He or she may also take your pulse several times, once for each internal organ, and check the color and texture of your tongue, and then craft a customized treatment designed to enhance your overall health, rather than zeroing in on an infection or injury.

In most cases, your practitioner will use acupuncture to stimulate certain points along your meridians in order to bring your qi back into balance. But he might also apply small mounds of burning herbs (a technique called moxibustion) or suction cups (cupping), or use deep tissue massage. Then he may prescribe a combination of herbs and other ingredients designed to correct whatever imbalances he thinks are causing your troubles. Typically, you'll brew these herbs into a strong-tasting tea, or they may come in pill or extract form. Finally, your practitioner may recommend that you try practicing Qi Gong or Tai Chi, slow, gentle martial arts that combine breathing, movement, and meditation to balance and strengthen your qi.

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Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 3:51 am