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An Index of TCM Information

What is TCM

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a 4,000 year-old medical system that didn't make its way to America until Richard Nixon's visit to China in 1972. Within the last 30 years, TCM has exploded in popularity and prestige, rapidly being integrated into America's primary health care systems on a variety of levels, from HMOs to community-based clinics.

TCM consists of a variety of healing methods, including acupuncture, Chinese herbs, Tui Na (Chinese massage), Tai Ji Quan (energetic medicine), and Qi Gong (a gentle form of therapeutic exercise). All of these practices are based on the same governing principle of TCM. The general theory of acupuncture is that there are patterns of energy flow (qi) through the body that are essential for life. Balance and health maintaining forces are Yin and Yang, and an imbalance of these two forces results in the disruption of the flow of qi. Disruptions of this flow are of the cause of illness and disease. 

To treat a patient, the practitioner becomes an artist, blending herbal prescriptions and acupuncture point combinations. The use of acupuncture points is based on a practitioner’s knowledge of the meridian system and the flow of qi (energy) and blood within a patient’s body. Specific points are chosen and manipulated to free any blockages in the meridian system to promote the body’s own qi and promote healing. Herbal formulas are tailored to treat the patient’s particular condition and body constitution. Herbs are used as a synergistic ally to restore harmony in the patient and thus restoring the balance of Yin and Yang.

TCM'S ADVANCEMENT IN THE AMERICAN MAINSTREAM

From 1973 when Maryland first officially certified the practice of Acupuncture, this profession is now allowed in 41 states throughout the nation. The United States is now home to 56 TCM- Acupuncture educational institutions. In the past two years, the number of medical schools offering TCM courses has grown from 36% to 60% at such universities as Stanford, Cornell, and Harvard. According to the Commission there are approximately 8,000 licensed acupuncturists and 2,000 licenses Chinese Herbologists in the United States. 

Just this year the National Institutes of Health (NIH) developed the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and allocated more than $100 million dollars in grant support for rigorous complimentary medicine research projects at such prestigious institutions as John Hopkins Medical Center.