You may hear various difference terms when looking at treatments for your conditions. This approach differs radically from that of orthodox medicine, where the emphasis is on the diagnosis and treatment of the symptoms of disease, and where illness is usually regarded in terms of local disorders affecting specific organs or parts of the body.
ACUPUNCTURE is an ancient Chinese system based on the principle that the body’s vital energy (“Chi”) travels along fixed channels or meridians, and that it is possible to restore health, eliminate pain and so on, by manipulating this energy by inserting needles into the skin at specific points along these meridians.
Among the possibilities you explore should be: homeopathy, herbs, therapeutic massage, acupuncture and chiropractic, all of which are forms of holistic healing (‘holistic’ meaning taking into consideration the entire person, not simply a set of symptoms).
In acupuncture, disease is classified in terms of qualities of body function and energy flow, and diagnosis is made by close observation of such physical signs as skin colour and texture, the distribution of hot or cold patches, subtle body odours, action of the joints and, above all, the reading of the twelve pulses.
Common medical conditions that are covered include communicable and infectious diseases, common medical illnesses and injuries, mental disorders, genetic disorders, skin diseases, blood disorders, lung diseases, metabolic diseases, and various other health disorders.