Overview of Cancer in Traditional Chinese Medicine

According to Western Medicine, cancer is a group of almost 100 different types of diseases marked by uncontrolled growth of cells in the human body and the ability of these cells to migrate from the original site and spread to distant sites. Western doctors typically use a combination of chemotherapy, radiation, diet, and exercise in order to control the extension of cancer cells. When it is not able to be controlled, cancer will cause death.

Over 1.6 million people will be diagnosed with cancer in the United States in 2016. It is now the second leading cause of death nationwide, just behind heart disease. Over 500,000 people will die from cancer this coming year in the U.S.

Many patients, especially in more recent years, have turned to alternative medicine for cancer treatment. While ignoring your Oncologist’s advice is not recommended, the wide-range of alternative modalities leaves many options available to look into.

Even some of the most ancient healing systems, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), have treatment recommendations. Modern practitioners of TCM translate ancient beliefs into treatment plans for “diseases” that Western medicine has adorned with a name. Practitioners of TCM look at the constitution of the body in terms of the meridian systems, emotional state and flow of qi in order to prescribe one or a combination of treatments to a patient. Each patient will have a different treatment plan based off of excess or deficient amounts of qi in their body. These treatments may include diet modification/herbs, body work, qi gong, moxibustion, and cupping.

Diet and Herbs:

TCM practitioners use diet and herbs for many treatment plans, not just those for cancers. Foods, tastes and flavors are directly connected to the five elements and their properties, as well as their effects on the human body. Deficiencies or excess amounts of qi that cause an elemental imbalance will inform the therapist what to prescribe their patients. Be sure to find a therapist who has a long history of working with food and herbs prior to a consultation.

BodyWork:

There are many modifications to TCM body work modalities that any good therapist should know in order to make their massage a relaxing and beneficial experience for a client who is undergoing cancer treatment. All massage therapists will modify variables such as pressure and duration of massage. Massage therapists who use TCM in their practice may also include modifications to their massage patterns in order to work specific meridians and acupressure points that may complement a specific type of cancer treatment. While body work is not a primary treatment method for cancer, it is certainly a wonderful complementary care modality.

Qi Gong:

Most people have not ever heard of qi gong, but individuals who are conscious of and sensitive to their energy flow may find this modality very beneficial. Qi Gong, like yoga, uses dynamic postures and focused breathing in order to move energy along specific meridian channels on the body. Visit the National Qigong Association at www.nqa.org for more information.

Moxibustion:

Artemesia Vulgaris, or “Moxa”, is an herb that grows in China, California, and other locations on similar latitudes. Moxa is used regularly by TCM practitioners in order to treat yang deficiencies throughout the body. Moxa can be dried, rolled up into balls, and burned in a room to be diffused, or actually burned on the skin on specific acupressure points. In TCM, moxa warms what is cold. Moxa should NOT be used when the body is experiencing too much heat, which sometimes occurs with cancers. For example, moxa is contraindicated for high blood pressure and burning overactive tumors.

Cupping:

Cups are used for a wide-range of conditions. Most recently, professional athletes around the world have used cups in order to maintain circulation and performance-level muscle tension; however, cupping will usually be contraindicated for cancer treatment. While it does draw out yang heat, the effects on the body’s fragile elimination systems may uphold contraindication.

Citings:

American Cancer Society

www.cancer.org

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

www.cdc.org

Online Medical Dictionary

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Cancer

Oriental Healing Arts Center of Alaska

(class notes)

www.akinstitute.com  

Traditional Acupuncture: The Law of the Five Elements, 2^nd Edition

Dianne M. Connelly, PH.D.

Abdominal Cupping Treatment

Overview of an excellent Abdominal Cupping Massage our students learn. Digestion is so important to our overall health, and this treatment has numerous therapeutic benefits including weight loss, bloating, constipation, and more. We offer this as a specialty treatment in our professional clinic, and also in a supervised advanced student clinic.

Chron's Disease: Oriental Medicine View

What is Chron's Disease?

Crohn's disease is an Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Auto-immune disorder which causes inflammation in the GI tract. It usually affects the small intestine, and the beginning of the large intestine. Because of the pain, it results in severe diarrhea, and blood in the stools. Other symptoms include Anxiety and Depression, adhesions, bloating and gas, cramping, anal fissures and hemorrhoids Anemia, Fibromyalgia, Constipation, uveitis, fatigue, and many more symptoms.

                Western medicine treats Crohn's with anti-inflammatory steroids, corticosteroids, immune suppressors, antibiotics, anti-diarrhea drugs, and surgery in which it removes the affected parts of the intestinal tract, which can include the whole Small Intestine, and a portion of the Large Intestine. Other than drugs and surgery there is not much else in the way of treating the symptoms of Crohn's in Western Medicine.

What about Crohn's in TCM?

There are four general categories for Crohn's in Chinese Medicine: Damp Heat, Spleen Deficiency, Spleen and Kidney Deficiency, and Qi and Blood Stagnation.

                DAMP HEAT in LI (Large Intestine) is characterized by Diarrhea, mucus and blood in stool, abdominal swelling and pain, irritability, thirstiness, greasy tongue, and pulse is wiry, slippery, and rapid.

                SPLEEN DEFICIENCY May Be Due To Constitutional Deficiency, Or An Excess Of Cold, Raw Foods.   It Is Characterized By A Compromised Ability For The Spleen To Transform And Transport Food Symptoms Such As Frequent And Severe Diarrhea;. Watery Stool With Undigested Food; Dull Abdominal pain; poor appetite; poor digestion; . and gastric discomfort after food intake Sallow facial appearance, fatigue and lethargy are due to chronic malabsorption and malnutrition are some of the signs of spleen deficiency The tongue is pale with a white coat;. the pulse is soft and weak.

                SPLEEN AND KIDNEY DEFICIENCY May be constitutional, or due to the chronic-ness of the disease. Some symptoms of spleen and kidney deficiency is early morning diarrhea around 5:00 am. Also, abdominal pain that increases with cold but decreases with defecation and may . I have an intolerance to cold and cold extremities The tongue is pale with a white coat; the pulse is thready and weak.

                QI AND BLOOD STAGNATION Is An Acute Phase Of Crohn's Disease In Which There Is Severe Abdominal Pain And Fullness With A Palpable Mass In The Right Lower Quadrant. This Condition Is Similar To Acute Appendicitis. In Addition, Patients May Experience Diarrhea, Lack Of Appetite, . muscle wasting and lethargy The tongue is dark purple; and the pulse is thready and knotted.

                 With all that in mind, it's important to realize that Crohn's does not just appear one day. Crohn's starts building up from childhood due to any number of things, especially if the child has been malnourished in anyway (bad food, bad relationships with family, bad, from around the time he / she hits adolescence, until the mid-20s, and suddenly, it hits out of nowhere. Western Medicine says there is no cure, but as long as you are alive and breathing, there is always a way.

            What I am going to explain is how to modify massage for a Crohn's patient:

Massage Relief for Crohn's

            Massage is contraindicated during flare-ups of Crohn's for 2 reasons: First, you do not give massage over an inflamed area.   And second, a person with a flare-up is likely so uncomfortable, that they do not want to be touched.

            Another thing to think about is, often a client with Crohn's has been on pain relief medicine for years, and their intestinal tracts are a mess, and very fragile, so do not perform a deep and vigorous massage, focus on light, gentle massage that will soothe the stomach, and calm the fire.

Doing a light abdominal massage with diluted fennel essential oil followed by some light cupping along the Large Intestine tract will help to reduce / induce bowl movement, and help gently guide the stomach back to its regular cycle.

1.        Warm The Belly With Diluted Fennel Essential Oil, Standing On Right Hand Side. And Pull From Left Side, Along Ribcage, On The Diaphragm.

2.       Cupping, Just Like You Did With The Massage. Take 6 Cups, Starting On Left Side, And Go Along The Ascending Colon Tract, Following It Down To The Descending Tract, And Back Again. Repeat 3 Times, Quickly Putting One Cup Down , and taking another cup off. Then you can use a gliding cup, and go around the small intestine tract.

Those two methods greatly relieve a lot of the symptoms and stress from Crohn's, and make the client feel greatly relaxed.

References

http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=27771

http://vitalitymagazine.com/article/chinese-herbs-for-crohns-colitis/

Agelessherbs.com

http://www.crohnsforum.com/wiki/Crohns-Disease

Stretch Marks: Massage & Essential Oils

My massage class learned how to use essential oils & gliding cups to help erase stretch marks.  The essential oils soak in to soften the scar tissue and improve the skin, then the gliding cups bring healing circulation & Yin fluids to fill in the grooves.   

You should expect this to take between 1-6 months of consistent treatment, with a Very noticeable improvement if not complete healing of the skin.  It’s especially helpful to increase intake of water and Vitamin C during the treatments through fresh juicing, fresh parsley tea, or a quality supplement.

Here’s what we did:

Make the Essential Oil Cream.  There are quite a few oils and nice recipes that can be used. 

Here’s my blend: (You can learn how to make things like this in my on-line essential oils courses, see the link at the bottom.)

4oz Cream Base:  Shea butter, Cocoa butter, Avacado oil, Apricot oil, Calendula infused oil.

Essential Oils added to base:  Rose Hip Seed CO2 6d, Bulgarian Lavender 4d, Palmarosa 6d, Green Mandarin 8d, Rock Rose 3d, Green Tea 2d, Carrot 8d, Pink Grapefruit 8d.

Apply Moxa Balm (Chinese herbal ointment) to acupoints LU-9 (pictured) and SP-6 (not shown).  This helps tonify Metal and Earth elements which are both indicated.

Apply the Essential Oil Cream to the stretch marks and really work it into the skin, but only to the person’s comfort level.  It should be a little vigorous but not at all painful.

Use the gliding cup in short straight strokes going in different directions – up, down, across, diagonal.  Do this for about 5 minutes per area worked.  It takes about 15 minutes to do an entire abdomen by breaking it up into sections.  If the skin starts to get red or irritated, stop.

Use gentle massage to smooth out the skin area.

The cream can be applied daily.  The gliding cup can be done up to 3x/week.  This makes a great quick spot-treatment package as it only takes about 15 minutes and can easily be done on a lunch break or on the way home from work.  Results are seen in continuous gradual improvement and are often noticed to start immediately after the first treatment.

Learn tons of great information from my On-Line Essential Oils Course series. You can study here at our school in Alaska from anywhere in the world!

TCM Cupping Therapy

By Danielle Shones

Traditional Chinese Medicine is rooted in the ancient philosophy of Taoism and dates back more than 2,500 years. TCM is better known for the use of herbs, acupuncture/moxibustion, massage therapy, TuiNa and Tai Chi to treat and even prevent illness.  Although Cupping is a lesser-known treatment it is a big part of Oriental Medicine.  Cupping is a term applied to a technique that uses small glass cups or bamboo jars as suction devices that are placed on the skin. Once suction has been established, the cups either sit stationary over a particular point, such as the Shu Points, along the back or may be gently glided along the skin. The suction of the cups causes the skin and superficial muscle layer to be lightly drawn upward. Cupping is much like the inverse of massage, rather than applying pressure to a muscle, it uses gentle suction to pull the muscle and surrounding tissue upward. Generally, cupping is combined with acupuncture in one treatment, but it can also be used alone. The suction and negative pressure provided by cupping can encourage blood flow and promote healing. In addition it will help break adhesions between the skin and underlying connective tissue, allowing for freer moving joints and looser muscles.

Archaeologists have found evidence of cupping therapy being practiced from as early as 1000 B.C. and not just in China. Cupping Therapy developed all through the Middle East and Egypt and even Japan. Of course the history of Chinese cupping is a long history of healing and innovation. It was an ancient Taoist medical practice widely used in the courts of Imperial China. This ancient method proved to be effective against common disorders associated with the pulmonary system. The Chinese expanded the use of cupping technique to surgery, this was called wet cupping. Other ancient cultures including the Egyptians and early Greeks also embraced the therapeutic uses of cupping. Even Hippocrates, known as the father of modern medicine, used cupping for internal diseases and structural problems. Cupping techniques soon spread through the medicine world, throughout Asian and European civilizations.  Each country used their own name for cupping and had their own unique methods. Ge Hong was a practicing Taoist, an alchemist, and a medicinal herbalist.  He was the first to introduce cupping to Imperial China, as stated in the Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies. Ge Hong along with other medicine men used animal horns for cupping. To this day in some medical articles of the empire, cupping is referred to as the horn technique of healing. This has led researchers to believe that cupping was indeed a Chinese invention and its practice is older than recorded in history. These ancient cups were mostly used to draw out pus and blood in the treatment of boils but as TCM evolved, cupping evolved with it. Other styles of cups were made out of sections of bamboo, pottery and eventually glass. Today, most acupuncturists use cups made of thick glass or plastic, although bamboo, horn and pottery cups are still used in some countries. Glass cups are the preferred methods of delivery, because they don’t break easily such as pottery or deteriorate like bamboo, and they have the added benefit of allowing the practitioner to see the skin during treatment.

 

There are several different techniques in using the cupping therapy. The most traditional method and probably best known is fire cupping – A small cotton ball is lightly coated with alcohol. The cotton ball is then ignited and inserted inside the cup which will evacuate the air.  Once all the oxygen is burned up the cotton ball burns out and suction is formed inside the cup against the skin. Air cupping or handpump method - similar to fire cupping except no flame is needed instead the cups are equipped with a nipple that a pump can easily attach to and the suction is created via pumping the air out of the cup. Lastly there is the method of moist or wet cupping – this is the oldest and according to most literature the most effective method. The skin is punctured before treatment. When the cup is applied and the skin is drown up, a small amount of blood may flow from the puncture site, this is believed to help remove harmful substances and toxins from the body. Once the suction is established there are several techniques that can be done with the cups. Herbal cupping consists of applying the appropriate herbal tincture to the inside of the glass, and then the glass cup is applied to the skin with the appropriate amount of suction. With stationary cupping the cups are applied to the skin and then left in the same spot for up to 15mins. Massage or gliding cups are slightly different. This is done by applying oil to the skin first, inducing only a small suction inside the cup and then gently lifting the cup and gliding it across the skin but still maintaining the vacuum effect. With Momentary cupping the cups are “popped” on and off the skin rapidly, this is most easily accomplished with the handpump system.  Hot cupping is done with Moxa, also known as mugwort. Acupuncture needles are warmed with smoldering dried mugwort, and then applied to the appropriate area with the cup creating a vacuum effect around the needle. 

In 2008 the British Cupping Society (BCS) was established by a group of medical professionals and cupping therapy experts. The BCS was the first society to conduct a scientific investigation into the effects of cupping therapy and continue to promote the benefits of cupping today. According to the British Cupping Society & WebMD cupping therapy can be used to treat:

§  Blood disorders such as anemia & hemophilia
§  Rheumatic diseases such as arthritis & fibromyalgia
§  Fertility and gynecological disorders
§  Skin problems such as eczema & acne
§  High blood pressure (hypertension)
§  Migraines
§  Anxiety and depression
§  Bronchial congestion caused by allergies or asthma
§  Varicose veins

While cupping is considered reasonably safe especially air cupping, which does not include the risks involved with fire. There are still things to consider before using cupping therapy. Patients with inflamed skin, cases of high fever or patients who bleed easily are not suitable candidates for cupping. In addition pregnant women should not have cupping on their stomach or lower back. And if you are moving the cup along someone’s skin it should not cross any bony areas such as the ridges of the spine or the shoulder blades. The bruises that appear are a result of the skin being drawn up into the cup where the blood vessels at the surface of the skin expand; leaving circular marks anywhere a cup was applied. These bruises however are usually painless and disappear within a few days of the treatment. Leaving the clients body feeling looser, detoxed and well on their way to healing. 

References:

1.       National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine (NCCAM): http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/chinesemed.htm

2.       Academy of classical Oriental Sciences-History of Chinese Medicine Cupping: http://www.acos.org/articles/chinese-medicine-cupping/

3.       Acupuncture Today – Cupping:

http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/abc/cupping.php

4.       WebMD – Cupping Therapy:

 http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/cupping-therapy?page=2

5.       British Cupping Society:

 http://www.britishcuppingsociety.org/

How does Cupping work? TCM

Typically, an acupuncture tactic and one of the oldest methods of TCM dating back to the fourth century BC! People would use everything they could find from animal horns, to bamboo cups and homemade pottery which lead us to the cups of today made from thick plastic, glass and silicone! The massage therapist will probably be using the air cupping technique style rather than glass which requires heat (*usually a flaming alcohol soaked cotton ball...) which is not convered by your insurance.

During cupping... what happens?
                           The skin under the surface of the cup /affected area can cause some swelling and bruising of the skin that are pretty much painless but take a few days to dissipate. This happens because of the bloodvessels at the surface of the skin expanding and moving stagnant energy and blood. The more often the cupping is done to an area the less dark these 'bruise' spots will appear. The darker they are the more stagnation. Cups can help to stop a cold from penetrating the system and enables blood and energy to move again to travel to an area beginning the healing process!!!

HOW to perform cupping?
An air pump is applied to the prospect cup and THEN applied to the clients body (usually a trouble spot or pressure point/meridian energy pathway.)
To pump, apply cup with pump attached to area and give 1-1&1/2 pumps without more than two and 1/2 pumps;that is the usual vaccuum suction for most people to recieve comfortable cupping. Oil (of the carrier oil variety) is sparsley used to provide some slip in cupping as to not pinch the reciever ESPECIALLY if you are planning on doing a sliding cup technique. Sliding cups are beneficial for drawing out and bringing energy down a particular meridian. You are not only opening up the energy channel, but drawing out through the pathway. When the skin is drawn up the blood flow will increase and it is believed that toxins and other substances are being drawn up and out of the body to be metabolized out by the skin and other systems. It also loosens hard connective tissues making it easier to manipulate.

What happens after?
A cupping procedure usually would happen at the end of a massage treatment I wouldn't do too much stimulation over the area right after treatment. It is contraindicated to do cupping over the same area multiple times until the previous cupping marks are released from the body, visibly. Any other form of invasive body work such as Gua Sha is not recommended immediately after. If using essential oils in treatment a spray would be advised over a direct application so as to not 'muck down' the toxins being released and allow the area to breathe; a spritz would do the same benefit while allowing area to breathe. Keep doing cupping as needed and be amazed at the results ... the problem areas will slowly get less and less inflamed! WOW cupping is amazing!

Cupping

CUPPING

Cupping therapy is the method of using glass or plastic cups to create localized pressure by a vacuum. Cupping refers to an ancient Chinese practice in which a cup is applied to the skin and the pressure in the cup is reduced by using change in heat or by suctioning out air so that the skin and superficial muscle layer is drawn into and held in the cup. Cupping therapy has been found in ancient records dating back 3,500 years and is still used today by many alternative medicine practitioners. Nowadays, cupping sets use suction to create the vacuum. The vacuum inside the cups causes the blood to form in the area and help the healing in that area.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine the theory is that the body contains meridians, these meridians are pathways in the body which the Qi (energy of life) flows through. It flows through every body part, tissue, and organ. Cupping therapy is mainly performed on the back because there are five main points on one of the meridians on your back. When meridians are opened, the internal energy is able to flow through the whole body.

Another healing aspect of cupping therapy is through the release of toxins in your body. The suction from the cups can penetrate deep into your tissues causing the tissues to release harmful toxins. It triggers the lymphatic system, clears blood vessels, and stretches and activates the skin. 

Generally the cup is left in place for about 10 minutes. The skin becomes reddened due to the congestion of blood flow. The cup is then removed. Some bruising along the site is expected. In some cases, the cup may be moved while the suction of skin is active causing a regional pulling of the skin and muscle, this technique is called gliding cupping. 

Contraindications for cupping include areas of skin that are inflamed, cases of high fever, convulsions or cramping, easy bleeding (pathological level of low platelets), abdominal area or lower back during pregnancy, movement across bony ridges such as the spine, and I would also refer to contraindications of acupressure/acupuncture points.

Some of the various diseases and disorders that cupping can benefit are respiratory diseases, digestive diseases, pain syndromes, gynecological disorders, common cold, insomnia, head pain, frozen shoulder, acne, and acute diseases. These are just of the few things that cupping can benefit! 

While learning about traditional Chinese medicine in school we learned about cupping and practiced it on each other. I received cupping on myself a number of times, one of the most powerful experiences I had was when I was recovering from a cold and still had a cough that wouldn’t go away, I had also just had someone close to me pass away. The emotion of the lungs according to Traditional Chinese medicine is grief, so needless to say I had a lot going on in my lungs. The bladder meridian runs down your back on each side of your spine, on this meridian there are shu points for each organ. Cupping is very effective on these points. In my experience cupping does not hurt, but can be a little intense at times. As I laid down to receive cupping on my Lung Shu points (BL13) it felt really tight and I could feel energy (qi) rushing to this area. I continued to breath through it and within a few minutes I felt a release. Like I said it was intense until that point but then I was completely relaxed. Cupping this point helps tonify and spreads and descends the Lung Qi, it nourishes the Lung Yin, clears heat from the lungs, releases the exterior, opens the channel and alleviates pain. Lung Qi deficiency may derive from constitutional deficiency, previous Long disease, chronic illness, extreme sadness and grief, excessive desk work, excessive physical labor or lack of exercise. 

I had to work that night and I felt wonderful, I didn’t have any coughing attacks and I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I don’t mind the bruising that occurs with cupping because the amazing healing that takes place is so amazing. 

I plan on adding cupping into my own practice. As long as you are mindful of the contraindications it is a very safe and effective form of therapy!

Case Study

• Male
• 28 years old
• Biologist
• Very active
• Eats  healthy 

I did 7 massages with my case study. He said that his chief complaint was pain under his right occipital bone that radiates down right side of neck and down into the traps. Client said that he hurt it while he was lifting rocks at his cabin in June 2012.

Our first massage was a general relaxation massage. During this massage I noticed that he could barely turn his neck to the right. The pain would shot all the way to his traps. By the end of the massage the client was able to move his neck and said his pain level had decreased.

I spent a lot of time working his neck and traps. Client likes deep work on his traps and along neck. After our first massage I started to design a treatment plan that consists of Range of Motion, yoga stretches, Cupping, Gua Sha and Acupressure points.

I believe that his pain is coming from his SCM and Inferior Oblique Capitis. I thought of these two muscles because of where the client showed me where his pain was. SCM muscle is often tight at the start of each massage but by the end it is lose and client says it stays that way for a few days.

Client responded very well to the Bladder meridian opening pattern [modified Tui Na massage]. Client said that every time we did the BL opener his pain was almost gone half way through the massage. 

The first few times I did Gua Sha on client  it showed up almost black which means the stagnation of the blood has been there for quite some time. Cupping brought up heat and odd marks every time but the last massage.

The first few sessions that we did stretching client couldn’t keep legs straight to do a forward bend. With daily stretching and ROM client is able to do a full forward bend.

On the last massage there was no discoloration or heat coming from clients’ back shu points. By the end of our case study client said that he no longer had any pain at the time of interview. Client also said that he will get regular massage to obtain the feeling of being pain free and will continue to stretch.

acu-therapy

After five months of massage therapy school, our class got to the part we had all been waiting for : Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Points and meridians was one of our TCM classes. What are points and meridians? Meridians are invisible pathways on our bodies that connect acupoints to each other, as well as internal organs. The qi (energy) flows through these meridians. The meridians are like highways, when you experience a strong emotion, such as grief or anxiety, your qi gets blocked, similar to a traffic jam. Acupressure restores the smooth flow of qi. Acupoints are specific body points through which qi of organs and meridians can reach the body surface.


You can use acu-therapy to treat:
- headaches
- ortho issues
- weight loss
- addiction
- fertility
- colds
- insomnia
- the list goes on and on.

Basically, any disease you can think of, can benefit from acu-therapy. As a massage therapist, I would not be able to perform acupuncture, but can use non-needling techniques on points. Acupressure is a technique that we have frequently used. Our class has learned acupoint patterns to combat nausea, fatigue, frozen shoulder, sciatica and knee pain.


Now for the fun stuff. Moxa, cupping and gua sha, oh my. Moxa is quite possibly the most delightful herb in existence. It is a variety of mugwort, that is compressed and then burned. You can use it on specific points and meridians that are deficient. By the end of a session, I feel warm and tingling, it is an amazing feeling. Cupping and gua sha are two methods that help remove stagnation, and when I say stagnation, I pretty much mean pain. We have all had those "knots" the size of a golf ball that won't go away. After 15 minutes of having a suction cup placed on the knot and two more cups along the meridian, my pain was 90% gone. Gau sha brings stagnation to the surface, by using a tool to scrape the area. I am sure this might sound painful to some of you, but these treatments are WONDERFUL! I am excited to use them in my practices.

Highlights of TCM Examinations and Treatments

Over the last few months I have had a wonderful introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and many of the unique modalities used to bring the body back into health and harmony. Many of the examinations and treatments used in TCM are very different from what Western Medicine is used to. By using non-invasive procedures and knowledge of the five-element theory TCM can identify disharmonies and restore balance to the body.
A few of the diagnostic procedures and therapies new to me that we were able to explore and practice in class were: tongue and pulse diagnosis, moxibustion, cupping, and auricular therapy.

As far as I know, tongue examinations are not a common place practice in American healthcare. Until this class I had never cared or desired to inspect other people’s tongues. In TCM it is said that the appearance and health of ones tongue directly reflects what is going on inside the body. In other words, imbalances within the body that we cannot see will manifest on the tongue. What a fascinating concept! It does make a lot of sense if you stop and think about it since the tongue is the only internal organ that is easily accessible to look at. Once you start looking at tongues you realize how many different shapes, sizes, colors, textures, and coatings are possible, and they all mean something different. It takes practice and knowledge to become good at tongue diagnosis but it is a valuable skill to have. One peak at a person’s tongue can give you a lot of information. For example; an abnormally pale tongue indicates deficient blood or Qi; a red tongue that it much redder than normal indicates a heat condition in the body; scalloped edges from teeth along the sides indicates dampness in the body; pale tongue with depression at the root (back of tongue) indicates decreased Jing(essence) pointing to deficient Kidney Qi; thick mucus coating points to digestive issues. These are few of many possibilities. With a trained eye this form of examination can be very useful.

Another interesting examination used in TCM is that of the pulse. This is not what most people in the Western world would think of when it comes to checking ones pulse, the standard quantifiable beats per minute and systolic/diastolic pressures. Instead, this is in an in-depth analysis of the radial pulse. TCM has three different positions on each hand for taking the pulse with each corresponding to a different organ.There are two different positions for the pulse of the kidneys. The left side represents the Kidney yin, whereas the right side represents Kidney yang. There are also different depths at which a pulse can be read, either superficial, middle, or deep. Over time and with patience you can begin to feel the subtle differences in people’s pulses and decipher what they mean. A slower pulse is a sign of cold or insufficient Qi to cause movement, where as a rapid pulse is a sign of heat. An empty pulse which lacks strength and feels weak is a sign of deficient Qi or blood, where as a full pulse which feels strong and pounds hard is a sign of excess. There are many different classifications of pulse and to become good at pulse diagnosis takes many years of practice and experience. It is truly an art.

After the examinations are complete a treatment plan can be put together that can include a variety of modalities such as acupressure massage, moxibustion, cupping, gua sha, acupuncture, auricular therapy and Qi Gong. Three that were new and unheard of to me were moxibustion, cupping, and auricular therapy.

Moxa is a dried and sifted form of the mugwart plant that is burned during moxibustion treatment. Moxa smolders, releasing smoke and creating a lot of heat and is burned either directly on or above the skin. Moxibustion is used to bring warmth, blood, and qi to a specific area such as a meridian, acupoint, or body part. This treatment aims to clear damp, free the movement of Qi and blood, coursing Qi, dispersing cold, and warming what is cold. Moxa treatment is great for deficiency syndromes and is greatly tonifying. There are different methods of burning moxa. A more direct method involves small cones that stick to the skin and are great for specific acupressure points alone or along a meridian. Moxa-irons are small metal boxes with a handle. The moxa is burned in the box and then rubbed over a client’s lower back to tonify the kidneys. There are also moxa sticks which can be used just above the skin. Energy work along with moxibustion strengthens the treatment and achieves better results. Treatment durations and amount used vary depending on client feedback and desired effect. Contraindications and cautions include pregnancy, heart condition or circulation disorders, signs of heat (a burn, rash, inflammation), on the face and sensitive areas, over a tumor, over damaged ligaments and tendons (until inflammation has gone down), and on persons who have just overeaten, are very hungry, or intoxicated (large shifts in energy can cause a person to pass out). Moxa also helps to boost the body’s immune system (wei qi).

Cupping is a method of drawing the skin up into cups using some form of suction over specific acupoints or areas of tension. Traditionally, fire was used to create a vacuum inside of a glass cup which would draw the patient’s skin up into the cup creating a nice suction grip. This method is still used but to avoid the dangers that fire can pose an alternative way has been developed. Now it is not uncommon to see the use of plastic cups with a small detachable hand pump that is used to draw the skin up into the cup getting the same desired effect. The purpose of cupping is to help dispel stagnations and relieve areas of tension and is usually prescribed in cases of excess, such as knots and pain. It relieves congestion and inflammation while opening up pathways to provide the smooth flow of Qi and blood to the area while eliminating toxins. Cupping is used in the West and in China to help an array of disorders from respiratory disease (chronic cough, asthma), paralysis, gastrointestinal tract disorders, frozen shoulder, depression, and soft tissue pain just to name a few. Cupping is preformed over fleshy areas of the body using different sized cups for the desired area. Although cupping is painless it can and usually does leave a mark. The suction that is used draws blood and toxins to the surface which can leave a mark that looks like an unsightly bruise. The mark usually disappears within a couple of days depending on how bad the stagnation was in the area. People with a lot of stagnation and tension will experience more blood and darker blood coming to the surface at the cupping site than those who do not have as much tension. Cups can be left on for anywhere between 8-15 minutes depending how quickly blood comes to the surface or until the desired effect is reached. The major contraindications for cupping include: inflamed areas on the skin (or any rash, open wound, ect..), high fever, convoulsions and cramping, easy bleeding (bleeding disorders, blood thinners), and areas over the lower back and abdomen during pregnancy.

Auricular therapy is a type of reflexology that involves the outside auricle of the ear. Just like there is reflexology for the hands and feet, there is also one for the ear. There are over 200 points in there ear that correspond to internal and external body structures and organs. Through these points a practitioner can stimulate all organs and functions of the body to help the body move back into a balanced state. This type of therapy was developed in China thousands of years ago but in the last century has been elaborated upon by the French. It has shown great results for helping with pain and pain management, stress and emotional disorders, addiction, common illnesses, chronic conditions, and much more. Stimulation of these points can be done through a variety of methods including needling (acupuncture), electrical stimulation, magnets, or ear beads (acupressure). Using ear beads was the method that was shown in class. Ear beads are very tiny round balls that can be made of gold, silver, or a small seed and have a small piece of adhesive to hold it in place over a selected point. A point combination of 5-8 points is selected for treatment in one ear and the beads are left in place for up to a week. The client is shown where each of the beads has been placed and is instructed to stimulate them manually up to 3 times a day. Auricular therapy using ear beads can be used to treat or help almost any ailment, disease, or condition since it has relatively no side effects and contraindications. Soreness at the point location and some possible temporary side effects such as nausea and dizziness can occur due to shifts in energy and changes in the body but these are usually brief and rare. Those who are pregnant, have just under gone an organ transplant or are in remission from cancer should consult their physicians before opting for any additional therapies.

I have learned so much about TCM in the last few months and it has been a very rewarding experience. Not just the new and exciting treatments but an entire new way of looking at and thinking about health and homeostasis. I have only barely scratched the surface here with this highlight of a few interesting examination and treatment methods but the foundation on which this knowledge rests goes so much deeper. The five element theory, which all of these treatments and diagnoses are based on, is truly a beautiful and elaborate web of the human microsystem. I encourage anyone who has an interest in these modalities for personal or practical use, or even just pure curiosity, look further into it. There are so many choices and possibilities when it comes to health treatment options, do not think that you are limited to only a select few!