The foundations of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) are very different
of western medicine. It is a medicine that favors
analogies, which has a broad and integrated view of what it means
"Be healthy", and whose foundations have been
established long before the advent of scientific thought.
But, paradoxically, we have started to discover, in recent years,
all kinds of agreement between millennial empirical observations
of TCM and the explanations of modern science, for example regarding
anatomy (interdependence of organs,
action of
acupuncture points, etc.) and the determinants of health
(diet, emotions, lifestyle, environment, etc.).
What you will learn
A millennial origin
The methodology specific to TCM belongs to the approaches of
the pre-scientific era which combined both observation,
deductions and intuition. TCM is therefore essentially based on a
abundant literature on clinical cases and their resolution,
on the clinical experience of practitioners, on informed reflections
of some doctors and on various "consensus" between
clinicians through the ages.
Despite the efforts made over the past thirty years to corroborate
traditional claims in the light of scientific research,
we are far from having at our disposal all the elements
to confirm or refute the results obtained by the traditional approach.
In the eyes of the scientist, the so ancient theoretical bases of the
TCM can seem naive and anachronistic. However, many concepts like
Theories on Substances,
the Viscères
and the Meridians
remain perfectly useful and relevant in modern practice. In addition,
several theories continue to advance and we obviously do not deal
more today in the same way as 3,000 years ago …
Correspondence medicine
The naturalist schools behind TCM believed that the same
basic components weave the whole universe, and that the same laws govern
both the organization of the microcosm
human and the dynamics of the macrocosm
that surrounds us. Chinese medicine therefore applied to
transpose the rules she observed in the environment to the body. She
identified correspondences and affinities between the organization
Climates,
Flavors, Organs, emotions, etc .; for example, such as Climate or
such Flavor seeming to react more particularly such Organ
or such tissue.
TCM has created empirical models that it has used
the Review clinically and validated over time. She developed
a set of theories characterized by a certain syncretism,
that is to say a conception of global reality rather
that fragmented; an often very useful approach, but, it must be said,
sometimes more or less consistent …
The richness and complexity of the links envisaged between all the elements
who make up our world have made TCM favor an approach
systemic:
- including multiple grids that classify environmental influences
and the components of our body according to their affinities; - defining laws capable of describing, even predicting,
the evolution of relationships between our organism and its environment.
Yin Yang and the Five Elements
The Theories of Yin Yang and the Five Elements constitute the
two cornerstones of this long process. But it's not about
"medical" theories in the strict sense. They
are part of a philosophy and a way of conceiving the world having
broad cultural, spiritual and social foundations. TCM used
these bases for developing his own theories about
meridians, the physiology of
organs and Substances,
causes of disease, diagnosis and treatment. To use an image,
suggest that the Theories of Yin Yang and the Five Elements
are two ways of transposing reality as a
photographer: Yin Yang in black and white, the Five Elements
in colors!
The approach of Yin yang proposes to represent reality
like the play of two forces, light and shadow, which create
infinite shades of gray. These two forces, one active and emitting
(the Yang), the other passive and receptive (the Yin), oppose and complement each other
both in the human body and in the rest of the universe. Their opposition
is driving all of the changes we are seeing. Their relationships evolve
cyclically, more or less predictably, alternating
phases of growth and decline, like the light that believes
from dawn at noon, then decreases until sunset.
Applied to medicine, this theory describes
homeostasis
of the organism in terms of opposite and complementary components,
whose imbalances, excess or insufficiency cause the appearance
symptoms of disease. (See Yin Yang.)
Just as light can decompose into complementary colors,
the Theory of five Elements invites us to look
reality through five specific filters.
All reality and all part of reality, of alternation
from seasons to diversity of flavors through organization
Organs, can be seen through these filters. In the prolongation
of Yin Yang, the Theory of the Five Elements allows to refine
the study of the dynamics present within the organism and better
describe the influence of the environment on our internal balance.
This theory describes five seasons, five Flavors and five
climates which stimulate or attack the five organic spheres (the
five major sets of Organs and their spheres of influence) responsible
homeostasis in our body. (See
Five Elements.)
A still relevant vision
TCM has never spent time "dismantling"
life, as scientific research has undertaken for several centuries,
separating and isolating each piece of the living mosaic as
we dismantle and classify the parts of a gigantic machine.
The MTC privileged the general description of the mobility
living systems which she tries to predict and influence
changes to keep the patient in a state of dynamic equilibrium.
The global vision that she maintained – while pursuing experiments
Rich and varied clinics – astonishingly simple.
It contrasts with the Western medical vision where knowledge
are so fragmented and complex that it is almost impossible for a
single individual to grasp the whole.
You could say that the challenge today is not so much to prove the value
scientist of Chinese medical theories but to assess
the relevance of the discoveries they have made in art
to treat, to heal, to stimulate self-healing, to strengthen the organism,
to make up for deficiencies and to eliminate certain pathogenic factors.
Of course, the diseases of the XXIe century
are not necessarily those described in the texts
old. AIDS, cancer, allergies, resistant bacteria
and new viruses have taken place in our daily lives. The effect of drugs
unknown 100 years ago, like vaccines, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories
or anxiolytics have helped many people, but have also created
their own perversities by their sometimes abusive or reckless uses.
The industrialization of food production methods, the diseases they create
in animals (which are sometimes transmissible to humans), the unknown effect
genetically modified or artificially preserved foods,
all these new parameters modify the diseases that affect us and
question the relevance of a traditional approach like that of TCM.
Yet the solution to the disease invariably seems to be through strengthening
of the immune system, good breathing, a varied diet
and natural and exercises adapted to everyone's needs. On this ground,
the TCM has lost nothing of the relevance of its interventions, promoting since Confucius
the preventive approach and patient empowerment. The human body
has changed little physiologically despite the dramatic changes
of the environment. The stimulating action of massage, needles, heat,
meditation, Food
or herbs (just to mention them) still valid to reinforce
the body's responses and help it maintain its balance.
Acupuncture becomes scientific
Since the middle of the XXe century we are witnessing
modernization of TCM and the emergence of acupuncture
medical which develops in a Western and scientific context.
This medical acupuncture is still very young, but is based on research
rigorous clinics. These come from scientists who favor,
among others, neurophysiology to understand regulatory processes
triggered by acupuncture. These researchers describe the action
acupuncture according to models very different from those of theories
traditional.
For example, the discovery of Clement and Jones1
in 1979 on the release of opioid peptides helped explain
the anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties of acupuncture
otherwise than according to the traditional model which wants that the stimulation of
certain points “unblocks the circulation of
Qi and blood
in the Meridians ”.
The work of different researchers has made it possible to describe several
actions of acupuncture on the nervous and endocrine systems. important
syntheses report the results of this research2A4.
According to the modern biomedical model, most diseases are
the result of a set of factors: harmful influences of
the environment, nutritional problems, psychological stress, predisposition
hereditary, etc. Currently, several researchers are issuing
the hypothesis that acupuncture acts mainly on psychological stress.
It would modulate certain regulatory mechanisms such as
activity of the autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic)
or hypothalamus, and to release neuropeptides, for example.
The decoding of the mechanisms triggered by the stimulation of
skin and subcutaneous areas through acupuncture
is still in its infancy. An urgent need for clinical evidence must
decide what, in the action of acupuncture, is directly related
physical stimulation of certain points on the body or the placebo effect.
The research needs are enormous and the difficulty of finding
funds remains the main obstacle to the advancement of knowledge.
References 1. Clement-Jones V, McLaughlin L, Lowry P, Besser G, Rees L, Wen HL (1979) Acupuncture 2. Filshie Jacqueline and White Adrian. Medical acupuncture, A Western scientific 3. Ernst Edzard and White Adrian. Acupuncture, a scientific appraisal, Butterworth-Heinemenn, 4. Medical Acupuncture Journal, American Academy of Medical Acupuncture. |
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