Acupuncture
Chinese Medicine: An East-West Perspective
By Sally Norton, M.S., L.Ac.
Jul 12, 2008

In ancient China, the average lifespan was seventy years old. Because the most brilliant, influential doctors of the day attended and treated the emperor and his family, his retinue and the peasant farmers who worked his lands, medicine focused on verility, fertility, longevity and anti-aging. Emperors wanted to produce heirs, wanted their wives to be fertile and bear children and wanted to live to a healthy, ripe old age. They also wanted their farmers to be able to carry out the hard work of farming.

Chinese doctors created a medicine, known now as Traditional Chinese Medicine,(containing the practices of acupuncture, herbology and tui na) which excelled at achieving the goals of vitality and longevity. The best minds of the culture gravitated to the practice of medicine and developed the most comprehensive and effective medicine the world has ever seen. It is the only indiginous medicine that has not been usurped by Western medicine and it is still growing and spreading. China has the largest health care practice in the world, but Traditional Chinese Medicine is growing even more rapidly in the western world. It is simply incredibly effective.

The Development of Western Medicine

The history of the practice of Western Medicine is the development of trauma medicine.
When the bubonic plague swept Europe in the 1300's, doctors were faced with a plague of enormous proportions. Thirty thousand people died and doctors were helpless to prevent or even treat it with any success. Medicine began to focus on preventing death and discovering the causes of death. At the time, the average life span was thirty years. People died from sepsis, bacterial infection and dental infection. Preventing death from serious diseases and trauma was the doctor's goal. This was the beginning of Western medicine's focus on trauma and acute illness.

This continues to this day. Chronic illnesses and sub-acute illnesses are not bad enough to "trip" Western medicine tests. An example of this is that statistically, you have to have 50% blockage in an artery to fail a treadmill test for cardiovascular disease. The number one symptom of heart disease is a heart attack, and 40% are fatal. So if you have 40% blockage, the message is go home and wait until you get sicker. Western medicine is and has always been a HEROIC medicine. It saves lives. However, it does not focus on VITALITY, STRENGTH, LONGEVITY and a vibrant, pain free life. It's primary focus is diagnosis and symptom supression with pharmaceutical drugs. Pharmaceutical drugs supress function, and the number one side effect of most drugs are fatigue and drowsiness.
western medicine treatment consists primarily of three things: antibiotics, innoculations and surgery.

Chinese Medicine's View of the Body

Chinese medicine views the body a composed of four basic elements: blood, Qi, nervous system, organ systems. If all four of these areas of substance/function are working well, you will be healthy. If there is a blood flow problem in any of these areas, there will be symptoms and a disease process starts. Everything the body needs to repair and grow is in the blood: vitamins, amino acids, minerals, neurotransmitters, co-factors, precursors, immune cells, botanic fortifiers. All of these are contained in the blood, arteries, arterioles, capillaries. It's all about the health of the cardiovascular system, and treatment occurs via the vascular system. The number one etiology of pain and disease are problems of blood flow and delivery of oxygen to the cells.

In Chinese medicine we diagnose from symptoms and treat the root of the problem to achieve relief, stability and long-range improved health. Acupuncture corrects and improves the flow of blood and oxygen to the diseased or injured area,and the body heals itself. Acupuncture is the only known method which is able to stimulate blood to flow to where you direct it, namely to injured, undernourished or diseased areas to correct, relieve and ultimately achieve health, vitality and longevity.