Acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and Oriental medicine, in general, have received countless criticism from naysayers when it started to become more popular with patients in the west. Why has an 8000 year-old medicine received so much criticism? The answer is multifaceted.
It begins with the fact that both western and eastern medicines are rooted in different paradigms. Western medicine is based in microbiology and biochemistry (i.e.: bacterial and viral infections, hormonal imbalances). For just over 200 years western medicine has been the primary source of healthcare in the west. Few patients realize that prior to that western medicine had its origin in northern Europe where, for over 500 years, the primary focus of physicians was trying to keep people alive after being infected from the plague. Preventive medicine wasn’t a concern during this period and doesn’t seem to be of much concern today.
Preventive medicine uses treatment strategies and education to keep patients healthy. As a result they are less likely to need medical intervention, whether it is for the common cold, allergies or cancer. As a result of being in a constant diseased state, patients are more likely to seek out ways to pay for healthcare through insurance policies that cover the procedures and medications their physicians prescribe. As a result, healthcare and health insurance policies have experienced exponentially increasing costs to patients. Economically, this doesn’t make a lot of sense, but somehow the majority of the population has jumped on-board with this “sick” model of medicine.
Historically, western medicine has justified treatments through expensive or dangerous laboratory tests (i.e.: blood and urine tests, x-rays, MRI’s, CAT scan, colonoscopies, etc.). Unfortunately, for many patients, these tests result in inconclusive results, which does not help explain why they remain in a diseased state. It can be very frustrating for patients. Consequently, patients, often times, end up having more doctor visits, more medications, more surgeries or other procedures, all of which increases costs to patient and their insurance companies. Does this make sense?
Oriental medicine isn’t based on bacterial and viral infections or chemical imbalances as the primary cause of disease. Because of this, patients and western physicians argue that it isn’t a scientifically based medicine. As if the only valid science is bacteria, viruses and chemicals.
Unlike many of my colleagues, I was fortunate enough to study and work in a true science-based field: engineering. The various engineering disciplines are, all, rooted in natural laws that govern all matter, no matter what it is: sub-atomic particles, complex machinery, aerospace vehicles or the human body. All matter in the universe is subject to natural laws. Most doctors fail to realize this, yet scientists in every field agree that natural laws are the catalyst for change in the state of all things, large and small, living and inorganic. This the primary cause of disease in Oriental medicine.
Engineering is all about using natural laws to design structures and mechanisms so that they will function flawlessly in various environmental states. The human body is comparable to an extremely complex structure or mechanism. It is, constantly, being subjected to various environmental states and is required to function flawlessly in all of them. It breaks down when its owner neglects to learn about and respect the natural laws that govern the body and forces it to operate outside what would be considered a safe envelope. Engineers, in their designs will, typically, plan on their mechanisms or structures to operate within a safety-of-factor of at least two. This means that the engineer will design the product to withstand twice the strain or load it is subject to.
Unfortunately, most patients are unaware of the “safe envelope” their bodies are designed to operate in. Consequently, when this envelope is repeatedly violated their bodies become less able to withstand the constant abuse. What would be considered a safe envelope for one person may not be for someone else. So, in essence, each person is different and should be treated accordingly. To believe that the entire population is the same and will respond the same to a specific treatment strategy is a fallacy of certain medical models. Chinese medicine has always asserted that various patients presenting with the same signs and symptoms, most likely, will have different underlying pathologies. It would be insane to treat them all the same, but that is, exactly, what’s happening in most traditional medical models.
There are several fields of western science that govern Oriental medicine and it’s various patterns of diseases and pathologies. What’s amazing is the ancient Chinese discovered these sciences thousands of years ago and identified their affects on the human body and how to appropriately treat them. The science of Oriental medicine encompasses the following scientific fields: thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, holography, quantum physics, electromagnetism, static and dynamic physics, wave theory and particle physics. Granted, these are difficult sciences to wrap your head around and because of that, prevent most doctors of oriental medicine from adequately explaining the science of acupuncture to patients and western trained doctors. In a follow-up, I'll discuss a few of these sciences and the mechanisms of how they affect changes in the body that lead to the disease process. Th ancient doctors of Chinese medicine had extensive knowledge of these sciences and how to apply them to physical, mental and spiritual health.
