Chinese medicine is a comprehensive system of health care that has been evolving for over twenty-three centuries. It is one of the oldest and most popular forms of medical therapy in the world. It has been used for thousands of years to treat millions of people. It provides a holistic and individualized diagnosis and treatment protocol for each person which may include nutritional therapy, acupuncture, manipulation and massage, warming techniques, herbal prescriptions, exercises and relaxation practices.

The brilliance of this system is in its theoretical foundation. The theoretical base is founded upon the principle of dialectics; that opposite and contradictory aspects are inherently present in all phenomenon and that the motion of nature is the movement of something towards its opposite. Very simply, there is an emphasis on the body and minds constant experience of change and the interconnectedness of all aspects of an individual's internal landscape and the external environment, This is a medicine which acknowledges that nothing exists as a static state and in isolation. Ergo, when we think of a pattern of disease or dysfunction in the body, the condition's transitory nature is recognized. There is no diagnosis that cements a condition as a fixed, non-changing state of pathology.

There is a significant difference in approach when considering the theoretical basis for allopathic medicine and Chinese medicine. Western thinking is characterized by a reductionistic approach that attempts to relate different aspects of a situation in a linear cause and effect chain. Chinese medical thought is more concerned with synchronous patterns of phenomenon, that is, the entire context in which an experience happens. The ultimate goal of the medicine is to facilitate optimal harmony among all the parts of any given system. The theoretical differences suggest that in the combining of both approaches a more complete system of healthcare can be created and the utilization of both approaches can form a powerful synergy when used together to treat illness. They are truly complementary, addressing health care from different perspectives and with different strategies.

How Does Chinese Medicine View the Cause of Pathology?

From a Chinese medical perspective, there are three basic factors which are the main contributors to the arisal of disease. They are:

1. Sudden changes in weather and extreme or prolonged weather conditions such as heavy winds, severe cold, heat and high humidity or dryness.
2. Intense emotional experiences of joy, anger, sorrow, fear, and worry.
3. Lifestyle habits such as nutrition, occupation, overwork, stress, physical activity, relationships, sex, trauma and parasites.

The experience of one or more of these factors may cause imbalances in an individual that may lead to patterns of disease. Chinese medicine is designed to investigate fully a person's experience of pain, sleep, diet, menstrual cycle, living situation, work conditions, emotional life, exercise routine, medical history, spiritual practice in addition to palpation of the belly, taking of the pulse and looking at a person's tongue as part of a diagnostic picture. This myriad of information is correlated and interpreted into a pattern diagnosis, which is then formulated into a specific treatment strategy. As there are no two humans exactly alike, each treatment may vary even though they may present with the same diagnosis and similar symptoms.