Over the past 2,500 years, the Chinese have been fine-tuning a medicine that diagnoses and heals illness based on in-depth observation of the body as a whole. Chinese medicine is based on the principle that life and health are sustained by the smooth flow of energy (chi) coursing through the body.
Chi travels through the body via pathways called meridians. These meridians connect the systems and organs of the body. When there is disruption in the flow of chi in one meridian, the effects can be felt throughout the whole body. Physical injury, excessive emotions and stress, poor diet, exercise and sleep are some examples of chi disruptions. The goal of Chinese medical treatment is to revitalize the body's innate self-healing mechanisms.
"Instead of encouraging the body to become reliant on a particular therapy or medication, Chinese medicine strengthens the body so it can rely on itself."
What differentiates this medicine is the careful attention paid to each individual's unique patterns of imbalance. This enables personalized acupuncture and herbal prescriptions that work naturally, effectively and with the absence of side effects.
Acupuncture
Through the painless insertion of hair-thin needles into acu-points, acupuncture smoothes the flow of energy and guides the body back into balance.
Acu-points have been described as the points of least electrical resistance into the body - points where the body lets you in. There are hundreds of acu-points spread out over every part of the body. The acu-points are located on meridians, the channels where chi flows. The meridians connect all parts of the body. This is why a symptom in one area of the body (like the abdomen) can call for a point in another area (like the ankle) to be needled. Points are needled in different combinations depending on the desired response from the body.
Only sterilized, disposable needles are used at Good Chi Acupuncture. Needles are used once then disposed of as medical waste in biohazard sharps containers.
Chinese Herbal Medicine
When the disrupted flow of chi has been neglected for too long, deficiency and excesses of bodily substances ensue. Chinese herbal medicine excels at nourishing deficiencies and dissolving excesses, again, restoring balance to the body. An example of bodily substances is fluids. An excess of bodily fluids can present as mucous clogging the sinuses. A deficiency of fluids will show as dryness - such as dry mouth, dry skin, etc.
While Chinese Herbal medicine is a medication and should therefore only be taken when prescribed by a licensed acupuncturist, it differs from western pharmaceuticals. Herbs do not have a chemical action like drugs but a balancing, physiological action. Often the goal of western pharmaceuticals prescribed for chronic illness is to replace a function previously performed by the body, albeit inadequately. Subsequently, the body becomes reliant on the medication to perform that action. Chinese herbal medicine aims to strengthen the body so it can eventually perform the action on its own.
Chinese herbs are combined into prescriptions specific to individual patients' present conditions and unique constitutional tendencies. For this reason, patients can feel relief from their condition without having to endure side effects. The only side effect in Chinese herbal medicine, when it is prescribed properly, is relief of other symptoms a patient may not have realized were connected to their main complaint.