East Meets West to Cure What Ails You

By Elizabeth Leung, Body Central Physiotherapist

Eastern and Western Medicine can be combined successfully together in treating sports injuries such as tennis elbow, shoulder tendinitis, shin splints, muscle strain, anterior knee pain, ankle sprains, etc. Patients can benefit from a combination of ancient Chinese medicine and modern Western technology.

The difference between Eastern and Western medicine is often described as one of “parts” vs. “whole”. Western medical science pinpoints an illness to an isolated area of the body, but its Eastern counterparts consider the body as an integrated system, identifying disharmony as a cause of malady.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is recognized by the World Health Organization, as the scientific treatment of physiological disharmony of the body. It focuses on the increase in resistance, not the removal of germs.

According to the TCM theory, ‘qi’ which means the body’s energy force, flows through the body via 14 invisible channels called the meridians. It regulates all physical and mental processes. ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang’, the opposing forces in the body, must be balanced in order to keep ‘qi’ flowing properly. The meridians run deep within the body’s tissues and organs, surfacing at around 360 places identified as acupuncture points, sometimes called acupoints. Certain meridians are identified with organs such as the heart lung, or liver. Certain acupuncture points all along such meridians, are capable of affecting the associated internal organ. Stimulating these points with acupuncture and moxibustion (heat therapy in Chinese medicine) can restore the flow of ‘qi’ and in return balance the ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ in the body.

Acupuncture and moxibustion can trigger the release of natural pain-killing substances within the body called the endorphins, blunting the perception of pain. It may also alter the body’s output of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine plus the inflammation-causing substances such as the prostaglandins.

Physiotherapy based on Western medicine, which include manual therapy and electrical modalities, helps to reduce the pain, muscle spasm and inflammation. Once the symptoms of the acute injuries are settled, rehabilitation can be started. A comprehensive rehabilitation programme which aims as restoring the normal range of motion and muscular function in the body, correcting any biomechanical factors that place increased stress on the particular body part, is essential in preventing recurrence of injuries.

Rehabilitation exercises which include stretching exercises, strengthening exercises, proprioceptive training or special programmes such as “Lumbar stabilisation training” “Shoulder stabilisation training”, “Pilates home programme”, and “mediBall exercise programme” can be part of the rehabilitation programme to achieve these goals.