Western Vs. Chinese Medicine

The Best Road to Take

​I have a great respect and an abundance of gratitude for Western medicine. I grew up in a family of nurses, and I worked in the veterinary field (including emergency medicine) for 6 years. I even considered a career as a nurse practitioner before I decided on Chinese medicine. The life-saving capabilities and the incredible advancements in Western medicine and its technologies are often nothing short of miraculous. More than likely, we all know someone who survived an illness or injury through the use of Western medicine. I surely have, and I surely do. I think it's not so much about Western vs. Eastern medicines... it's more knowing the best road to take and when to take it. In fact, these very different medical approaches can work best when they are used together. Teamwork... it makes things better. Go figure. :)

So...what is the Chinese medicine approach about?
 
Getting to the Roots
​Chinese medicine works with “roots” and “branches,” like that of a tree. Symptoms are like the branches- they are what you can most easily see/experience (for example, headaches). What we work toward treating in Chinese medicine is the main cause of the symptoms- these are the roots. We, of course, address the branches/symptoms, but if we don't get to the roots, the problem will mostly likely not resolve.  

So, let's take a look at the tree. Why are the leaves discolored? Why is the bark spotted? Why won't it grow? There is something wrong. We can remove the leaves, or perhaps spray the bark with chemicals in the spotted areas, but will that solve the problem? What about the environment that the tree is growing in? What about the soil that the tree is rooted in and pulling its nutrients from? What about the tree's early years… what was happening as it was growing in the environment around it? Were there droughts or floods?
 
More than Meets the Eye
While this is a simplistic model, it is an easy way of describing how holistic medicine views well-being: there is more than meets the eye, and everything is connected. It requires critical thinking by analyzing groups of symptoms, not isolating one symptom and treating it solely. For instance, if you have dry eyes, you can apply eye drops every day. Your eyes will always be dry without them. The drops don’t correct the problem that’s causing the dryness, they simply add moisture.
 
Let's use dryness as an example. In Chinese medicine, we are most concerned with what is causing the symptom of dryness (the branches, so to speak). Often, we find other similar symptoms in the body- perhaps your skin or hair is dry, too; perhaps you experience photophobia (sensitivity to light); perhaps you have trouble sleeping at night; perhaps you suffer from constipation or acid reflux; perhaps you have trouble concentrating. We take what may seem like unrelated aspects of your physiology, overall health and even mood, and we group them together through a complex, centuries-old system of diagnosis (Chinese medical theory). From there, we can work toward treating the root cause of the symptom(s).
 
The Big Picture of You
So, we would help to resolve the dryness in your eyes, for example, but do so through treating a much larger scope of your health and well-being. With treatment, you may then also notice improvements in sleep, digestion, concentration, energy, and the like. This is because we are integrated beings. All aspects of our being are connected. Our mental health affects our entire health. Our digestive health affects our entire health. Even our physical pain is connected to all of this. So, through investigating all body systems, Chinese medicine enables a practitioner to see the big picture of you, the patient, and put it all together to provide treatment that works.
 
This is why I practice (and love/revere/am constantly amazed by) Chinese medicine-
it works. It allows me to utilize both ancient and modern medicine to truly help other people heal… and heal deeply. I'm the kind of person that needs answers. I don't like when I can't tell a story about why something is happening in regard to health. If we can't put things in context, we can’t find meaning in them. So, why does something hurt? Why does something not work properly? I can often find the answers through the medicine that I practice. Even better, I can then utilize safe, effective, gentle and enduring treatments that work. As a career, a passion, and a life-long commitment, Chinese medicine has been one of my greatest blessings, and I am privileged and honored to share it with you.

-Cailin O'Hara, MAcOM, LAc, Dipl OM
Sun Tree Healing Arts, LLC