Medicinal Practices : Herbal, Holistic and Traditional

Biography

Biography: Chye-Tee GOH

Abstract

Health management is an important global issue with aging population and prevailing chronic diseases. Other than trauma and accidents, many diseases evolve over a period of time before they become acute and fatal. Medical interventions at the final stages are usually drastic, harmful yet ineffective to patients. If remedy measures can be applied earlier, disease condition can be managed so that subsequent drastic treatments can be avoided or delayed. This primary disease stage is typically referred to by the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners as the sub-health condition. According to WHO estimates, 75% of populations are in the sub-health condition suffering from some forms of functional disorders. Usually modern medical imaging devices are unable to clearly detect these conditions as they do not involve structural deformations. This is a niche area where TCM can detect and recognize such functional disorders as a condition requiring treatment. Based on the knowledge of body constitutions and syndrome differentiation, TCM physicians are able to perform early diagnosis and recommend remedial measures. According to TCM classics preventive Intervention is the topmost form of medication and man-nature harmonization is the key principle to good health. Once the sub-health conditions are detected, patients can resort to a fundamental change of life style to becoming more in line with nature. Additional measures such as herbal food therapies, TCM medication, acupuncture and moxibustions, tuina, etc. can be used to contain and reverse the sub-health conditions.