The goals of complementary and conventional Western medicine are the same. Their ideas about what causes disease, the nature of the disease itself, and the process used to regain health are very different. The physician learns that the disease must be cured by prescribing medicine or surgery. There is nothing wrong with this approach. It often works. But why does complementary medicine succeed where conventional Western medicine sometimes fails? What is it about acupuncture and herbal medicine that can result in relief of symptoms or even a cure that is often lacking in conventional Western medicine?
Although the goal of complementary medicine is to cure the patient, the doctor of complementary medicine attempts to do this by treating the whole person, taking into account the various attributes of an individual that, when combined, account for an individual’s health status. A person, according to the tenets of complementary medicine, is more than their condition. To treat just the condition may yield results, but, however impressive, these results are usually temporary.
People are not, according to complementary medicine, represented solely by their illness, but by the accumulation of every human interaction engaged in from the moment of their birth and by the culture they are exposed to. The emotional experiences, eating habits, work habits, work and living environment, personal habits, and social network all contribute to their disease state, and are factors that, when addressed appropriately, often lead to regained health.
The power and effectiveness of Chinese medicine is evidenced by its long history of continued success. More than a quarter of the world’s population regularly uses complementary medicine as part of their health care regimen. Chinese medicine is the only form of classical medicine that is regularly and continuously used outside of its country of origin.
