East Asian Medicine Overview
The term East Asian Medicine (EAM) refers to a medical
system that arose in East Asia deriving from the traditional concepts
of Qi and Yin-Yang Theory.
EAM has developed various interventions such as acupuncture and moxibustion,
massage and physical manipulation, diet therapy, herbal medicine, meditation
and exercise. It is alternately referred to as Oriental Medicine (OM)
and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Central to contemporary EAM is
a medical theory that places each human individual in a dynamic relationship
to the larger environment. This medical theory has been developed over
the millennia and is described in the Chinese
medical canon.
Modern EAM is influenced by the history and cultural foundations of China as
well as modern scientific inquiry and thus continues to develop. Similarly the transmission
of medical theory
from China to the rest of Asia and the world has prompted local versions of traditional
Chinese medicine. EAM is frequently described as holistic and has had a significant
impact on the development of holistic medicine in the United States. EAM has
been shaped by economic and political forces and continues to develop in both
Asia and the West.
There are a variety of acupuncture and East Asian medical approaches practiced in the United States. Yet in its diversity, there is a shared conceptual grounding, namely the aim to achieve homeostasis through a balance of Yin (pronounced yeen) and Yang (pronounced yawng) both within the body and its surroundings, to rid the body of pathogens and to promote the body's inherent ability to achieve homeostasis.
NCCAM