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A BRIEF HISTORY OF EASTERN MEDICINE

Eastern medicine is traced back five thousand years in history.  However, the real history of Eastern medicine must begin somewhere in the prehistoric ages since natural human instincts are at the very foundation of all Eastern medical techniques.  A human being's first reaction to injury was to rub the injured area.  If the pain remained, pushing on the area to try and eliminate the pain was tried.  If after pushing on the area, the pain remained, the natural instinct was to use an object such as a rock to push or rub the injured area.  These objects may have consisted of stone, wood or any other hard object.  This became the foundation for Acupressure.

The use of animal bone, fish bone and thorns became the foundation for Acupuncture.  If the injured area remained painful after rubbing, then the injured area was pricked with a thorn or other object to try and relieve pressure and pain.  This sometimes involved bleeding the area to suck the blood out.  This became the foundation for Cupping and Phlebotomy.  If those symptoms became chronic, heated objects such as rocks warmed by the sun would be used to rub the area.  Injuries that occurred during winter seasons, would have ice rubbed on them along with heated objects.  This would become the foundation for Moxibustion.

It is human instinct to avoid eating when sick so the immune system can be manipulated to become more active in order to cure disease.  If a person remained sick after all other methods of healing were attempted, then they may try to eat nutritional foods to help cure internal problems.  This relates to nutrition and serves as the foundation for Herbology.

Modern Day

Acupressure has developed into the use of hands, fingers, elbows and certain tools in manipulation techniques.  Acupuncture has developed into the use of sharp stainless steel needles, which vary in length and diameter.  Cupping techniques developed into the use of disposable cups to draw out blood after sticking the body with a needle (Phlebotomy).  Eastern Medicine uses injection needles only for blood specimens.  Eastern Medicine does not and should not use needles to inject medical liquids into the body.

Moxibustion developed into the usage of heat packs, cold packs, and ultrasonic heating therapies.  Modern Herbology has now developed as many as 480 different kinds of useful herbs.  Each is prescribed according to each individual patient's need.  Herbs are supplied in the form of pills, capsules, powders, or teas in order to alleviate their illness.  Do not confuse homeopathic techniques with traditional Eastern medical techniques.  Homeopathy uses mainly European and North American herbs and healing methods.  Eastern medicine uses herbs found only in China, Korea and Japan.  Eastern medical techniques are in no way based on the science of Homeopathy.