In this issue:

The practice

Welcome to Buddha Bar

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Chinese Medicine

Summer offer

The treatment of pain with acupunture

How to contact me

Happy new year.

Welcome to the first eNewsletter!

I aim to use the newsletter to keep you informed about developments with my practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine, as well as to provide you with informative articles on specific health conditions and the Chinese medical approach to their treatment.

In this issue we discuss the application of TCM to two very different complaints—pain and IBS. There's also a Summer offer for diligent readers.

We didn't quite make the promised mid-December launch of the eNewsletter, but as you can see we're off to a flying start for 2009.

It's great to be "in touch" with you, and I want to hear your thoughts about the newsletter. To get the ball rolling I'm offering FREE one-hour treatments to the first three people who give me feedback on this newsletter (existing clients only, limit of one hour per customer).

I sincerely wish you a bright, prosperous and healthy new year.

Tom

p.s. If you know someone who would benefit from this newsletter, there's a 'send to a friend' device at the end of this email.

The practice

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers natural, side-effect free complementary treatments for a tremendous range of specific health conditions.

As the quote above shows, it's also a complete and holistic approach to the maintenance of your health, all year round.

This newsletter is written with you in mind: I aim to do all I can to help you return to health.

Welcome to the Buddha Bar

In November 2008 I started practicing at the Buddha Bar Healing Clinic (BB) at 434 King St, Newtown. I feel honoured to practice here: it's a dedicated team of practitioners who are devoted to their clients' health.

BB is an oasis of tranquility and beauty, as those of you who have been there will attest! I am working there Mondays 3-9pm and Thursdays 11am-3pm. Please see my blog for more details or contact me for an appointment.

Article: IBS and TCM

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is characterised by symptoms which include bloating, abdominal rumbling, constipation or diarrhoea, pain in the intestines and urgency to defecate. Generally it is accompanied in the sufferer's life by the presence of stressors (external factors that induce a stress response) and an accompanying level of emotional stress. Many people either suffer from IBS to some degree, or know someone who does.

The relationship between the digestive system and our mental-emotional functioning is something that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has known about for a long time. While until recently the biomedical approach to irritable bowel symptoms has been investigation (colonoscopy) and pharmaceutical interventions, the usual response after these avenues have been exhausted is that nothing can be done.

However, new thinking in biomedicine has developed into an emerging field known as neurogastroenterology, which identifies the digestive system as the body's 'second brain'. The 'Brain-Gut Axis' looks at neural and endocrine connections between the Digestive and Central Nervous Systems. The Western medical view is just coming to recognize something that has been long understood in the East.

What is the TCM mechanism for understanding IBS?

The Chinese medical approach to treatment always starts with pattern differentiation. What this means is that the specific presenting signs are observed and a diagnosis made. In cases of IBS, diagnoses and treatment vary but commonly revolve around what is known as 'Wood-Earth Mutual Insult'.

The Liver belongs to the Wood Element and is one of the first organs to be affected by irregular emotions and external stressors. It responds by moving into a state of stagnation, where its function of ensuring the smooth flow of Qi and Blood around the body is compromised. In doing this it directly affects the Spleen. TCM says that the Spleen (which along with the Stomach makes up the Earth element), is the primary organ responsible for digestion and the extraction of Qi from the food that is eaten. One result of this impairment is an under functioning of the digestive system, which can present as the symptoms listed above.

By restoring the patency of Liver Qi and nourishing the weakened Spleen using a combination of acupuncture and herbal medicine, the symptoms of IBS can be drastically reduced and resolved. Specific herbs can also regulate the digestive system and relieve pain. Acupuncture has an added benefit in that it is in itself a form of stress management. So coming for treatment starts you on the road to overcoming IBS immediately!

Article: The treatment of pain with acupunture

Pain is a complex issue that Chinese medicine is able to approach on a number of levels. It is understood that pain is a culturally enscribed phenomena - what constitutes pain in one culture does not in another. How someone suffering from pain describes their symptoms will also differ from culture to culture. It therefore makes sense that medical systems based on belief systems different to the modern scientific reductionist viewpoint can also be effective in the management of pain.

Some of the first research conducted into acupuncture in the West was centred around acupuncture's seeming ability to relieve pain. While the exact mechanisms at play have not yet been fully identified, the 'Gate-Control Pain Theory' asserts that the brain has the capacity to switch the perception of pain on and off. What is thought to occur is that the insertion of acupuncture needles stimulates the release of endogenous opioids - endorphins and encephalins - which are circulated through the body via the central nervous system. These are the body's 'feel good' chemicals, which apart from relieving the sensation of pain also explain the frequent deep relaxation and euphoria experienced by many people during and after treatment!

Further good quality research is required to gain acceptance of acupuncture by the Western scientific fraternity. However, in trusting the wisdom of time-tested traditional medicine, the everyday health-conscious person is able in the meantime to manage pain with acupuncture. This might be anything from headache and migraine, to lower back pain, to any number of musculoskeletal conditions, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and sciatica to name just a few.

How does Chinese medicine understand pain?

Whenever there is a blockage in the normal flow of Qi and Blood in the body, pain can become apparent. This might be due to Qi and Blood Stasis due to trauma, or the accumulation of Wind and Dampness causing pain in the joints. By resolving the pathogenic factors causing the obstruction, or by restoring the smooth flow of Qi and Blood, pain is relieved. This is achieved through a combination of acupuncture, massage, cupping and herbal medicine. This demonstrates how Chinese medicine works with the body to bring about its natural state of balance.

How to contact me

(M) 0401 322 061
(W) thomascrooks.com.au
(E) tom@thomascrooks.com.au

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