What Is Traditional Chinese Medicine? A Plain-Language Guide

TCM is a complete system of health care with its own way of understanding the body. Where Western medicine often focuses on a specific diagnosis, TCM looks for the pattern behind a person's symptoms. It considers how your sleep, digestion, energy, emotions and environment fit together. Two people with the same headache might receive different treatment, because their patterns differ.

Qi (pronounced "chee") is the vital energy that TCM understands to flow through the body and sustain life. Health means Qi flowing smoothly; problems are linked to Qi that is blocked (stagnation) or depleted (deficiency).

Yin and yang are complementary opposites: cool and warm, rest and activity, moisture and dryness. TCM describes many patterns as an imbalance between them.

Meridians are the channels through which Qi and blood are understood to flow, linking the body's surface to its organ systems. Acupuncture points lie along them.

Other concepts include the five elements and organ "systems," such as the Spleen system's role in digestion. These are broader than the anatomical organs of Western medicine.

These are concepts within TCM's own framework. They aren't measurable structures in Western science, and a good practitioner will say so while explaining how they guide care. Read more in Qi and Meridians Explained Without the Jargon.

A first visit usually includes:

• detailed questions about your main concern, sleep, digestion, energy, temperature preferences, mood and, for women, the menstrual cycle;
• looking at your tongue (colour, coating, shape);
• feeling your pulse at both wrists.

From this, the practitioner identifies your TCM pattern and plans treatment. See What Happens in TCM Tongue and Pulse Diagnosis.

In BC, registration titles include Registered Acupuncturist (R.Ac.), Registered TCM Practitioner (R.TCM.P.), Registered TCM Herbalist (R.TCM.H.) and Doctor of TCM (Dr.TCM). Only registrants may use these titles, and you can check any practitioner on the public registry of the College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC (CCHPBC). See Choosing a TCM Practitioner in BC.

Many people use TCM alongside their doctor's care, not instead of it. A responsible TCM practitioner will ask about your medical history and medications, and refer you to a doctor when symptoms need medical assessment. Always tell your doctor about any TCM treatment, especially herbal medicine, which can interact with medications.

Flourish combines TCM's whole-person view with modern skin and body technology. Read Our approach, meet our team, or visit our Yaletown clinic. Clients also come from Richmond by Canada Line and from West Vancouver, and our team speaks English and Farsi.