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Lesly Antonio
Mills
English IV Honors
30 September 2016
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Thesis: Traditional chinese medicine can provide the same relief as pharmaceutical
drugs.
1) Introduction
2) History of Traditional Chinese Medicine
a. Origins
i)
Time period
ii)
Place
b. Spreading
3) Acupuncture
a. Procedure
b. Length of Treatment
c. Cost
d. Acupuncture v. Pharmaceutical drugs
4) Cupping Therapy
a. Procedure
b. Length of Treatment
c. Cost
d. Cupping Therapy v. Pharmaceutical drugs
5) Chinese Herbal Medicine
a. Procedure
b. Length of treatment
c. Cost
d. Chinese Herbal Medicine v. Pharmaceutical drugs
6) Conclusion

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Lesly Antonio
Mills
English IV Honors
30 September 2016
Traditional Chinese Medicine can provide the same relief as pharmaceutical
drugs. It is safer and non addictive compared to pharmaceutical drugs. It is a form of
alternative medicine that stimulates self healing. It can be performed to aid certain
diseases, symptoms or conditions, and Pain (How Acupuncture Can Relieve Pain And
Improve Sleep, Digestion, And Emotional Well-being). If practiced by a professional,
many individuals will find that Traditional Chinese medicine is a good alternative when it
comes to pain relief (Silverman).
Traditional Chinese Medicine originated from Taoist beliefs (Traditional Chinese
Medicine). Taoism is a native religion of the Chinese. They have a strong believe in
accumulating merits and doing good deeds to benefit society as well as educating
and encouraging others to develop their morality and value system (Taoist Beliefs).
There are ancient documents from 100 BCE. that have proved that Stone Needle
Acupuncture was already in existence. This was most likely developed and passed
down during the stone age (Historical Timeline of Chinese Medicine).
During 770 BCE-221AD a book with information on Traditional Chinese Medicine
was produced. The book is called The Yellow Emperors Classic of Internal Medicine
(Historical Timeline of Chinese Medicine). The information in the book is in question
form asked by the Emperor with replies from the minister, Chhi-Po (White and Ernest).

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The book gives explanation about the meridian theory and about other issues. It goes
over physiology, acupuncture, diagnosis, pathology, treatment, and an emphasis on
prevention (Historical Timeline of Chinese Medicine).
There are four key principles in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The first is your
body is an integrated whole. They believe that the mind, body, and spirit are all
connected by Qi, a life force or energy (What is TCM). This means that they view and
treat the body as a whole (Silverman). The second is that you are completely
connected to nature. When looking at the body they factor location, time, your age and
genetics. The third principle is you were born with a natural self-healing ability they
believe that if nature is able to regenerate itself, then so can the human body. The last
of the principles is prevention is the best cure (What is TCM?).
Acupuncture is a form of Traditional Chinese Medicine (How Acupuncture Can
Relieve Pain And Improve Sleep, Digestion, And Emotional Well-being). It is believed
to have originated in China in the few years leading up to the Common Era (White and
Ernest). There are sharpened bones and stones that have dated back to the Old Stone
Age and were used for specific surgical methods. Later in the New Stone Age, finely
sharpened stones and bones were made into needles and were used as healing
instruments (History of Acupuncture).
Acupuncture is the insertion of thin, sterile needles into the skin where
acupuncture points or acupoints are located (How Acupuncture Can Relieve Pain and
Improve Sleep, Digestion, and Emotional Well-being). Most often people use
acupuncture to treat back pain, neck pain, osteoarthritis, and headaches (Acupuncture:
In Depth). When walking into the first consult, depending on the acupuncturist, they will

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usually ask the patient about their health history, examine the their tongue, and check
their pulse (Silverman). The acupuncturist will then be able to recommend a treatment
(How Acupuncture Can Relieve Pain and Improve Sleep, Digestion, and Emotional
Well-being).
Treatment for each person is different even if they are there to get treated for the
same problem because, it is most likely caused for a different reason. The first session
will last about one hour because of the examinations and health history that needs to be
reviewed. After that, sessions will usually last from 15 to 30 minutes (Silverman).
Treatment can last anywhere from a couple of days to a few weeks, depending on the
patients progress, they will need to be seen once a week. For patients with chronic
problems, treatment will be at longer and those individuals will need to be seen once or
twice a week for several months (How Acupuncture Can Relieve Pain, Improve Sleep,
Digestion, and Emotional Well-being).
Acupuncture will sometimes be covered by health insurance but not all
insurance. Sessions will cost about $100-$140 but some acupuncturists will offer
discounts (How Acupuncture Can Relieve Pain, Improve Sleep, Digestion, and
Emotional Well-being). Community acupuncturists will offer lower price ranges, Living
Points offers sessions for $20-$50 and a $10 fee for the first treatment only. Community
acupuncturist want to make it affordable for the patients so that they can receive proper
treatments (Silverman).
More doctors are starting to promote alternative medicine compared to prescription
pharmaceuticals because it is significantly safer. Prescription pharmaceuticals easily
become extremely addictive and can often lead to death.

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"Acupuncture: In Depth | NCCIH." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National

Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
"Historical Timeline of Chinese Medicine." Association For Traditional Studies.
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Integrative Medicine. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.
"Taoist Federation Singapore." Taoist Beliefs.

N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.

"What Is TCM?" TCM World RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
White, A., and E. Ernest. "A Brief History of Acupuncture." Rhematology. N.p., n.d.
Web. 13 Oct. 2016