Is Chinese Medicine Scientific? This is a very old and common question on this side of the world. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is oftentimes accused of many common myths. You may have often heard that Chinese Medicine works only because of the Placebo effect. Or that this is just another ‘new age’ trend with no actual scientific background or results. Skeptics go as far as to dismiss thousands of years of uninterrupted Chinese Medical education with excellent results.
For TCM enthusiasts, this is something we have to deal with daily. In this article, you will learn why it is scientific and evidence of its efficacy in solving many health ailments in more innocuous ways.
Is Chinese Medicine Scientific? Myth #1: It’s Pseudoscience
This is perhaps the most common one you hear every time you say Chinese Medicine. The accusation of pseudoscience is as old as the knowledge of Chinese Medicine in the West, despite the discovery of the mechanisms and effects of acupuncture and other methods.
Where does this come from? Why is it that even after we have seen the acupuncture meridians drawn by a radioactive isotope they won’t acknowledge it?
Mainly because of pride and rigidity.
The position of pride and rigidity in Western institutions
You must realize that even though science is a dynamic entity that changes and keeps transforming itself looking for the truth, institutions take longer to acknowledge these changes in science.
We have often found that the institutions discarded ground-breaking advances in the medical field (and in other sciences too) because of rigidity and a false sense of ‘having discovered it all’.
- Ignaz Semmelweis was thrown into a sanatorium for promoting hand disinfection after noticing that the dire hygiene in obstetric wards caused Postpartum infection in comparison to the midwives’. It took many years until Louis Pasteur developed the germ theory that the institutions had to accept Semmelweis’s claims.
- Andreas Vesalius became an important figure in the history of Medicine because of his work on human anatomy, disproving some of the conclusions of Galen. His book, ‘De Humanis Corporis Fabrica’ corrected the errors in Galen’s work regarding anatomy. Even though hundreds of years had passed since the works of Galen, the institutions kept his teachings as unchangeable.
This age is no different, even though we think of ourselves as ‘more enlightened’.
The advances in science and the definition of the scientific method set the basis for defining whether something is ‘science’ or not. This has helped create a robust corpus of knowledge separated from mysticism.
But this has concluded in a rigid approach to new things. In summary, if it doesn’t fit their frame of what is science then it isn’t science.
This explains why methods like acupuncture are regarded as pseudoscience even though there have been numerous studies where the acupuncture meridians are drawn by a radioactive isotope injected into an acupuncture point.
Link to this picture’s publication here.
(Original publication: Li DZ. Investigation the exist of meridians through 93 cases shin disease. In Zhang XT, Ji ZP, Huang JS, eds. The Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Acupuncture-Anesthesia. Beijing: Science Publishing Company, 1986:528−32)
But given that there is not a specific anatomical structure that can be named an ‘acupuncture meridian’ some scientists throw acupuncture into the trash. Pretty scientific, huh?
Yet, what would the science say if there were similar structures to the acupuncture meridians of humans found in other places? Like animals or trees. Would it be accepted then?
Take a look at this excerpt from the book ‘Invisible Rainbow: A Physicist’s Introduction to the Science Behind Classical Chinese Medicine’:
”The case for the nervous system contributing significantly to variations in skin resistance becomes even weaker when we consider that, in addition to being present on human and animal skin, these low-resistance points also occur on plants(…) Scientists at the Xingjiang Forest Institute in China and the Hungarian Biophysics Institute measured the resistance on the bark of trees and defined the lowest resistance points as acupoints. They then inserted needles in these points and monitored the trees with infrared cameras. After 10 minutes, the temperature of the trees increased by 0.5 to 0.7 degrees Fahrenheit, and after two weeks, the shoots of the acupunctured trees had grown more than the control group. As plants have no nervous system, the apparent existence of an acupuncture system in plants contradicts a link to the nervous system.”
For more: Z. X. Zhu, et al., Biophysics for Acupuncture (Beijing: Beijing Publishing House, 1989), 323 (in Chinese).
So that would make it right? I hope so.
Here is some more:
”New MRI research concludes that needling acupuncture points causes specific brain patterns associated with the treatment of specific diseases. Investigators compared two acupuncture points on the foot with a nearby sham acupuncture point. They discovered that the true acupuncture points consistently elicited specific brain responses in regions associated with their Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) medical indications and functions for therapeutic effects.”
Read the full article here.
The error of thinking the ancient people were stupid
This is more of a cultural issue than a scientific one. But you would be amazed at how many respected doctors use this kind of reasoning when debating acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The thinking goes like this: ‘Modern man smart, ancient man stupid’.
As a society, there is a lingering thinking of us as the zenith of mankind and that all cultures before us were just idiotic. It is fair to say that the Western civilization advanced the world in huge leaps. But this cannot become an arrogant position that makes us think that ancient cultures have nothing to bring to the table.
Let’s do a simple analysis that tends to be overlooked:
If it were a matter of a mere Placebo effect then at some point a great percentage of the population would not be relieved by Traditional Chinese Medicine. However, it became an established school with examinations, and accreditations and became one of the most ancient uninterrupted medical systems in the world.
I don’t think an idiotic culture would create a school out of false and useless methods, even more a culture like ancient China which is widely known for its vast knowledge and inventions.
They developed acupunctural analgesia ages before the invention of anesthesia. renowned Chinese doctor Hua Tuo was known for treating the battle wounds of a general who was playing board games at the same time (no pain in there indeed).
Unless you think it was all a mass delusion which in that case would make a big investigation topic.
Chinese Medicine is used in Modern medical practice
Thankfully, this treatment of TCM as a pseudoscience has decreased as the discoveries keep piling up. Nowadays Chinese Medicine has been adopted into the modern medical field being a huge alternative in treating numerous diseases.
As of right now, TCM is used in:
- Pain management.
- Treatment of several musculoskeletal diseases.
- Surgery: Acupuncture is used for surgical analgesia and for improving post-surgical pain relief.
- Treatment of autoimmune diseases and boosts immunity.
- Treatment of hypertension.
- Induction of labor.
Acupuncture evidence project
The Acupuncture Evidence Project is a comprehensive review of published scientific literature, particularly systematic reviews and clinical trials, that assesses the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture across various health conditions.
Conducted by the Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association Ltd (AACMA), this project aimed to provide an updated and detailed analysis of the evidence supporting acupuncture as a valuable healthcare intervention.
The review identified 122 conditions across 14 clinical areas, with only five conditions showing ‘no evidence of effect’ for acupuncture. The project highlighted an increase in the level of evidence for 24 conditions, demonstrating the growing body of research supporting the efficacy of acupuncture. Additionally, the review found evidence of cost-effectiveness for 10 conditions and safety for nine conditions.
So I think that taking Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine as pseudoscience can no longer be asserted.
Is Chinese Medicine Scientific? Myth #2: Placebo effect
Paired with the previous myth, this is another common objection to TCM, especially acupuncture. Many deniers claim that the effect of TCM therapies like acupuncture and cupping are based on the Placebo effect.
Yet this is not the case.
Most of the accusations stem from an ignorance of the concepts and theories behind Chinese Medicine. Westerners don’t comprehend concepts like Qi/Chi and its extent.
Because Western medicine is deeply rooted in materialism, it cannot fathom the existence of something beyond molecules and atoms. Therefore they cannot accept the existence of a ‘life force’ that circulates through our bodies and neither the fact that the main mechanism in acupuncture is to work in channels where that ‘energy’ flows.
It has been shown that acupuncture helps increase the phagocytic capacities of leukocytes, especially the Natual Killers (NKs) type using laser acupuncture.
A large-scale study disproves Placebo
In the book ‘Invisible Rainbow‘, the author tells about a major study carried out to prove the reality of acupuncture:
”In order to prove that the acupuncture system was not a fantasy, a large-scale investigation was organized in China during the 1970s, focusing on the phenomenon of sensation propagation along meridians. The project marked the first time that the reliability of acupuncture theory was assessed from the viewpoint of modern science, and thus from the viewpoint of Western culture and thinking. It is also the largest research project undertaken in China to date, involving twenty-eight institutions and thousands of medical doctors from all over China, even extending to Chinese medical teams in Africa. In a period spanning six years, 63,228 people of varying gender, age, and race were tested.”
”The investigation found that 78 percent of the subjects experienced the feeling of sensation propagation along meridians. Obviously it is difficult to assert that over 40,000 people were all deranged in the same manner. As it is established that a purely placebo effect plays, at most, a role in 25 to 30 percent of cases, the result of 78 percent experiencing sensation propagation far exceeds what could be attributable to that.”
For further details, read ‘Invisible Rainbow: A Physicist’s Introduction to the Science Behind Classical Chinese Medicine’.
There have even been studies where the same acupuncture effects like immunity modulation happen in rats, which heavily supports the legitimacy of acupuncture.
Unless rats are deranged too…
The largest collection of successful Placebo stories?
Case studies from Chinese Medicine clinics throughout the world also provide valuable information to support the validity of TCM. If you approach one of those clinics, you will find that Chinese Medicine works and can solve complex issues like infertility, gastrointestinal disturbances, and even gallstones.
Here are stories from Harriet Beinfield recorded in her book ‘Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine’:
”Efrem and I began to practice acupuncture shortly after that in 1973. Since then we’ve treated thousands of Americans. One was Sam, a thirty-six-year-old biochemist, who had an excruciating pain in his abdomen diagnosed by his doctor as gallstones. Although he felt skeptical about Chinese medicine, he was more frightened by the prospect of surgery. After two months of acupuncture, herbs, and dietary modification, Sam expelled scores of stones, and a sonogram confirmed that surgery was no longer necessary.”
”Esther, a retired seventy-five-year-old nurse, had severe arthritis. After a year she was free of pain and had recovered the use of her joints and limbs. Fifteen years later she’d had no recurrence. Yet another person was Suzanne, who at age twenty-eight, after three miscarriages and two gynecological surgeries, was unable to conceive. In the eighth month of treatment, she became pregnant and later delivered a healthy daughter, now a teenager.”
Anecdotal evidence cannot be assessed as ‘scientific’ evidence but in my studies and involvement with Chinese Medicine, the number of stories like this just keeps getting higher. So you can call this some sort of evidence for those who can accept it.
Is Chinese Medicine Scientific? Myth #3: It is just Needles and herbs
Although they are the most common practices in Traditional Chinese Medicine, they are not the only ones.
TCM encompasses many healing practices like
- Dietary therapy
- Herbal medicine
- Acupuncture
- Moxibustion and cupping
- Massage therapy (Gua Sha/Tui Na)
- Exercises (Chi Kung/QiGong)
It is important to point out the difference between Herbal therapy and dietary therapy because they are different practices. Dietary therapy is focused on using your usual nutrition and meals to enhance your health and correct any ailments, food becomes a part of your medicine.
Herbal therapy is the preparation of specific formulas with a therapeutic purpose.
People think of Chinese Medicine as just herbs and needles because of the lack of freedom to treat many diseases. The legislature in several countries does not give Chinese Medicine the freedom to operate as Western Medicine does, thus provoking a poor understanding and grasp of the utilities of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Chinese Medicine has shown results in fixing the position of the baby inside the womb to prevent complications during labor. It has also been shown to help dilate the cervix as well.
Primary healthcare would especially benefit from using TCM doctors alongside family doctors.
Another reason is that most Western people look at medicine as ‘just the things you take or do to cure a disease’.
Chinese Medicine is all about changing and curing from within. You will get acupuncture treatment, but you will also learn how to eat right, how to have the right lifestyle to promote health, and which exercises you should be doing to recover and improve your health.
Although therapeutically, these aspects are often not considered Medicine by many Westerners.
Final Thoughts
Chinese Medicine has been in the spotlight of criticism ever since it became known to the West. At first, criticism came due to not understanding the concepts and a lack of knowledge of its mechanisms.
Nowadays, Chinese Medicine is widely known to be real, and effective, and has a higher safety index than many Western treatments. However, there are still critics of TCMthat make claims like the ones I listed above.
If you know any other TCM myths and critics, feel free to share them in the comments below!
See you in the next post.
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