"An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure" by David Tircuit, L.Ac

While addressing many health issues with patients throughout the years of my acupuncture practice, there is a question that I am asked fairly often. “Is there value to getting acupuncture when there is no main complaint?”. The answer to this question reaches to the core of the principles of Chinese Medicine in general.

The principle could be summed up as “Support the righteous and expel the evil”. This is a two pronged approach to a therapeutic method. Supporting the righteous refers to encouraging the strength of the individual’s constitution. Expelling the evil refers to eliminating external causes of disease. When no main complaint presents, the job of the acupuncturist is to support what is already functioning well and encouraging the body’s homeostasis with the environment. This could include helping the body to balance with seasonal changes, proactively balancing the body after or in anticipation of stressful situations, or before and after athletic events.

“Support the righteous and expel the evil”

Over the years, many of my patients have reported that, in addition to their main complaints being addressed, other minor issues would improve as well. Patients I see on a regular maintenance schedule often report, after a few months to a year, that they notice, “they don’t catch colds as much, recover faster from injuries, and feel less daily stress”. When something of an acute nature does come up, they often require less treatment to recover. All this is to say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.

A typical maintenance acupuncture visit includes assessment of the client’s constitution by way of the five element model. This model takes note of characteristic tendencies of an individual with regards to excesses or deficiencies in one or more body systems related to the five elements: metal, water, wood, fire, and earth. This is determined via reading of the pulses, tongue diagnosis, postural examination, and sound of voice. In applying acupuncture, the strategy is to balance the energy channels to mitigate imbalances which could lead to health issues common to the constitution type.

In addition, maintenance visits are an opportunity to examine lifestyle issues such as diet, sleep patterns, and exercise habits. Simple qi gong exercises can be prescribed which support the patient’s constitution. There is an old saying that goes, “Food is better than medicine and qi gong is better than food”. Medicine in this case refers to herbal medicine which can be given when there is an acute or chronic complaint presenting. When the complaint is alleviated, the goal is to support with diet, which in Chinese culture is seen as type of medicine. The practice of qi gong, calisthenics, and breathing exercises, falls in the same category.

“Food is better than medicine and qi gong is better than food.”

It is the acupuncturist’s job to encourage these beneficial lifestyle habits during a visit and adjust these habits relative to the season as it interfaces with the season. This is to help prevent a main complaint from arising. In fact, in ancient times, Chinese medicine doctors where often held under retainer and they were only paid when their patients were well. Of course times have changed, but we can include something of this in a model which emphasizes supporting what is strong in an individual rather than simply fighting disease. ~ David Tircuit, L.Ac