Developing My Clinical Vocabulary..

To this day, I continue steadfastly in my effort to bridge the gap of understanding between TCM and Western Medicine. When I started this pursuit, I remember the first thing I did was go and ask Western Medical practitioners, in various fields, how I can make my field more receptive to them. I specifically wanted to know how I could make them appreciate the benefits of the modalities comprising TCM. Most of these clinicians responded by saying that they needed to understand the "clinical" aspects of the medicine more. They, specifically, wanted me to explain to them how the modalities of TCM worked from their perspective and in their terminology.

I quickly realized that the first step to gain these Western practitioner's trust was to change my presentation. The topics I chose to present were fine. However, the method of presentation lacked severely. The first topic I chose top present concerned the mechanisms behind the healing process in TCM such as pain management. However, instead of explaining how pain is treated with terms like "Qi", "Deficiency", or "Energy", I explained the process in the context of how Acupuncture helped to release certain hormones etc. in the bloodstream to treat pain.

I cited many research articles that showed how Acupuncture affected the Autonomic Nervous System in alleviating pain. Specifically, I cited how Acupuncture helped the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) to release of Norepinephrine, Acetylcholine, and other types of Opioids which helped to treat the pain and reduce the inflammation. Another Western clinical explanation I cited from these research articles dealt with the how Acupuncture activates certain receptors in the Dorsal Horn, serving to "gate out" painful stimuli...