Treating the whole person

IWestern medicine and Chinese medicine approach disease in fundamentally different ways. Western medicine looks for an external cause or agent of a specific disease which it isolates and control or destroys with drugs or surgery.

Chinese medicine takes into account not only the disease symptoms but also the age, habits, physical and emotional traits and all other aspects of the individual. It then attempts to put together an overall picture of the patient in order to evaluate any patterns of disharmony that have arisen.

Some people may have acupuncture as a preventive measure to strengthen their constitiution, or because they feel unwell in themselves without being "ill"in the Western sense. It can also be used alongside conventional medicine in the treatment of both acute and chronic disease. As with any therapy, the response to acupuncture can vary from one person to another.