In this discussion we look at the way in which one may look at each approach to the diagnosis and treatment of those in need and the reasons why each may appear to be contradictory. For some, each is an anathema to the other.

This is meant to be a discussion forum with my students. All I ask of anyone is that they approach the subject without prejudice or emotion, entrenched attitudes or financial bias.

Mankind has walked on this Earth for millions of years. We are the product of a process that started with the first bacteria, the viruses, the single celled creatures, multi-cellular and those not dependant on Oxygen to plants, photosynthesis, oxygen, amoeba, accumulated cells and the first to have a semblance of a spine, a nervous system, an awareness of it’s surroundings through the whole range of creatures to what we have today.

This is the Evolution principle. In some minds, this is anathema to the Creationist theory but is it in truth contradictory? If the Creator made all things then it was set down that from that point that the whole thing would evolve and develop. Otherwise, what was the point of creating it in the first place?

What would be the point of creating any organism that had no defence to the invasion of other cells or the ability to resist being eaten or infected?

What was the point of placing one in dominion over the other without the ability to comprehend the nature of all ?

If we were endowed with a mechanism that had developed over millions of years to combat the intrusion of viruses and bacteria, poison and toxins, why not the ability to heal ourselves with those same processes. The two things are inseparable and inescapable.

Against this we might say that from our first genetics all biological life has depended for it’s existence upon destroying other creatures without a second thought. That is in our genes and the only difference is that Man has the power to CHOOSE. Man may exercise MERCY. Until such time as Man decides to live in peace and not to destroy for personal survival irrespective of the consequences, we are locked in to a train of thought that is going to have no mercy, no ability to see outside the box and to try to justify or prove that something either fits into our perception or it does not. That is Human nature.

In times of plenty, morality is developed to a set of rules for conduct and benefit. In times of emergency or famine, often, those rules are the first to be lost.

For the purposes of open discussion we must come outside the box and have regard for the opinion of others. I have said for some time now that a Buddhist client / patient came a few years ago to me with a serious illness that was cured by promoting his immune system. I explained that I had taught his body to kill another life form and that it was natural to do so. This caused him some discomfiture. If one adopts rules, make sure they are fit for the situation and your comprehension of them is sufficient not to cause emotional and rational conflict.

So, that said we may look at the history of Man’s attempts to assist his fellow man and his livestock and his community.

Since the very earliest times, if one had a bruise or a minor injury, the first thing was to rub it. This eased the pain and encouraged the blood to flow and with it the fresh red and white corpuscles, the killer cells and the blood clotting agents to seal any break together with the necessary components to prevent the intrusion of germs. It was found then, as it is today that if you press on certain points, the pain eased.

One did not know about macro-phages, killer T cells, histamine and so on. Just that when you are injured, the area swells and goes red. If you rub it in a certain way, it relieves the pain and swelling.

Every parent, when a child is hurt will ‘rub it better’.

So, massage has been with us for millions of years as one of the tools to ease pain. That is without argument. Some found that they would be able to help others in this way and practiced to become more proficient at the art. Why then is it said by a few that massage is of no use?

If it is of no use then why was it practiced by the Romans and Greeks to enhance the abilities of soldiers and athletes ?

For thousands of years, why was it seen as the only means of effective remedy for all ills, right up to the 17th and into the 18th century?

With this then grew the wish of man to help others and it is not beyond the wit of reason to suppose that one human would massage another when it was needed. Or in fact, as we still do today, our animals that are in pain.

From this it is reasonable to say that some will be better at it than others and some may have a ‘Gift’ of healing and be viewed as such by others. Then they would be encouraged to develop and in return for helping the community would be fed and sustained by the fit and able to work whilst the unfit attended the one with the ’Gift’. The healer would seek, quite naturally to develop the arts and knowledge by looking at Nature and what was on offer to assist this. The healer would look at plants and herbs.

We find that it was common to search for by day and to travel many miles to find the herbs of value at different times of the year and that once discovered, this information would be communicated to an adept apprentice. This process of learning took 20 years of study and actually never stopped.

Here we have the makings of the Traditional Shaman and herbalist, the old Indian and Chinese medicine men and women, the so called ‘Wise women ‘ of the western world, the Witches, the African Witch Doctors, the Priests of all old civilisations.

They worked with what they had at the time and did a darned good job. We see trepanned skulls from African burial grounds where the most obvious conclusion was that it was to relieve a blood clot. Other theories are that the skull was trepanned at the crown to release the energies of the Crown chakra to the cosmic energies.

We see skeletons with bones that have clearly been reset and made well by the Bone Setter in villages all over the world. The arts of splinting a broken bone are known in husbandry for so long that they are simply part of the inherited culture.

Why should such a tradition be despised and under what pretext may some ignore the absolute fundamental advances in science that were made 2000 years ago and are still taught today.

Almost the entire 21st century depends on the findings of such as Galen of Rome in AD60, upon Pythagorus, Euclid and his kind and the list is endless. With what right do we then condemn methods that has sustained humanity for millions or years ? By what right do we condemn the herbalists when that was the absolute epitome of treatment since the Stone Age ? Alongside the massage therapist, all people were able to be cared for in some way. The success rate was sufficient for the time and to be candid, what is the success rate for Western Medicine in the comparable, run of the mill situations ? Is it any better? I have not looked at the statistics and it may be worth doing so.

I wonder if Western medicine would have stopped the Plague in Europe without the massive upheaval of housing, the burning, isolation and cleanliness that finally stopped it.

Incidentally, I think that research has found the first isolation hospitals in Mesopotamia, dating back some 9,000 years. I also am aware that for centuries, armies have used germ warfare in projecting with catapults the clothing of lepers and others with infections into the camps of the opposing armies as well as dropping rotted carcases into the stream from which their enemies drank.

Even monkeys have been seen taking medicinal leaves. Animals seek out sources of particular plants and salt beds to survive when the instincts that are inbuilt are heeded. Cats and dogs eat grass to cleans the stomach.

Western Medicine has been with us for about 200 years. The publications upon which it’s writings were founded are on a false logo when the printers emblem of the staff of Hermes ( The Caduceus) was used instead of the correct symbol of that of Aesculapius with the single staff and one snake about it. Hermes was the God of Messengers, those who conveyed information, of rogues and thieves and NOT the God of Healers or physicians. Hermes was renamed Apollo in Greco Roman era and the concept of the winged messenger came much later during Mediaeval times.

Even here, with this gross error in mind, if we look at the intent there is spirituality and reference to the old physicians as the founding basis of Modern Medicine.

Up to the time of the absolute conflict between the Catholic Church, the writings of Descarte and the discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton that destroyed the premises made about Light as being Divine and indivisible, the attitudes that lead to the Victorian and later separatist attitudes were formed.

Surgeons in Europe acted without the benefit of anaesthetics even though they had been in use elsewhere for thousands of years in one form or another with mixed results. Acupuncture had been used in China to assist in operations and so forth for 3000 years and it was not even acknowledged in the West until the 1980’s.

The methods of diagnosis in Eastern cultures were limited by firstly the non availability of corpses due to religious concerns that a body had to be interred whole. This is why in Chinese medicine, such as the spleen and pancreas are treated as one organ and it’s function of TCM methodology is quite different to that of the Western approach. The two do not mix well but neither may criticise the other without a full knowledge of what is meant. It is the language that confuses the issue.

If one looks at the terminology of the Chinese TCM we see a somewhat nebulous portrayal of meridian lines, acu points, inter-relationships of the organs with the weather, the food and the whole thing is deduced to the balance of energies. Unless you have actually seen the meridian lines yourself, as I have and so have many others, I can well understand the utter disbelief.

In fact, the early anatomical research done by Galen of Rome ( Among others) was profoundly more advanced due simply that the taboo of cutting up corpses was not in the way of dissection. However, the use to which the knowledge was put was quite different.

The founding of the Royal College was an admirable step and allowed the tuition of surgeons to the methods available at the time and set down the processes by which the art of Medicine could be taught and practiced. With the advent of anaesthetics and antibiotics, research bounded forward.

It was predicated upon the old and moved on to ignore much of what was already practiced in favour of new approaches.

Was this because of lack of funding that meant the only ones to do the research were the drug companies. In order to protect their financial interests, did much of the old ways had to be portrayed as mediaeval and of no use ? Now we find the clamouring to protect the rain forests wherein there are so many drugs of use to mankind that we are in danger of destroying that which gives us life.

Pesticides and the use of hormone growth enhancers in food is deplorable and has had no regard for the latter consequences. The use of the Pill as a contraceptive had so infected our water supplies that all are now affected with high oestrogen levels. Filtration will not get rid of it.

When I started to learn about Chi energy and it’s healing properties it was vital to try to equate it with Western medicine in order for it to be acceptable to the patients upon whom it was directed. I learned that the world of Chi was governed by thought and intent. I learned that one had to study the Chaos theory, the theory of Probability and abstract theology in order to begin to see the sense in it. One had to study Western medicine and diagnosis to see that it actually was a way of proving the efficacy of the Chinese approaches.

Unless you are prepared to come at this from a viewpoint of understanding the back-ground before dismissing it, you will never understand..

Holistic Medicine deals with the Mind, Body, Spirit and Soul. It looks a the person as a whole and as part of and intertwined with the whole of being. It looks at the person as an individual with unique needs and personality. It sees the total dependence upon a healthy mind for a healthy body.

Funny, someone else said that. Lord Baden Powell if my memory serves me well.

If one helps another simply by applying a placebo and the person feels better what is the harm? Why condemn one practice in Eastern then condone it in Western ? It is done all the time.

Why condemn Acupuncture as simply a means of anaesthesia if that stimulation of endorphins does the same job as a pain killing drug. One will not harm the body or cause dependence. The other often will.

Why not see the function of grief, loss, depression and malaise in the spirit and treat that with Acupressure, massage of Acupuncture with natural herbs if needed rather than Prozac. Why not teach Tai Chi for Arthritis and grace of movement, inner health rather than apply anti-inflammatory drugs and enforced physiotherapy. Why not teach, as we do, the Martial Arts for self confidence, breathing, how to value one’s self and have respect, how to gain respect and how to identify the Individual.

Let us work together as one complete medical practice. Let us see the basic roots of all medicine and utilise the best of each.

It takes 20 years to train a therapist in Acupuncture, Acupressure, TCM, Shiatsu ( The Japanese system) or any of the other arts and to think for one moment that qualification to a competent standard is open after a short period of training is not credible. For Doctors and Physio’s to learn protocol acupuncture for the relief of pain is one thing but that is about 1 per cent of the whole art. To judge by this is unfair and suitable only to those who will condemn without trial all that is good with the old methods.

On the other hand, we look at the actions of those who tamper with our foods, who feed hormones to animals to make them produce more for us to eat, who have in the past administered antibiotics willy nilly to all who wanted them, who so specialise in the professions that they have chosen that they cannot conceive that any other methods can work.

We see massive advances in the treatment of cancers, emergency and accident surgery, in the treatment of tumours, brain surgery and reconstructive procedures. We see massive advances with MRI, intense and precision x ray, with colossal advances in the sciences and so forth. What we also see is an overloaded GP surgery with no time to spend on each person nor often indeed does one see the same Doctor twice in a row. We see a regime dictated by the consultants and an array of Complementary therapists such as the physio’s who are not allowed to diagnose but simply to do what they have been told. We see an army of nurses who are dispirited with the pay and working conditions and a Health Service dependant upon imported cheap labour.

This is what the public sees.

What the public wants and gets from the Alternative therapist is to see the same person over a series of consultations for about an hour and a half with the opportunity to talk over all their problems, to get rid of the stresses in their lives and to relax in a convivial atmosphere, often with friends and other clients waiting or having had a session with the therapist. The whole situation is totally different.

In my Clinic, we wear casual clothes such as T shirts and Kung Fu bottoms. We seldom wear any footwear and everyone meets in the kitchen. Often we have whole families in at the same time and spouses and friends are sometimes encouraged to be in the treatment room whilst the therapist is conducting a session. Everyone has the opportunity to mix with others who are having treatment and to put their own situation into perspective.

Any condition may present here and the therapists are all fully trained with at least 7 years of clinical practice and in my case, over 45 years experience.

Here we are not into the Hair dressers head massage or into the superficial massage that takes 10 weeks to learn. That has it’s place but for heavens sake do not judge the whole profession at that level.

The classes are all designed for self development and to learn interpersonal skills that reduce stress.

The Tai Chi is excellent for relieving stress and our classes are full. Our classes in Chi Kung and Meditation are full to bursting point.

The Chinese Masters with whom we mix are highly respected Professors who lecture at Cambridge and in China. Some are engaged in the research of Cancer and other illnesses at the behest of the Chinese Government. They are at the top of their profession and are not to be dismissed as quacks or cranks. To do so is highly disrespectful.

The Associations to which we belong all have a seat on the Parliamentary Advisory Board and are actively engaged in bringing and understanding of the various arts to a point where some control may be exercised over the amount of training and what may be offered to patients or clients.

If one is to do this, then the active directors of these various associations HAVE to be practising therapists and qualified to effect treatments before they can even begin to understand what is needed.

I have and always have held our Doctors in high regard for their dedication, training and expertise. The magnificent work that is done daily in out hospitals is nothing short of wonderful and the absolute faith that many have towards their GP is admirable.

The standards of education required before qualification, the years of service in A and E departments before obtaining licence to practice medicine is time well spent and laudable.

I can see easily the resentment that such may have towards the therapist who has done 10 weeks postal course and gets a Diploma. I can see the way that the advertisement for treatments in the Holistic magazines are dismissed as hocus-pocus and that practiced by nothing short of quacks.

By the way, a Quack is defined in the dictionary as one who falsely claim to practice as a medical doctor. No-one in the Holistic profession seems to claim that and the term should not be used to describe the practices in general, only those who lay false claims. The generalisation is demeaning and false.

If something works at any level and brings relief, there will be those for whom it is a valid alternative or adjunct to the medical advice from a Doctor. The big problem, and make no mistake it is a big one, people will go to a Doctor and be prescribed drugs then go to a Health shop and buy totally unsuitable supplements that often contradict the effects of the prescription drugs.

People are addicted to therapies and self diagnosis. Many will have Reflexology in the morning, hot stone healing in the afternoon and herbal remedies in the evening. The market is enormous. To try to tar all therapies with the same brush is as bad as dismissing Western Medicine out of hand because Doctors have been struck off for assaulting their patients or have prescribed the wrong drugs or there is MRSA in our hospitals.

In China, it was the old way that the villagers paid the village Doctor all the time they were well and did not pay when they were ill. Are we any different with our National Health Service where we all pay taxes and these are applied to pay for the hospitals and staff except that we keep paying even when we are ill. When we cannot get to be seen we go privately. When we are told we will have to wait months or years for treatment, we have to pay again and again. This is not right.

In China and elsewhere, it was possible to get daily treatment for the cause of the malady and to be advised on lifestyle and occupation, stress factors and so forth . Here it is so specialised that no one patient sees the same person for all things and no one adviser knows the whole family and the history.

That has got to count for something, surely.

Surely there is a good case for combining the best of both worlds and where the burden of post operative care, physiotherapy, counselling and so on can be done well by those not medically qualified but competent to do so, why not? Surely the costs of running a proper sports clinic are far less that running a hospital department with all it’s facilities, triage, nursing staff, cleaners, porters and so on.

At this clinic, we combine the expertise of 45 years of working with musculo-skeletal problems with acupressure, bone setting methods, auricular therapy, acupuncture, ‘Hands on Healing‘, Tai Chi, Chi Kung (QiGong), moxibustion and other methods. Each therapist has studied for between 7 and 20 years and continues to do so. We teach these methods to those whom we consider to have ability.

Admittedly, all of my students look to be ‘In training’ for 20 years and to study for the rest of their lives. The arts are so vast and it takes so long to train the mind in these methods that few will ever make it their course for life. Some will learn part and seek to use it and learn no more. That is their choice and may well be one that is as much as they can or ever will comprehend. If they do good, then who are we to complain.

They can always refer back to us here with problems or cases outside their expertise.

Examples.

Lets us look at a common occurrence and the different approaches.

This is a term used to describe the condition where the arm is immobile, difficult to move or so painful as not to be able to be used effectively. It is a catch all term, NOT a diagnosis.

I quote from Black’s dictionary. ‘ A painful condition of the shoulder accompanied by stiffness and considerable restriction of movement. The usual age incidence is 50-70 years. The cause is inflammation and contracture of the ligaments and muscles of the shoulder, probably due to overuse. Treatment is by physiotherapy and local steroid injections. There is practically always complete recovery though this may take 12 to 18 months.’’

The actual and more accurate diagnosis may be ruptured rotator cuff ligaments, tearing of the synovial capsule, glenoid cavity swelling, bursitis, sub acromial busritis, fracture of the scapular bone around the cavity of the socket, impact tearing of the pecs, deltoids, erector scapularis, latissimus dorsi, or any of something like 27 muscles, dozens of ligaments, bicep tunnel syndrome, loss of blood supply due to diabetes, fear and stress. Just to name a few. Otherwise, it may be due to ostephytes and quite simply, not drinking enough water for the production of plasma to form the lubricants in the joints.

Because of the complexity of the condition, a Doctor may prescribe anti-inflammatory drugs and physiotherapy before steroids are used. To diagnose it accurately will take considerable time and expertise. The Doctor may well not have been trained in these areas.

The advice given then is to keep the arm mobile and to stop the capsule seizing up. This does not seek to find the cause but to only deal with the symptoms. At another level, if that does not work, then the patient is referred to a specialist who may be a surgeon.

In the meantime, the patient is in pain, cannot work and may lose their job or if self employed, their entire livelihood. In the latter, often work comes first, before any consideration of health. Where the family involves youngsters or is a single family situation the pressures are enormous and cause great distress.

There are better ways, without using drugs.

The first rule is not to hurt the injured limb. Do not try to move it as to do so immediately causes pain and the muscles lock up even further. Suspend the arm in a sling with the cloth tied so that the arm can rotate laterally to keep the socket free.

Leave it resting to lose some of the inflammation for 24 hours. With the arm still slung, gently massage the area to see what has actually gone wrong. One will easily see bicep tunnel syndrome, pectoral muscle spasm, deltoid pain and so forth without ever causing more pain. This encourages the patient to think you may know what you are talking about and can be trusted.

Once an actual assessment has been made that there is no fracture and the matter is perhaps, bursitis the area can be massaged to promote the flow of blood ( and Chi) to induce healing by the rapid flow of oxygen. The reduction of pain allows the mast cells to reduce activity, for histamines to reduce and the whole area becomes more pliable.

Acupuncture is useful in these cases as is Acupressure, hand reflexology and massage of the neck to reduce tension.

Only when there is no pain at all and the swelling has gone should the arm be moved. This is done passive with minor movements until confidence is seen and then through a greater range until all the muscles loosen enough to give full brachiation.

By these methods I have achieved full recovery on most of my patients within a few weeks. I see about 50 -60 cases each year and all but a very few need medical intervention.

Many have had the condition for years and been hurt by other methods, used incorrectly.

A great deal of this syndrome is in the mind. Fear and vulnerability is prevalent in the majority of cases.

We are encouraged to have immunisation and in many cases, this is followed by an immediate onset of flu which is often compounded into pneumonia and upper respiratory tact infection. This is common knowledge.

The vaccination is suspended in an egg albumen with sometimes three different antibiotics and so on with two or three different strains of the virus, based upon a guess as to what may or may not be the virus that comes to pass.

Few people actually realise what is in it and no-one asks if you have an albumen allergy. The result is massive anaphylactic shock syndrome that could kill the unsuspecting or undiagnosed patient. Every year I see cases of this and each time, I tell the person to go back to the GP and tell them what has happened. Few do so and as far as I am aware, it never gets to ‘Yellow card’ for the drug companies to investigate further.

The folk law approach is and always has been to eat more fruit, to eat seasonal vegetables, to take warm drinks and to wrap up warm, use a handkerchief to stop the spread of germs and so on. If you do get it, go to bed, drink lots, take lemon juice and rest.

The Eastern may involve preventative measure such as herbs and acupuncture to promote the immune system together with correct diet and plenty of rest. In China now, they are using antibiotics together with the traditional methods and the TCM to obtain the best of both worlds.

The Holistic approach is to build up the immune system with 4 or 5 times the RDA of Vitamin C and to use other supplements for a period of 3 months before the onset of winter.

The thinking must be that antibiotics which are used indiscriminately are worse that no drugs at all and resistant strains of virus appear all the time.

Why then is the traditional method not given more credence and why do people turn to drugs when they are not ill ?

This is a remarkable method that has no logic whatsoever, defies explanation and is about as effective as any pain killing remedy in relieving pain, stress, inflammation and overcoming immobility. It is invaluable as a diagnostic tool and is a ready, highly effective means of relaxing a painful area anywhere on the body.

I often, a dozen times each week use it to enable patients to be able to undress for the examination when the are so badly injured they can hardly move. I use it to change the way the brain thinks of an injury and to establish the treatment once effected. Often it is a treatment in itself.

For those with ‘Lost Limb Syndrome’ or post operative rehabilitation it is one of the absolute epitome of treatments. It is so immediate and effective that it is almost a joke. One point can free a shoulder or a knee with ease. It appears to the uninitiated as verging on the miraculous. When I use it , it is done so in a very matter of fact way but with humour as quite simply, it is otherwise quite unbelievable.

For anyone wishing to learn this art, you are faced with at least 8 descriptions, untold different methods and a vast array of incorrect, incomplete bunkum where people have tried to explain why it works. It takes many years to learn.

I have used it for 40 years and do not know why it works.

It is not associated with any meridian therapy. It does not rely on sedation of nerve ganglia. It does not rely on belief, faith or anything else. It just works.

I had to rewrite the books for my students because none of the available literature was sufficient or without what I considered to be misleading information.

Every person who practices this art well does so in a different way. It is impossible to teach as such. Only to learn by experience having been shown that it works.

This art uses the herb Artemis Vulgaris. It is dried and prepared into a paste, a powder, small shredded sections of leaf and is applied traditionally either placed on acupuncture needles after insertion or on a piece of ginger which is placed on the skin and the herb burned. Traditionally, the scarring that this leaves promotes the body to heal long after the application. Such scarring is unacceptable in modern clinics and indirect moxa in the form of ‘cigars’ are used.

It produces intense infra red heat that penetrates the skin and warms muscles. It exchanges energy directly along the shaft of the needle and is used to enhance meridian therapy.

It may have it’s parallel in Western medicine in that when used for sports therapy, it is 10 times more effective than an infra red lamp, is applied for a shorter period and is completely safe in the hands of a skilled therapist.

Tissue that is warmed to 40’ C is 5 times more pliable, more able to be stretched to relieve adhesions and the pain killing effect is very definitely localised and does not use any drugs to achieve the effect.

It’s use in passive treatments and trigger point therapy is beyond question, the most effective way of utilising the healing properties.

I will not dilate here on the effects of Fa Jin energy projection as that will be incomprehensible without years of training. Some of you will know what I mean but it is probably academic to this discussion.

Summary.

I could recount endless tales of treatment from over 45 years having treated some 6,000 different people. I currently have some 1900 patients with their conditions recorded over the last 7 years. I see many who have been ill for 20 or 30 years without a correct diagnosis having been done. This does raise some questions to be answered .

I will be pleased to hear of anecdotal tales where the best of Western Medicine has played it’s part well, as it often does. I will also look forward to hearing of other methods and successes as well as the total failures of each system.

This is open forum. Let me have your views, please.

Tony Hardiman..Senior Lecturer.