One topic I haven’t spent time on concerns the impact of Herbal therapy on a patient’s treatment. In China, many practitioners solely rely on herbs to treat a patient. This is not the case for TCM practitioners practicing in the West. Western TCM practitioners focus their treatments by utilizing the modalities I have discussed much more in this blog such as, Meridian based Acupuncture.

In the West, herbs are dispensed I two ways. A qualified practitioner can order bulk herbs and create their own herbal formulas or they can order patent formulas from manufacturers. A patent formula usually come in tablets or pills. For most practitioners, the patent formula version is preferred due to it being easier to administer.

When I first started practicing, I really wanted to experience how the true Chinese Medical doctors practice this medicine. They still like to make their own formulas by accessing bulk herbs. That’s how I practiced. I had my own herbal pharmacy and made formulas by combing the correct dosage of individual herbs.

I really enjoyed this and found it exciting. However, it was time consuming and when you trying to build your practice, I had to allocate my time in other areas. Thus, I followed the path of most Western TCM practitioner and found a quality company where I get premade herbal formulas in either a pill or table form.

These herbs must undergo an extensive testing process to qualify to be purchased. I purchase my herbs from a company that exceeds the industry standard. Most of these formulas are the same ones noted in the traditional treatment literature. For example, I prescribe the classic formula, Zi Ran Tong, for any acute injuries with pain. This classic formula helps to disperse stasis and heal the injury.

As TCM furthers integrates with the Western healthcare system, herbs will play a more prominent role.