TCM helpful in polyneuropathy

Recent study confirms the lasting effects of TCM in polyneuropathy

01.06.2011

Tingling in feet and legs, numbness and agonizing pain: About three million Germans today suffer from polyneuropathy (PNP). The gradual progression of the disease damages the nerves and many patients eventually have to live a life in a wheelchair. Conventional medicine is reaching its limits with PNP, because drugs only relieve symptoms for a short time, but do not fight the causes of disease. The situation is quite different with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It relies on an individual, holistic concept based on five treatment columns. The success is confirmed by a recent study by the Klinik am Steigerwald in Gerolzhofen: In nine out of ten patients symptoms improved or their condition stabilized. Even two years after the hospital stay, this status was maintained.

When nerves can not stand anymore
What starts in the early stages with a slight tingling in the feet and legs leads to a serious disease course in many PNP patients. „In contrast to conventional medicine, TCM has far more accurate ways of describing the causes of the disease because of its different understanding of the disease. They are the key to therapy“, explains TCM expert Dr. Christian Schminke, general practitioner and director of the Clinic at the Steigerwald. From the perspective of TCM is so-called „Tan“ central cause of the disease. It describes substances that a sick organism no longer excretes and thus leads to inflammation. In order to successfully treat disease symptoms and their causes, TCM experts spend a lot of time on patients' medical history. Diseases in childhood as well as information about sleep and sweating behavior, digestive function or mental well-being flow. „By means of Chinese diagnostics we recognize even the finest body signals that conventional medicine does not consider“, so Dr. Schmincke. It helps pulse and tongue diagnosis. Only when individual causes are established do TCM experts begin treatment.

Successful therapy concept: the five pillars of TCM
Therapy success and sustainability of TCM is now confirmed by a recent study by Klinik am Steigerwald: 89 percent of the patients benefited from therapy two years after inpatient treatment. For example, the symptoms improved sustainably in 52 percent, and in 37 percent of patients the disease did not progress further. Dr. Christian Schmincke knows about the background of this success: „As with other chronic or inflammatory diseases, all five TCM columns are used in PNP. So Chinese remedies, acupuncture and moxibustion, Tuina massages, Qi Gong and nutritional science are tailored specifically to the individual disease.“ The Chinese drug therapy is one of the so-called internal therapies. Made from quality controlled herbs and minerals, it offers an infinite variety of recipes and variations. Thus, the treatment can be adapted individually to the course of the disease. Two PNP patients often get different prescriptions, as each disease is individually distinctive, even though it has the same name superficially. In addition to drug therapy, acupuncture restores the energy flow in the body. Fine needles along the meridians release tension and pain. Exercise therapies such as Qi Gong round off the treatment: they strengthen concentration on the body, mind and soul and improve the general condition. (Pm)