History of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in Australia Chinese Medicine was first introduced to Australia in the 1850's during the gold rush. Acupuncture led the introduction of TCM in Australia which allowed all techniques to be adopted. TCM includes the practise of acupuncture (moxabustion), Tunia (Traditional Chinese Massage, Gua Sha, Cupping), reflexology, Chinese Nutrition, and Ear Candling in synergy.

Many people view TCM as a form of alternative medicine. Perhaps due to its differing philosophy to Western Medicine and also because many people turn to TCM as their alternative when other treatment methods have failed.

TCM is based on the principles of balance and harmony. Both the internal body and the person and the environment must be in balance to attain health. TCM views any kind of illness or injury as a state of unbalance or disharmony. The abovementioned techniques are used in combination to restore the natural balance and therefore health in the individual. A key focus of TCM is to treat the cause of a condition, rather than the individual symptoms; that is, treat the human, not the disease. TCM is a very personalised and tailored form of treatment. As TCM views each person as a unique individual, different treatments may be used to treat the same condition in different people.

TCM has rapidly grown in popularity in Australia recently. Health Fund accreditation, the formation of industry associations and the introduction of University study of TCM in Australia have all contributed to this increasing acceptance. Also as our lives become busier and more stressful, people are realising the benefits of a natural, holistic approach to balance in their life in achieving optimum health. The secret's out, people have been enjoying the benefits of a better quality of life thanks to TCM for years now. The more people who try it, the more people will be leading stress free healthier lifestyles. A major benefit of TCM is its ability to treat just about any disease, injury or condition you can think of! Not only do we treat the condition, we treat the whole person, and incorporate solutions which will affect long term lifestyle improvements. TCM can be viewed as a 'remedial' treatment, simply due to the fact that it quickly and effectively treats pain and various other conditions. People often ask if Traditional Chinese Massage is Remedial. The answer is a resounding YES! Although most major Australian health funds are yet to recognise the massage component of TCM, Chinese Massage is a highly specialised, unique and effective treatment method. Traditionally it is quite a deep style of massage, but unlike anything you have tried before. However, like any treatment, it can be adjusted to suit your individual needs. So if you prefer a gentler more relaxing massage, we can certainly cater for that too.

TCM is the ultimate in holistic treatments. Method necessitates we treat the patient as a whole person, rather than a series of separate individual problems. Also as each person's constitution differs, treatments and herbal medicines must be adjusted accordingly.

TCM can also be seen as a form of 'preventative' medicine as TCM theory states a well balanced body is the best defence against disease. If someone's health and body are already balanced, they are less likely to succumb to disease and environmental changes. Therefore we suggest our clients undertake a regular maintenance program to ensure they remain healthy, rather than waiting until illness strikes to seek attention.

Because Traditional Chinese medicine works from the perspective of restoring balance, it rarely interferes or interacts with other Western herbs or medicines. However there are exceptions and Chinese medicines should always be treated as any other medicine and taken in accordance with your practitioner's directions. Chinese Medicine can often help to counteract the side effects of many Western Medicines. As Chinese Medicine is derived from all natural plant sources, they are naturally quite safe while being highly effective. Chinese Medicines naturally contain components to counteract side affects, meaning side affects are very rare. Because Chinese Medicines are derived from natural sources they can only be concentrated to a certain level, which explains why you may have to take more than you expect. Don't be concerned, it is difficult to concentrate a large amount of plant matter into such tiny pills.