Traditional or Western treatment? Often the solution is both

On a September afternoon, sunlight streamed through the window and cast a warm glow on the floor of the hospital treatment room.

But the warmth paled in comparison to the heat emanating from my lower abdomen — where a ceramic cup holding several burning pieces of charcoal rested.

For a moment, a funny idea slipped into my mind. I felt like my belly was being grilled like a piece of meat.

The cup is large and round, four or five times bigger than the vessel usually used in traditional cupping therapy. Its base lightly sticks to my skin, a bit like cupping, but not quite the same.

This therapy is known in traditional Chinese medicine as fuyang cupping. Based on the TCM principle of "if there is free flow of qivital energy — and blood, there is no pain; if there is pain, there is no free flow," the burning charcoal released heat, warming my navel and lower back to promote the circulation of qi and blood through the body.

This was my third treatment session. I had been suffering from severe lower back pain that had nearly immobilized me for the past two months. I have had X-rays followed by a 40-minute session in an MRI machine, which showed that there was a severe problem with the discs in my spine.

And so I began my long journey of treatment. I found that both TCM and Western medicine have a similar conceptual framework when it comes to treating the same illness. It's like describing the same object using different languages.

For example, my lower back is unstable due to issues with the discs, which led to problems with the soft tissue. The fascia near my lumbar vertebrae had thickened and formed calcifications, causing consistent pain and extreme discomfort, especially when I sit.

In Western medicine, this is called aseptic inflammation or fasciitis, where blood flow is often restricted, causing tightness in the fascia and pain that can worsen if not treated. In TCM, it is known as bi (obstruction) syndrome, attributed to stagnation of qi and blood in the meridians.

Treatment of the pain often requires a combination of Western methods and TCM. Western medicine boasts advanced technologies like X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans for diagnosis, and therapies including extracorporeal shock wave. Similarly, TCM has massage, acupuncture, cupping and other practical techniques.

When combined effectively, these approaches complement each other and aid in the better recovery of patients.

That's also my way of getting back to health. Alleviating pain using TCM treatments, and adopting sports rehabilitation training to strengthen functional muscles for better support of my spine.

But body recovery takes time. Removing cold and dampness from the body is a lengthy process, said my therapist, an experienced TCM practitioner. Just as winter ice and snow melt in the warmth of the following spring, she added.

As the warmth on my abdomen gradually transitioned from hot to mild, I knew it was time to turn over for another cup on my lower back.

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