Healing Techniques: Ethnomedicine

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Recommended: Cultural considerations in health care

According to Erickson (2008) ethnomedicine entails the study of the healing techniques and medical systems of a particular cultural group, comparisons of said systems between cultures, and the increasing prevalence of multiple-system approaches. She goes on to describe the role of medical anthropologists as studying the interaction that occurs between culture and health, and the use this information to understand and improve health related issues. Moreover, she defines culture as the set of beliefs, perceptions of the world and values that are shared within a society, which are utilized in experience interpretation and behaviour generation. The medical systems and practices utilized vary based on the culture in question, and their belief systems (Pelto and Pelto, 1997). A common trend seen in ethnomedicine is the use of multiple medical systems within a culture, known as pluralism (Erickson, 2008). This stems from the integration of other established medical systems or practices into the dominant medical system of a region. This topic will be examined in reference to the practice of tuina in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and the integration and alteration of this practice into the Western world, alongside the biomedical model.

Erickson (2008) provides an outline of how TCM illustrates that ying and yang are polar opposites that cannot exist independent of one another, and an imbalance of ying/yang can cause disease. She goes on to describe Qi as the vital force or energy within TCM, and that it flows throughout the body via meridians. Furthermore, blockage of the free flow of Qi through these meridians may also lead to disease. TCM focuses on the belief of disease causation being due to bodily imbalances (in ying/yang, me...

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...Studying knowledge, culture, and behaviour in applied medical anthropology. Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 11(2), 147-163.

Shi-xiong, X., Lin, J., & Qing-wei, W. (2005). Numerical investigation of effect of rolling manipulation of traditional Chinese medical massage on blood flow. Applied Mathematics & Mechanics, 26(6), 753-760. doi:10.1007/BF02465426

Xiao-Ming, Y., Peng, W., Ben-Shun, Y., Hai-Yang, G., & Quan-Zhen, X. (2011). Hematuria after orthopedic tuina: a case report and brief review of literature. Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine (Ecam), 8(1), 1-3. doi:10.1155/2011/953686

Yixin, K., Shiyong, L., Jianchuan, L., Fanhui, M., & Hongbo, C. (2011). Primary massage using one-finger twining manipulation for treatment of infantile Muscular Torticollis. Journal Of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 17(3), 231-237. doi:10.1089/acm.2010.0176

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