CEBU, Philippines - Traditional medical practice like acupuncture which dates back 4,000 years ago in China is not a popular choice among medical students, according to Dr. Jefferson Huan Ong, founding member of the Philippine Academy of Acupuncture.
“This is because the practice is a novelty compared to other specializations (e.g. cardiology and surgery), and gets no support from pharmaceutical companies, which makes funding for research hard to come by,” Dr. Ong, one of only two Certified Medical Acupuncturists or CMAs here in Cebu, said.
Nevertheless, Dr. Ong pointed out that being a doctor is more of a calling, not just a means of living. “The life of a doctor is more of a vocation. It’s a life of hard work and sacrifice. And as for medical acupuncturists, there should be a profound interest in the philosophy of body-mind-spirit in total wellness,” he underscored.
“To be a scientist is to be a philosopher. The philosophy in traditional patient care is largely unchanged in Chinese medicine – to be all encompassing: body.mind.spirit,” he explained.
“Though Western medicine can’t explain everything that it cannot quantify or measure, this integration encourages doctors to constantly question the workings of the human being as a whole. The dynamics of the human body is constantly changing, so how are we going to measure change? In the past, the absence of synthetics and chemical additives to food allowed doctors to partly diagnose what the person is ill of based on what he eats. We have diseases I call diseases of abundance, lifestyle diseases due to the all-availability of synthetic foodstuffs, the lack of exercise and inadequate rest. This stems from our current materialism and the wanton pursuit of wealth instead of the fulfillment of our life’s purpose.”
Acupuncture is based on an ancient Chinese philosophy - the Tao or Dao (the Way), this according to Articlesbase.com. “Basically, this philosophy states that all forms in the universe coexist in the pairing of opposites: male and female, up and down, cold and hot, the sun and the moon, black and white, etcetera. This duality and mutual interdependence underscore the concept of yin and yang (the female and the male). The ancient Chinese further divided yin and yang into the Five Elements, which are essentially the processes of change and transformation within yin and yang.
According to the theory, yin and yang balance and transform each other to attain harmony, and this process is expressed in the Five Elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth). “The Five Elements represent not only the seasonal changes within the year cycle, but also life cycle, such as from childhood to old age.”
Furthermore, the Five Elements represent different organs within the human body (metal represents the lungs and the colon and large intestines; wood represents the liver and gall bladder; water represents the bladder and kidneys; fire represents the heart and the small intestines; while earth represents the stomach and spleen).
According to traditional Chinese medicine, the balance of these organs within the body system holds the key to human health. Acupuncture is based on this philosophy of balance and harmony of the Five Elements to optimize human health.
“With changes in leadership and dynasties in ancient China, acupuncture was almost lost to wars and revolutions. But with a Western view, this is slowly yet eagerly studied to complement modern medicine,” Dr. Ong added.
And with today’s wide acceptance of the practice, it is foreseen to go mainstream in the future. Dr. Ong pointed out that “it’s not a far-fetched idea anymore. Twenty years ago it was difficult to imagine. Younger people are more open to it nowadays. There are ancient methods worth looking into.”
He reiterated though that most patients want a quick fix. “Actually, in most stubborn cases, the patient himself is the real problem. There are those who are adamant from changing their lifestyle patterns.”
Dr. Ong believes that while acupuncture and other non-conventional forms of medicine are options not so often considered, due to their lack of information, people are slowly being drawn to the time-proven methods of healing for their efficacy when all else fail. He has set up clinics to enhance the involvement of the patients in managing their own health. “This is the drive of holistic healthcare,” he stressed.
Dr. Jefferson Huan Ong is a graduate of the Cebu Doctors University College of Medicine (2003) and of the CDUH Post-Graduate Internship Training (2005). He is certified by the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Healthcare of the Department of Health.