Significance of Combination Therapy with Kampo Medicine and Acupuncture
10.3777/jjsam.60.134
- VernacularTitle:湯液（漢方）と鍼灸の併用療法の意義
- Author:
Hideyuki ISOBE
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Kampo medicine;
acupuncture;
combination therapy;
correction of distortion;
two wheels of one cart;
synergistic effect;
complementary effect;
QOL (Quality of Life) improvement
- From:Journal of the Japan Society of Acupuncture and Moxibustion
2010;60(2):134-147
- CountryJapan
- Language:Japanese
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Abstract:
Kampo medicine and acupuncture have traditionally been compared to "two wheels of one cart". Both Kampo medicine and acupuncture have the main aim of eliciting the healing ability of human nature and treat the disease state grasped as "physical/mental distortion"to correct the distortion. Kampo medicine and acupuncture have a lot in common. For example, both respect the subjective symptoms, place an emphasis on removal of complaints and are based on individual care. By utilizing such common points and common direction of care, the combination therapy with Kampo medicine and acupuncture can contribute to alleviation of complaints and QOL (Quality of Life) improvement more effectively than each monotherapy alone. Furthermore, Kampo medicine and acupuncture increase the therapeutic effect of each other and a synergistic effect rather than the additive effect can be expected.
On the other hand, Kampo medicine is basically taken by oral ingestion and treats the body from inside, whereas acupuncture is based on stimulation of acupuncture points of the body surface and treats the body from outside. Based on such difference, Kampo medicine and acupuncture have actually different favorite fields and different favorite disease states. It is therefore possible to realize a complementary therapy by utilizing the characteristics of each other.
At the outpatient office of oriental medicine of Saitama Medical University, various combinations of Kampo medicine and acupuncture have been tried and it is often experienced that such combinations are useful to improve patient's QOL. Furthermore, in not a few patients, it is combination therapy that can show a high effect or combination therapy is essential.
In this lecture, among the cases where combination therapies were effective, those for which the combination effect can be explained easily were presented and discussed. Some cases of chronic urticaria, fibromyalgia syndrome, low back pain (lumbar spondylosis), tension headache and patulous eustachian tube were raised. Kampo medicine added with acupuncture or acupuncture added with Kampo medicine could achieve further QOL improvement such as shortening of the duration of treatment until cure, improvement of complaints not resolved by each monotherapy and alleviation of accompanying symptoms.
