Case study analysis

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

I think you are going to have to do a little of your own research on our site and others and clarify some of your questions so someone can offer a clear answer. I&#39ll try to answer some of your questions below:

1) "I see claims of effectiveness and testimonials but how about rigorous verifiable scientific research?"

As you may or may not be aware researchers who do studies on energy healing techniques are often offering a death blow so to speak to their medical/research careers largely from judgement from their peers, plus studies are expensive to conduct. Because of these issues and many others credible studies on -any- form of energy healing are limited. We have one study - "The Tong Ren Healing Method: A Survey Study" performed by independent researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Emory University School of Nursing and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School - which was fairly well done.

With that, though, within energy healing what constitutes "rigourous" "verifiable" research - case studies? We have plenty of testimonials (search "tong ren" on you tube for example and there are many of this site). But energy healing as a mechanism is very difficult to study outside of simple results because we don&#39t know all of the mechanisms it engages in the healing process. And for some simple results are not enough evidence...

2) "Traditional Oriental medicine looks at each individual and the patterns of Yin and Yang present in the Five Substances, working on that holistic package. How effective is it when when addressing the symptom or disease rather than the individual? "

Why are you assuming that you are only focusing on the symptoms - does our body not have the ability to understand and treat both the cause and the effect of imbalance? Isn&#39t tcm theory and applications only one of many ways to engage the natural understandings and healing potential of the body? Did we create tcm theory and acupuncture points or did the body tell us about them? Your answer to that question is important.... because it lets you know who knows more about the body - you or it...

3) "I do beleive there is likely similarity in each scenario to offer some benefit but where is the evidence? Is it only partially effective since it is a blend?"

See above.... I don&#39t think you&#39ll find many partial responses so to speak, so I&#39m not sure what you mean by partially effective because it is a blend. I&#39m fairly certain you are trying to say that Chinese Medicine alone and properly done is the only way to fully treat conditions and this I would say is completely incorrect. Everyone blends things all day long - with their diet as medicine, their mind as medicine, acupuncture, herbs - western and eastern, western medicine, exercise, posture, etc. There are many aspects that brings one to health or disease and tcm theory is not the holder of all these truths and methods.

More on the relationships with Tong Ren, Western and Eastern Medicien are in an open letter written to physicians from a physician familiar with Tong Ren Therapy - Dr. Daly Overview of Tong Ren.

Comment by Archived User

for your considerate reply. One survey study is helpful, it is difficult to conduct a study, I had hoped there were more out there. I am less concerned with the energy healing aspect than with the mode of diagnosis creating a presciption.

The patterns are described as being for such and such disease rather than for Pat or Jesse as they present at the moment.

So I wonder how much is the effectiveness of the treatment changed? I think that is a reasonable question. Since we have only begun the documentation I realize now that it may be centuries before we know... except that data collection and sorting is made so much easier by computing today. I greatly appreciate your help in sorting out this complex set of concepts. -K