Medicine includes theory and clinical practice. In terms of theory, Yuan Shi Dian (YSD) medicine believes life has to be sustained by the functioning of the body’s tissues and organs. The normal functioning of tissues and organs requires adequate energy as the driving force. This energy is known as Heat Energy. Consequently, all Symptoms and Signs of disease and illness are due to issues concerning two aspects: First, the issue of Tishang, from the aspect of the malfunctioning of the body’s tissues and organs, and second, the issue of Heat Energy Deficiency, from the aspect of insufficient body energy to supply what is needed for the normal functioning of tissues and organs.

In clinical practice, YSD medicine has proven empirically through Antui and Heat Sources that all Symptoms and Signs of disease and illness are caused by Tishang and Heat Energy Deficiency. Tishang is divided into Remote Tishang and Affected Area Tishang. Tishang can directly lead to Symptoms and Signs, while Heat Energy Deficiency can affect Tishang and, from Tishang, lead to Symptoms and Signs. That is, if there are Symptoms and Signs, there must be Tishang. In order to self-repair Tishang, the body will expend even more Heat Energy. Hence severe Tishang can lead to Heat Energy Deficiency and poor stamina; conversely, Heat Energy Deficiency can worsen Tishang and aggravate Symptoms and Signs, resulting in a vicious cycle. It follows that Tishang and Heat Energy Deficiency mutually influence each other; together, they sway the changes in the condition of the disease and illness. Therefore, in order to treat the disease and illness, Antui and Heat Sources must be used in combination to resolve Tishang and ameliorate Heat Energy Deficiency simultaneously.

In terms of diagnosis and treatment in YSD medicine, it has been stated that by observing Symptoms and Signs, one can deduce the Cause from the Effects, and by utilizing Contributing Factors favorable in medical treatment and health maintenance, Symptoms and Signs can be resolved by treating from the Cause. However, for the theory of Cause, Contributing Factors and Effect, and the diagnosis and treatment methods in YSD medicine to be fully applied to clinical practice and achieved consistency between theory and practice, it is based on empirical evidence from the application of Antui and Heat Sources, and completed after continuous research, development, and inductions. That is, by observing if there are Symptoms of poor stamina and determining the type of Tishang that caused the Symptoms and Signs, the relative severity of disease and illness, and the location of Tishang are inferred. From these, the principle of treatment of Antui and Heat Sources can be determined to ameliorate Tishang and Heat Energy Deficiency. This serves to achieve the goals of safeguarding life and the healing of disease and illness. After completing a large number of cases and learning from experience, the time required for treatment and the scope of medicine’s efficacy were summarized.

In addition, finding the Yuan Shi Tong Dian to Antui can quickly resolve Remote Tishang, eliminate disease and illness instantly or make them disappear. Thus the goal of medical treatment - treating pre-existing disease and illness or treating them before their onset, can be achieved. Besides, in the course of treatment, YSD can identify the location of Tishang for pre-existing disease and illness or pre-disease. Hence diagnosis and treatment can be integrated as one and accomplished in a single step.

Serious Heat Energy Deficiency will weaken stamina and endanger lives, so for safety purposes, the diagnosis and treatment method of Yuan Shi Dian medicine is, first and foremost, to identify the relative severity of the disease and illness. That is, by observing whether there is serious Heat Energy Deficiency manifested by Symptoms of poor stamina. If there are Symptoms of poor stamina, it is a case of severe disease and illness ( 重病 ). If there are no Symptoms of poor stamina, it is a case of mild or severe Symptoms ( 輕重症 ). It is only after this determination that the location of Tishang of disease and illness can be identified. This requires that Symptoms and Signs be treated differently. Signs, as tissue damage appearing on the surface of the body, are certainly caused by Affected Area Tishang and can be visually identified. For Symptoms, the location of Tishang can either be Remote or Affected Area. Therefore, although by observing Symptoms and Signs, the location of Tishang of disease and illness can be inferred, it is for reference only; it is not absolute and can only be confirmed after Antui of Yuan Shi Tong Dian.

That is, through Antui of the corresponding Yuan Shi Tong Dian, if there is improvement, the location of Tishang of the disease and illness is Remote. “Remote” refers to the location at “Yuan Shi Dian along the Spine and Seven Regions of the Body”; the tender points found on the body surface at the “Remote” locations are referred to as Yuan Shi Tong Dian. If there is no immediate improvement, the location of Tishang of the disease and illness is at the Affected Area; the tender points found in the vicinity of the Affected Area are called tender points of the Affected Area.

In theory, the tender points represent the location of Tishang. For example, if the tender points are located at the Yuan Shi Dian location, this Tishang is called Remote Tishang. If the tender points are located in the vicinity of the Affected Area, this Tishang is known as Affected Area Tishang. However, in clinical practice, to confirm the location of Tishang, it must be through Antui of the corresponding Yuan Shi Tong Dian to see whether the disease/illness is alleviated after Antui. Also, it must be noted that tender points are different from painful areas. The former (i.e., tender points) are only “tender” when Antui. They represent the location of Tishang and are switches for healing disease and illness, therefore, can be subject to Antui. The latter (i.e., painful areas) are painful even without pressing. They represent the locations of the disease and illness. They are not switches for healing, so they cannot be subject to Antui. To identify the location of disease and illness before their onset, one can Antui “Yuan Shi Dian along the Spine and Seven Regions of the Body” to locate the tender points which represent the location of Tishang. Hence regardless of pre-existing disease and illness or pre-disease, it encompasses treatment through Antui before the diagnosis (identifying the location of Tishang). Therefore, this process is treatment as well as diagnosis.

The YSD method of diagnosis and treatment is applied through observation as follows:

If there is no disease and illness, it means stamina is normal, and Heat Energy is sufficient. The treatment method is that Antui should be primary, supplemented by Heat Sources. From “Yuan Shi Dian along the Spine and Seven Regions of the Body,” one can find the tender points to Antui and coordinate with External Heat Sources for warming. This serves to quickly resolve Remote Tishang and make disease and illness disappear to achieve the goal of treating disease and illness before their onset.

If it is a case of mild or severe Symptoms, the treatment method is that Antui should be primary, supplemented by Heat Sources. That is, Antui of the corresponding Yuan Shi Tong Dian is primary; applying Heat Sources on the Yuan Shi Dian is secondary. If there is no immediate improvement with Antui, Antui of the tender points of the Affected Area should be primary; applying Heat Sources to Wenfu the Affected Area is secondary. Only in this way can the goal of resolving the Symptoms and Signs caused by either Remote or Affected Area Tishang be achieved.    

If it is a case of severe disease and illness, treatment should be based primarily on applying Heat Sources; Antui and other health maintenance methods are secondary. That is, first and foremost, utilize External and Internal Heat Sources, mainly ginger powder, ginger powder paste, or ginger soup applied at the location of Tishang, then Antui the Yuan Shi Tong Dian and Wenfu the Yuan Shi Dian. If such Antui cannot immediately improve the condition, then Antui the tender points of the Affected Area and Wenfu the Affected Area. Meanwhile, this must be further coordinated with appropriate exercise, adequate rest, and a good state of mind. In this way, Tishang and Heat Energy Deficiency are ameliorated. This serves to achieve the goals of safeguarding life and the healing of disease and illness.

In summary, identifying the relative severity of the disease and illness is for determining whether Antui or Heat Sources should be primary, whereas identifying the location of Tishang of the disease and illness is for determining the treatment location of Antui and Heat Sources. Among these, to identify the location of Tishang of disease and illness, one must first Antui the Yuan Shi Tong Dian to see if there is no immediate improvement; only then can one Antui the tender points of the Affected Area. For example, for pain and swelling of the knee, one would Antui the Hip Yuan Shi Tong Dian; if there is no immediate improvement, one can then find the tender points at the area of coverage around the knee to Antui. However, the efficacy of resolving Symptoms and Signs with Antui of the tender points of the Affected Area only covers the knee. In contrast, Antui of the Hip Yuan Shi Tong Dian can cover not only the knee but also other areas, including the groin, thigh, calf, and ankle. 

It follows that Yuan Shi Tong Dian are the principal switches and the tender points of the Affected Area are minor switches. The minor switches must be engaged only if there is no immediate efficacy after Antui of the principal switches. Even so, because the minor switches can be close at hand to resolve Symptoms and Signs caused by Affected Area Tishang and compensate for what is beyond the power of Yuan Shi Tong Dian Antui, they are indispensable tools in medical treatment and the healing of disease and illness.   

(1) Differentiating between mild or severe Symptoms ( 輕重症 ) and the principle of treatment

1)   Observe Symptoms and Signs: if there are no Symptoms of poor stamina, it is considered a case of mild or severe Symptoms. This refers to both mild and severe Symptoms.

2)   Mild Symptoms: Symptoms and Signs are located in the extremities, such as pain in the knee, elbow, ankle, wrist, and numbness in the fingers; they are not life-threatening and therefore considered mild.

3)   Severe Symptoms: Symptoms and Signs are located at the head and body, such as dizziness, coughing, chest pain, chest tightness, abdominal bloating, and constipation; they are potentially dangerous and therefore considered severe.

4)   Whether the Symptoms are mild or severe, or even for a case of severe disease and illness, the improvement or deterioration of the patient’s condition can be differentiated based on their relative severity depending on whether the occurrence of the Symptoms and Signs is localized or at multiple areas, whether it is infrequent or frequent, and of short or long duration. That is, if the Symptoms and Signs are eased, it is a turn for the better. Conversely, if the Symptoms and Signs become more severe, it would be an exacerbation.

Mild or severe Symptoms indicate that Heat Energy Deficiency is not yet serious. So the primary treatment should be Antui with the application of Heat Sources as secondary. If the Symptoms and Signs are not improved after undergoing this type of treatment, the most likely issue is Hands-on Technique; secondly, it is applying Heat Sources. That is, the Hands-on Technique must be applied in finding the tender points to Antui from the Yuan Shi Dian location, which may be deep or shallow, or even up or down, and left or right. Antui requires “An” (press) first and then “tui” (rub). Pressing must be from light to heavy and from shallow to deep; rubbing, which is forward and backward, must be applied evenly back and forth; the force should not be too blunt, and the body posture must be coordinated. External and Internal Heat Sources must be applied directly at the location of Tishang. As patients with mild or severe Symptoms still have good stamina, the use of External and Internal Heat Sources is required to ameliorate Heat Energy Deficiency at specific areas only. For example, for wounds, swollen eyes, nasal congestion, constipation, and such, one can use ginger (soup) to wash the wounds and eyes, spray the nose, and apply enema instead of drinking concentrated ginger soup to comprehensively improve the body constitution. In this way, the amelioration of Tishang and Heat Energy Deficiency at specific areas can be enhanced.

It follows that in the face of mild or severe Symptoms, or even severe disease and illness, the health practitioner must be proficient in theory and diligently practice Hands-on Technique so that through observation of Symptoms and Signs, the principle of treatment of Antui and Heat Sources can be determined to achieve the goal of resolving Symptoms and Signs caused by Remote or Affected Area Tishang.   

(2) Identifying severe disease and illness ( 重病 ) and the principle of treatment

1)   Observe Symptoms and Signs: if there are Symptoms of poor stamina, it is a case of severe disease and illness.

2)   With severe disease and illness, if the condition is such that stamina declines and continues to weaken further and further, this is indicative that Heat Energy is greatly depleted and a dangerous situation emerges. Even if there is no immediate threat of life, it may be difficult to recover in the short term.

3)   With severe disease and illness, if the patient’s condition deteriorates to the stage accompanied by a steep decline in stamina and the situation is urgent (such as inability to eat, difficulty in bladder and bowel movement, insomnia, dramatic weight loss, high fever, diarrhea, lack of facial luster, weak voice, general weakness, generalized edema, wheezing, difficulty in breathing, delirium, dull and inattentive eyes, loss of consciousness, and inability to express); also if there are multiple and simultaneous occurrences, these are indicative that Heat Energy is almost completely depleted and life is threatened.

Severe disease and illness indicate serious Heat Energy Deficiency. Therefore, to preserve life and self-heal the disease and illness, the primary treatment should be to apply External and Internal Heat Sources; Antui and other health maintenance methods are secondary.

Hence to treat severe disease and illness, one must first emphasize the amelioration of Heat Energy Deficiency; resolving Tishang is secondary. Since Heat Energy is reflected in stamina and Tishang manifested in Symptoms and Signs, to assess whether the condition of the patient with severe disease and illness improves or deteriorates, besides observing Symptoms and Signs, one must observe the physical stamina. That is, if stamina is even weaker or Symptoms and Signs are more severe, it means that the condition is deteriorating. Conversely, if stamina is restored or the severity of the Symptoms and Signs are reduced, it means improvement. However, observing stamina is far more important than observing Symptoms and Signs. Regardless of whether the Symptoms and Signs improve, if one can see that stamina gradually becomes more sufficient, it means improvement; conversely, if stamina gradually declines, it is deterioration.

If the patient with severe disease and illness applied all YSD methods to no avail and the condition even worsened, the reason is attributed to two types of situations, and they are none other than: 

1.      YSD treatment methods are not properly implemented. For example, the application of External and Internal Heat Sources cannot directly reach the location of Tishang, Antui or exercise are not executed properly, concepts are not clear, emotions fluctuate too much, the patient is overly fatigued, etc. Regarding the aforementioned situation, to enhance the amelioration of Tishang and Heat Energy Deficiency, the patient must use External and Internal Heat Sources in everyday life. By primarily using ginger powder, ginger powder paste, or ginger soup for an enema or for smearing to a large area, and such, one allows the Heat Sources to go straight to the location of Tishang and warm the tissues and organs directly. Meanwhile, the patient must act in concert with Contributing Factors favorable in medical treatment and health maintenance such as Antui of tender points, adopt a diet of warming and hot nature, get appropriate exercise and adequate rest, maintain a good state of mind, and keep the indoor environment warm, comfortable, tranquil, tidy, clean, and well-ventilated. Further, the patient must avoid Contributing Factors detrimental to health including surgery, any food and medicine of a cold and cooling nature, and various intravenous infusions, such as glucose, saline, albumin, antibiotics, and diuretics. It is only by doing so that the healing of disease and illness can be accelerated and patients with severe disease and illness can turn from peril to safety.

2.      If YSD treatment methods are properly implemented, there are two types of situations:

(1)   This is a normal phenomenon in the process of repairing Tishang. That is, upon assessing that the condition will eventually improve, continue YSD treatment.

(2)   This is an intractable case that cannot be treated from the Cause. The assessment is that it is beyond the scope of the body’s ability to self-heal. In the face of this situation, it is necessary to evaluate carefully whether treating from the Effects is effective. If it is effective, refer to Western medicine for treatment. If not, it is best to maintain the status quo.

(3) Differentiating between living and dying and the principle of treatment

If it takes the patient a long time to take a quick breath while gasping for air with shoulders lifted, this is indicative that Heat Energy is completely depleted, stamina is exhausted, and life is ending. The principle of treatment is to absolutely avoid rescue procedures that increase the patient’s pain and suffering, such as chest compression (CPR), electric shock, and insertions of tracheostomy tube, nasogastric tube, and urinary catheter. Also, avoid other pointless treatments, including any food and medicine of a cold and cooling nature and even various intravenous infusions. Also, avoid feeding medicine and food of a warming and hot nature as well as Antui of Yuan Shi Dian. In addition, people around the patient must control their emotions and noise level to allow the patient to maintain clarity and pass away peacefully. If able, adeptly enlighten the patient according to his/her beliefs or habits to let go of worldly attachments. That would be a great help on deathbed.

(4) Assessing the time required for the treatment of disease and illness

(1)   For acute disease and illness such as influenza, vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty in bladder and bowel movement; and those diagnosed by Western medicine such as intestinal obstruction, appendicitis, gallstones, acute gastroenteritis, enterovirus, and food poisoning; or general acute trauma such as redness, swelling, abrasions, and bleeding, the treatment time required is about one to seven days. 

(2)   For acute disease and illness with poor stamina, or severe acute trauma such as thermal burns, toxic burns, muscle swelling or tearing, and bone fractures, the treatment time required is about seven to thirty days.

(3)   For chronic disease and illness such as slow movements, general weakness, abnormal fatigue, weak voice, lack of facial luster, cold limbs and body, edema of limbs and body, muscle atrophy, muscular decay, and necrosis; and as diagnosed by Western medicine such as rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, spinocerebellar atrophy, Meige syndrome, autism, persistent vegetative state, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, even fibroids, and cancerous tumor; the treatment time required is about one to three months, and for the most severe cases, it is about three to six months.

(4)   For chronic disease and illness: if having undergone all diagnosis and treatment methods for half a year, the patients’ conditions do not improve and even worsen, those would be considered intractable cases.

(5) Assessing the scope of medicine’s efficacy

Regarding acute or chronic disease and illness, if the patient has undergone all YSD diagnosis and treatment methods without effect or even worsened, and upon assessing that the disease and illness cannot be treated from the Cause; or they are acute traumatic injuries and tissue damage such as joint dislocation, severed limbs, bone fractures, and swallowing fish bones by mistake which only require observation to immediately determine that they cannot be treated from the Cause: All the above are Symptoms and Signs which are caused by Affected Area Tishang and cannot be treated from the Cause; they are beyond the scope of YSD’s treatment efficacy. It is necessary to evaluate carefully whether treating from the Effects is effective. If it is effective, refer to Western medicine for treatment. If not, it is best to maintain the status quo. Conversely, all other Symptoms and Signs caused by Affected Area Tishang that can be treated from the Cause, Symptoms and Signs caused by Remote Tishang, and treating disease and illness before the onset through Antui of the tender points at the Yuan Shi Dian locations, are all within the scope of YSD treatment efficacy. This scope is more similar to traditional Chinese medicine but very far from Western medicine.

The biggest difference between YSD and Western medicine is that YSD medicine treats disease and illness from the Cause and targets Symptoms and Signs as objects for diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, in the face of disease and illness such as influenza, food poisoning, drug allergies, damage caused by poisonous substance and poisonous gas, burns, stroke, epilepsy, myocardial infarction, intestinal obstruction, acute gastroenteritis, acute renal failure, and fetal death; chronic disease and illness such as diabetes, hypertension, leukemia, lymphoma, lung cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, Meige Syndrome, spinocerebellar atrophy, autism, persistent vegetative state, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis; regardless of Western medicine’s diagnosis of medical names and etiologies, whether they are classified as mild or severe, internal or surgical, YSD’s treatment method is the same, namely, by observing Symptoms and Signs, use Antui and apply External and Internal Heat Sources and other health maintenance methods to ameliorate Tishang and Heat Energy Deficiency. Such diagnosis and treatment can treat pre-existing disease and illness as well as treat them before their onset.

In contrast, Western medicine replaces the observation of Symptoms and Signs with results from examinations by medical instruments. It attempts to treat abnormalities and tissue damage detected as the causes of disease and illness or regard abnormalities as the disease and illness themselves, which would require medical treatment. In theory, it commits the fallacies of inverting Effects as Causes and not differentiating between aging and illness. In clinical practice, such diagnosis and treatment may not necessarily reflect the true state of health and may not necessarily resolve disease and illness. It is beyond the scope of medical treatment.

Further, Western medicine’s treating the disease and illness from the Effects solely encompasses medical treatment but not health maintenance. It targets the Affected Area(s), so although through Western medication, it can modify the functioning of tissues and organs and temporarily suppress Symptoms and Signs, it would be difficult to improve the body constitution and thoroughly heal the disease and illness. Treating abnormal forms and tissue damage by surgery, of course, can help heal disease and illness caused by Affected Area Tishang, but it may not necessarily help resolve Symptoms caused by Remote Tishang. Besides, surgery and Western medication could severely damage the body and deplete Heat Energy. For patients with severe disease and illness, not only would it be difficult to achieve a cure, it could even endanger their lives.

The solution: the diagnosis and treatment method of YSD medicine is by observing Symptoms and Signs, infers the relative severity of the disease and illness and the location of Tishang to determine the principle of treatment of Antui and Heat Sources; and in daily life, coordinate with appropriate exercise, adequate rest, and a good state of mind. In this way, Tishang and Heat Energy Deficiency can be ameliorated. The body’s immunity and self-healing power can be enhanced to achieve the goals of safeguarding life and healing disease and illness. It can also reap the benefit of modifying the Cause to change the Effects and simultaneously resolve abnormalities and tissue damage detected by medical instruments.

Moreover, the YSD method of diagnosis and treatment has been widely used with good results on animals, such as cows, horses, sheep, chickens, cats, dogs, and pigs. In time, in the face of avian influenza, perhaps livestock culling will no longer be necessary and be replaced by more humane treatment. Also, there are examples of successful cases of External Heat Sources applied on plants. Although the cases are too few, thus are small-scale, they are worth waiting for!