What is preventative medicine and how can it help?

One of my favorite lines from the foundational Chinese medicine classical text 黃帝內經 素問《四氣調神大論第二》The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic, Plain Questions《Chapter 2, the Great Treatise on Harmonizing the Spirit with the Four Qi》(circa 475 - 100 BC) is:

…治未病，不治已亂，治未亂…。夫病已成而後藥之，亂已成而後治之，譬猶渴而穿井，鬭而鑄錐，不亦晚乎。

…The wise do not treat what has already become diseased, [they] treat before disease [has taken hold], not what is already disordered, [they] treat before disorder [has taken hold]… When illness has already [taken hold] and only then medicine is given, when disorder has already [taken hold] and only then one treats, this is like being thirsty and only then digging a well, like being in a fight and only then casting weapons. Is this not late?

‘Preventative medicine’ is what the wise practice according to this ancient text. So, what is preventative medicine anyway? What is preventing something that doesn’t yet exist? What is keeping order before it has become disordered? If it doesn’t yet exist how can you predict it will exist? 

We all can agree that we will be thirsty at some point in the future and we all know we will at some time get sick, but how can anyone or any medical system possibly know what kind of sickness will come and therefore prevent it? 

In Chinese medicine theory there are various imbalances that can happen. Stagnation of energy (Qi) is one of them. Phlegm, sometimes overt and sometimes invisible, is another. These can be detected through East-Asian medical diagnosis i.e. pulse taking, abdominal palpation etc. According to Chinese medicine, tumors, for example, are formed due to stagnation, often phlegm inside of the body is a culprit. When Qi flows freely, phlegm for example, can move out of the body, transform and resolve. According to Chinese medicine when we understand the clues that the body shares and treat the root of the issue, before it has taken a hold as ‘form’, it is like dismantling the foundation from under a building making it unable to stand.

How does the newly fertilized egg know how to grow into an embryo? How do each of the few existing cells know how to differentiate into the not yet formed kinds of tissue; muscle, nerve, reproductive… to eventually create the magnificent and complicated creatures we are, with our feet on the bottom, our heart in the chest and our head on top? To this day we have no modern explanation. Energy moves faster than form and according to Chinese medicine, it is energy (Qi) that then creates form, molds form and modifies already formed form – for better and for worse. 

That scratch in your throat, sadness, stiff neck or feeling in your gut is telling you that energy is not flowing smoothly.  We all have our ‘tell/s’ before illness takes hold. It could be a lingering cough, sleep is not what it once was or maybe your feet are always ice cold?  Maybe you have been sweating differently or can’t seem to sweat, maybe you run hot, your nose is always stuffy or your feet hurt? Could be your ears ring, you are feeling anxious or you have to wake to urinate more than before. Maybe you need to drink coffee to pick you up because your energy plummets during the day. Constipation or loose stool might be an issue or maybe you feel foggy headed. Maybe after you eat you get gassy and bloated, your joie de vivre is no longer, your menses knocks you down for the count, you have ED or frequent headaches. 

There are a so many symptoms that one can feel. You might have a diagnosis already. You might not. Whatever it is, a symptom or series of symptoms are the whispers (maybe even screams) that your energy (Qi) is not flowing optimally and according to Chinese medicine theory, once it does, the symptoms will resolve. Preventative medicine is listening to these whispers and treating the pattern that is forming before it has taken hold. Chinese medicine believes that symptoms are clues that indicate blockage or deficiency and map out a trajectory. The map shows where illness is beginning to take hold, illuminates what is becoming disordered. This is what is meant by “treat the root'“ (blockage or deficiency), “heal the branch” (the symptom you feel) and “feel better”. 

Often we are taught to tough it out, keep going about our day or that symptoms we experience are “normal”. We self-medicate, take over the counter medicine (or other medications) so that we can continue to function as best as we can. Many of us don’t actually believe that it is possible to feel better. Chinese medicine believes if there is a symptom or illness then there is also a treatment and you can feel better and most importantly that more serious illness down the line can be prevented.