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what is it?
The traditional healing system of Tibet draws on ayurvedic, Chinese and Greco-Persian medicine, integrating herbal remedies, acupuncture, massage, yoga and meditation with the Buddhist understanding of the relationship between mind, body and spirit.
Illness is said to result from disruptions in the flow of 'vital energy' known as rLung through the body and treatment seeks to remove blockages or restore depletions. Physical and psychological functions are also governed by the balance between three dynamic and interacting forces or 'humours' — 'wind' which is responsible for activity, 'bile' for vitality and 'phlegm' for stability.
what it's supposed to do
The emphasis on spirituality, philosophy and a mind-body dynamic means that Tibetan medicine seeks to do more than simply restore you to the state you were in before becoming ill. According to some practitioners, its ultimate purpose is to help people face psychological truths and transform themselves.
Although as an autonomous healing system it would claim to treat all conditions, Western patients tend to turn to Tibetan medicine for chronic and difficult to treat disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome and arthritis.
what happens
A Tibetan doctor diagnoses by observing your general appearance and examining your eyes, lips and tongue, closely questioning you about your habits and lifestyle, testing up to 365 subtle pulses on each wrist to assess the flow of rLung, and analysing urine by taste, smell, colour, bubbles, steam and sediment.
Treatment aims to readjust the balance of energies and takes four approaches: lifestyle adaptations that may include therapeutic massage and vigorous yoga-like exercises known as kum nye; dietary changes; herbal medicine; acupuncture and moxibustion, in which a herb called moxa is burned on a needle over the acupoints to create a stimulating heat.
There are hundreds of different combinations of herbs (many of them unique to Tibet), saps, resins, precious stones and minerals. Some remedies, formulated as pills, incense or oils, may contain more than 50 ingredients. Although some contain potentially poisonous metals such as gold, lead and mercury, they are not yet properly regulated in the UK and the US. Expensive gold and silver acupuncture needles are also used, and in Western practice ought to be sterilised in an autoclave. The incantation of prayers and mantras is an important element, regarded as adding extra potency to the remedies.
what's the evidence?
No controlled clinical trials have been carried out on traditional Tibetan medicine. However, a commercial preparation known as Padma 28, which contains 22 different ingredients, including sandalwood, liquorice and cardamom, has been the subject of several clinical trials at the Middlesex Hospital, London. These found it effective in treating peripheral vascular disease, a condition caused by hardening of the arteries in the legs. Other studies suggest the preparation has antioxidant and anti-clotting properties that might benefit heart disease, and even have implications for hepatitis B and C.
precautions
Go to the safety first section of 'before you start' for some general precautions to take into account when considering a complementary therapy.
- Check any symptoms with a conventional doctor and do not abandon conventional medication without consulting your GP.
- The gold and silver acupuncture needles used in Tibetan medicine are not disposable. An autoclave is the best form of sterilisation in Western medicine but remember that it is not failsafe protection against the risk of BSE.
how to find a practitioner
The Office of Tibet (see help and info), the official agency of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in London, has a list of traditional Tibetan medical centres and doctors in the UK.
» help and info
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(July 2002)
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