Healers in many different health traditions use herbs. This fact sheet discusses herbs as a part of traditional Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine is at least 2,500 years old. It views the human body as a system of energy flows. When these flows are balanced, the body is healthy.
Practitioners take their patients' pulses and examine their tongues to diagnose energy imbalances.
In Chinese medicine, pulses can be taken at three positions on each wrist, and at three depths at each position. Instead, a practitioner of Chinese medicine will talk about energy imbalances. In traditional Chinese medicine, there are many ways to improve the balance of the body's energy flows. The most common techniques used in the western world are exercise techniques such as Qigong or Tai Chi, acupuncture, and herbalism. Fact Sheet 703 has more information on Chinese acupuncture.