Episode 0349

My name is Catherine and today we have a very advanced lesson for you, all about medicine.

That's right. Today we're going to take a look at what is very widely known as Chinese traditional medicine. So, a very interesting topic in general.

That's right. And for people who use this, they might call it TCM, Traditional Chinese Medicine, so remember that there's that acronym as well. But let's take a listen to today's dialogue and when we come back, we'll be discussing some of the important words and phrases in the dialogue.

You should get acupuncture treatment. My mom was always having headache issues and it was acupuncture that cured her.

They don't just randomly stick you, they find your pressure points. The heat allows the body to immediately respond to the treatment, restoring the body's 'chi'.

The needles are very thin, and as long as the doctor's technique is good and the patient himself is relaxed, it won't hurt. On the contrary, it will actually alleviate pain. Now, there are high-tech needles that are micro-thin, they don't hurt at all. However, if you are really scared of acupuncture, scraping or cupping are also options.

This only signifies that the toxins have left the body. Actually, there's only discomfort during the treatment process. Once it's over, you'll feel very comfortable.

This is the only way to get at the problem. Anyway, if you want to relieve the pain, you are just going to have to be tough and do it.

Alright, we're back so, now obviously we are talking about what is commonly known as alternative medicine because, well, we know that traditional medicine nowadays is doctors, you know, you have antibiotics, that sort of thing.

Antibiotics, yeah.

And here you're actually using these techniques and these different ways of curing someone. So, the first thing that comes to mind here is acupuncture.

That's right. So, acupuncture is usually considered a part of Chinese medicine and it's, it's a kind of medicine that uses needles in different parts of the body. So it might look really scary because you see people lying on their stomachs with needles coming out of their backs.

Right. And, uh, those the places where they put the needles in, they're called pressure points, right?

That's right. And pressure points are things that we talk about with massages as well. So, uh, a good masseuse, a person who does a massage will also look for these pressure points, which are key points on the body. And they in acupuncture, they'll put these needles into those points as well because each point relates to a different part of the body, like the liver or the kidneys.

Right. So it, it's actually very interesting, um, the fact that by sticking a needle in one of these pressure points they are curing or alleviating the pain of maybe, like you say, your kidney or your liver or something like this.

This is a really great word though, Marco, the one, the word that you just used to alleviate pain. Now to alleviate pain means to make the pain go away.

Right.

Uh, so what's we heard the opposite of that as well, also at the very end of today's dialogue.

Right, so the opposite of alleviate would be to inflict pain.

This is to do pain to yourself or to someone else.

To cause pain.

To cause pain. So to alleviate is to take it away and to inflict is to cause.

Right. So now acupuncture as, uh, is very popular, sticking needles in people's pressure points. It does seem like it would hurt, but there are other ones that, um, maybe are not as widely known. The, the next one that we're going to talk about is scraping.

Scraping. So to scrape is a verb. Um, and you can scrape the bottom of your plate with your spoon or you can, uh, scrape on, you know, sometimes cats like to scrape on the furniture, they use their claws and make that sound. But in this case, scraping is a little bit more, maybe painful sounding. What do they do in scraping?

So basically it's the same thing, they use different tools, uh, and they scrape your body. They just, I don't know, basically what I understand from it is that they are extracting the, the illness by, by taking it out of your skin.

So they use what looks like, uh, a small knife or like a flat kind of sharp blade, and they actually kind of take off the top layer of your skin, they scrape it away.

Yeah. It's very, very painful, uh, from what I've heard, I've never done it myself, but as we see in the dialogue, it does look very, um, it looks like you've been hit or treated poorly at, at the, in prison or something, because your, your skin is red and almost bleeding.

That's right. And another one that actually looks quite painful when you see someone after they've done it, is called cupping.

Right. Now this one you might have seen even in, uh, the last Karate Kid movie. Basically, it's a little round bulb or a little round glass cup, and, uh, the, the doctor, the Chinese doctor will light, uh, a piece of cotton and we'll put the cup over it and the suction, uh, effect that by putting out the fire and it sucks up all the oxygen and everything, causes the cup to suck onto your skin really, really tight.

Yeah, it's like, you pull, you put it on your skin, so it creates a vacuum, right? There's no air coming in. And that way the cup, there, there's no air in, has to pull out all those chemicals and those toxins and that oil from your skin and take it away.

Right.

Right? So it's actually pulling at your skin.

Yeah. And, well, that's the thing, the, the vacuum effect is, is so great and pulling it out with such force that you're actually left with a big purple or red circle on your skin from, I guess, the, the blood clot type thing effect that is caused by it. So, um, you will see a person's back maybe and they have

Bruises.

Bruises, yeah, like six, seven, ten bruises on their backs.

Although I am told that even though it's very painful and it looks even more painful, the effect is that it does help your circulation, it helps the blood in your body move around more freely.

Yeah, I've heard the same thing and and, uh, even though that it looks painful and it may be painful while they're doing it, I've heard that after it's done, even though it looks like it should hurt, it looks like a bruise, it doesn't hurt like a bruise. So people don't actually say, oh, you know, don't touch my back, it really hurts. It doesn't really seem that way.

Well, and there's an interesting line in the dialogue that is, is related to this. Um, it's about scraping actually, but you can say it about cupping as well. Your body is all red as if you were just tortured. Now, as if you were tortured, or we could say, as if you were beaten up.

Mhm.

And, uh, in this case, was the person tortured?

No.

So it's basically a relation or making, making that relation that you, your skin is so, let's say, bloody that it looks as if you were tortured, so it seems like somebody hit you with a whip or something.

It looks like you were tortured, but you weren't. So, as if is a way for us to make a comparison or an analogy.

Right.

I think you can see it in, in maybe books, you know, he, so maybe you would describe a guy saying, oh, he was really angry as if he had rabies.

Yeah, it's as if he had rabies, like he doesn't, but he's acting like he does.

Or maybe you'd run into the kitchen and eat so much food as if you hadn't eaten in days.

Exactly. So you, you have, obviously, but you're acting like someone who is starving.

Mhm. So yeah, that is an interesting, uh, way to describe or to make a connection between two different things. And, well, Chinese traditional medicine as well, very interesting and, uh, historical form of treating illnesses. Now, I'm told that it does work, even though some people are very skeptical about it and I don't think it's accepted in the international medical field.

Well, I think that there's Western medicine, which has its benefits. You know, you have penicillin and all of these different antibiotics to help us combat different diseases and bacteria. But also traditional Chinese medicine kind of helps other things. I think there is a spirituality, this idea that we have a 'chi'. There is a, there are positive and negative forces in our bodies and sometimes trauma or big events will make, make that 'chi' kind of, um, well, it'll affect it in a bad way. So the 'chi' is unbalanced. And so a lot of this, um, is about rebalancing your system. And if you believe that and you really understand that, you know, there are certain forces inside your body, then I'm sure this kind of medicine has a positive effect on you.

Right. I, I believe that it does have its, its ups and downs. Uh, I was very skeptical about it until once, actually, I had a very, a very, very bad headache and, uh, somebody took and pushed a pressure point on my finger, on my thumb for about maybe one or two minutes and the headache was gone. So it was very, I was very much amazed, but at the same time, uh, when people are treated maybe for, um, for, you know, maybe they can conceive a baby and they're doing these, uh, rituals or giving them ginger or, uh, or different roots, uh, to, to drink and eat and stuff, I don't know if that really does help or what, uh, evidence there is that it actually does work.

Well, I think that's something that also is, is important to look at on an individual basis. You know, I don't think, I don't think even some Western medicines help all the time if you're not in a place where you believe that it will work, you know? So.

Yeah, it's, it's a very, it's, but the interesting aspect of it is, uh, of course, so many years ago, we're talking a hundreds or thousands years ago, when there was no Western medicine and then people were being cured and treated by these, uh, by these techniques, which actually worked. So, um, there is a very interesting aspect that maybe even Western medicine can learn from traditional medicine like this.

Definitely.

Mhm. So, it's an interesting topic, Oriental medicine, Western medicine, um, but we want to know what you think about it.

We also want to know in your home country, do you have a traditional kind of medicine or any medical alternatives to Western medicine? Let us know. Our website is englishpod.com.

The English audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

Chinese medical practice or procedure that treats illness or provides local anesthesia by the insertion of needles at specified sites of the body.

Acupuncture.

A point on the skin that is extremely sensitive to pressure because of the presence of pressure sensing organs.

Pressure point.

An act or manner of treating.

Treatment.

A small, slender, rod-like instrument, usually of polished steel, with a sharp point at one end.

Needle.

The process of drawing blood from the body and the application of a cupping glass.

Cupping.

The soft substance of a human or other animal body, consisting of muscle and fat.

Flesh.

A drug, treatment or anything else that relieves pain.

Painkiller.

Let's try that faster.

A small, slender, rod-like instrument, usually of polished steel, with a sharp point at one end.

Needle.

The soft substance of a human or other animal body, consisting of muscle and fat.

Flesh.

Chinese medical practice or procedure that treats illness or provides local anesthesia by the insertion of needles at specified sites of the body.

Acupuncture.

A point on the skin that is extremely sensitive to pressure because of the presence of pressure sensing organs.

Pressure point.

A drug, treatment or anything else that relieves pain.

Painkiller.

The process of drawing blood from the body and the application of a cupping glass.

Cupping.

An act or manner of treating.

Treatment.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Treatment.

Treatment.

This seems like a really weird treatment.

Treatment.

I'm skeptical of any treatments that are not of Western origin.

Painkiller.

Painkiller.

Painkiller.

You shouldn't rely on painkillers all the time, as you may develop an unhealthy addiction.

Pressure point.

My brother would not be quiet, so I grabbed him by a pressure point to make him.

Pressure point.

Pressure point.

You have to be careful with pressure points as it could really hurt someone.

Acupuncture.

Acupuncture.

Acupuncture.

Cupping.

Cupping.

Cupping.

I'm going to get cupping done today to help cure my cold.