Chinese society has historically been dominated by men throughout the ages. As a consequence of this, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has placed a large emphasis on the treatment of male conditions and has lead to a focus of medical knowledge on treating men’s health and longevity. Many classical texts were devoted to increasing male vigour as well as maintaining male health in general.
As male life expectancy has increased, more and more men are battling with various male disorders, such as conditions affecting urination, the prostate, the testicles as well as male sexual health in general.
Chinese Medicine is successful in treating a variety of male disorders. At the core of the treatment of many male disorders is the strengthening of Kidney function. Although other organ systems may also be involved, the Kidneys, which in Chinese Medicine are also energetically associated with the testicles, are usually at the core. One of the major functions of the Kidneys according to Chinese Medicine is storing of the vital substance Jing. Jing or as it’s sometimes translated “Kidney Essence” is understood to be the “sap of life”, the irreducible essence that contains all the critical ingredients needed to make new life that shares characteristics with its source. This concept of Jing, though thousands of years old, bears some theoretical resemblance to what modern medicine calls DNA. As Jing has a direct connection with sperm in men, you can begin to see why premature ejaculation and other sexual disorders are considered vitally important to treat in Chinese Medicine.
Jing is seen as a finite constitutional energy which naturally depletes as men grow older. Men experience their own kind of menopause as they age and although this is very different to that experienced by women, this is still a time that brings many imbalances, as oestrogen becomes a more dominant hormone in the male body.
Here in brief is a list of some Male Health issues that Acupuncture and TCM has a long established tradition of treating: