Connecting Western and Eastern Medicine from an Energy Perspective.

Although Western medicine and Eastern medicine are worlds apart, there is a striking overlap in the basic principle of these types of medicine when we look at them from the perspective of energy. In both worlds, opposing forces provide the energy that flows through networks in an organism, which fuels life. In this concept, health is the ability of an organism to maintain the balance between these opposing forces, i.e., homeostasis (West) and harmony (East), which creates resilience. Moreover, strategies used to treat diseases are strikingly alike, namely adjusting the flow of energy by changing the connections in the network. The energy perspective provides a basis to integrate Eastern and Western medicine, and opens new directions for research to get the best of both worlds.

Morita therapy for depression in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Morita therapy is a systematic psychological therapy that aims to improve everyday functioning rather than target specific symptoms. However, there has been no systematic review evaluating the evidence of the effectiveness of Morita therapy in the treatment of depression. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical efficacy of Morita therapy in combination with pharmacotherapy in patients 18 and older who were diagnosed with current depressive disorder. A total of 840 patients with depression from 11 randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies were included in this meta-analysis after a literature search of 10 databases was performed from database inception to July 1, 2017. All the eligible studies were determined to have an unclear or high risk of bias. Morita therapy plus pharmacotherapy was significantly superior to pharmacotherapy alone in reducing depression severity. The remission rate of the Morita therapy plus pharmacotherapy group was better than that of the pharmacotherapy alone group. Morita therapy significantly reduced depression severity symptoms and improved the remission rate. Due to the relatively weak quality of the included studies, definitive conclusions cannot be made. Thus, multi-center, well-designed clinical trials with larger cohorts are urgently needed to support the clinical application of Morita therapy.

Comparison between the Ki-hap technique and verbal encouragement on activation of abdominal muscles in healthy participants.

The aim of this study was to investigate the comparison between a Ki-hap, defined as a psyching-up technique, and verbal encouragement, defined as a verbal command by a third party, on abdominal muscle activation during performance of the crunch exercise in healthy participants. Ninety participants were randomly allocated to the following three groups: crunch only exercise group (CG, n1 = 30), crunch exercise with Ki-hap group (CKG, n2 = 30), and crunch exercise with Ki-hap and verbal encouragement group (CKVG, n3 = 30). The interventions were conducted over three trials with each group, and measurements involving each participant, were performed by a single examiner. The activation of the rectus abdominis (RA), external oblique (EO), and internal oblique (IO) muscles were evaluated using electromyography (EMG) during performance of the crunch exercise by the CG, CKG, and CKVG. Our results showed a significantly greater increase in the EMG patterns of all muscles during performance of the crunch exercise in the CKG (p < 0.05) compared to those in the CG and CKVG. The results also showed that there was a significantly greater increase in the activation of the EO and IO muscles in the CKVG (p < 0.05) compared with that in the CG. These findings demonstrated that the addition of the Ki-hap technique and verbal encouragement, during performance of the crunch exercise, improves activation of the abdominal muscles.

SURVEY OF DENTAL STUDENTS' ATTITUDE REGARDING ORIENTAL MEDICINE/COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE: COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO JAPANESE DENTAL SCHOOLS.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to examine the impact of "curricula for undergraduate education in oriental medicine (OM)/complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)" on student awareness of OM. A questionnaire survey was conducted involving the Nagasaki University School of Dentistry (NUSD), a university that implements education in OM as part of its undergraduate curriculum, and Tokyo Dental College (TDC), which does not teach OM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The third- and fifth-year students of both NUSD and TDC underwent the anonymous questionnaire survey, which included questions regarding their knowledge of OM and CAM, interests in these subjects, and their opinions on the necessity of teaching OM in the undergraduate dental education, and the results were collected for analysis. RESULTS: Whereas 33% of 5th year NUSD students had knowledge of OM/CAM was 33%, only 10% of 5th year TDC students reported knowledge on the subject. 69% of 5th year NUSD students interested in OM/CAM, while 5th year TDC students who interest them were only 45%. Although 77% of 5th year NUSD students were in favor of OM education implemented in the Faculty of Dentistry, the percentages of TDC students of that were smaller (46% in 3rd year and 48% in 5th year). Whereas 26% of 5th year TDC students did not recognize the necessity of oriental medicine education, only one 5th year NUSD student (2%) did not so. CONCLUSION: Introduction of education in OM in the undergraduate dental education program helps students to increase their interests in dental clinical applications.

Cultivating Medical Intentionality: The Phenomenology of Diagnostic Virtuosity in East Asian Medicine.

This study examines the perceptual basis of diagnostic virtuosity in East Asian medicine, combining Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology and an ethnographic investigation of Korean medicine in South Korea. A novice, being exposed to numerous clinical transactions during apprenticeship, organizes perceptual experience that occurs between him or herself and patients. In the process, the fledgling practitioner's body begins to set up a medically-tinged "intentionality" interconnecting his or her consciousness and medically significant qualities in patients. Diagnostic virtuosity is gained when the practitioner embodies a cultivated medical intentionality. In the process of becoming a practitioner imbued with virtuosity, this study focuses on the East Asian notion of "Image" that maximizes the body's perceptual capacity, and minimizes possible reductions by linguistic re-presentation. "Image" enables the practitioner to somatically conceptualize the core notions of East Asian medicine, such as Yin-Yang, and to use them as an embodied litmus as the practitioner's cultivated body instinctively conjures up medical notions at clinical encounters. In line with anthropological critiques of reductionist frameworks that congeal human existential and perceptual vitality within a "scientific" explanatory model, this article attempts to provide an example of various knowing and caring practices, institutionalized external to the culture of science.

Taiwanese medical students' narratives of intercultural professionalism dilemmas: exploring tensions between Western medicine and Taiwanese culture.

In an era of globalization, cultural competence is necessary for the provision of quality healthcare. Although this topic has been well explored in non-Western cultures within Western contexts, the authors explore how Taiwanese medical students trained in Western medicine address intercultural professionalism dilemmas related to tensions between Western medicine and Taiwanese culture. A narrative interview method was employed with 64 Taiwanese medical students to collect narratives of professionalism dilemmas. Noting the prominence of culture in students' narratives, we explored this theme further using secondary analysis, identifying tensions between Western medicine and Taiwanese culture and categorizing students' intercultural professionalism dilemmas according to Friedman and Berthoin Antal's 'intercultural competence' framework: involving combinations of advocacy (i.e., championing one's own culture) and inquiry (i.e., exploring one's own and others' cultures). One or more intercultural dilemmas were identified in nearly half of students' professionalism dilemma narratives. Qualitative themes included: family relations, local policy, end-of-life care, traditional medicine, gender relations and Taiwanese language. Of the 62 narratives with sufficient detail for further analysis, the majority demonstrated the 'suboptimal' low advocacy/low inquiry approach (i.e., withdrawal or inaction), while very few demonstrated the 'ideal' high advocacy/high inquiry approach (i.e., generating mutual understanding, so 'intercultural competence'). Though nearly half of students' professionalism narratives concerned intercultural dilemmas, most narratives represented disengagement from intercultural dilemmas, highlighting a possible need for more attention on intercultural competence training in Taiwan. The advocacy/inquiry framework may help educators to address similar disconnects between Western medicine and non-Western cultures in other contexts.

The role of complementary indigenous Malay therapies: perspectives from palliative care patients.

Although the popularity of complementary indigenous Malay therapies (CIMT) in general healthcare is undeniable in the Malaysian context today, their usage within the palliative care scenarios remains unexplored. Our study was specifically embarked to determine CIMT's usage pattern, reasons, attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) differences (users vs. non-users) in a sample of hospice-based palliative patients in Selangor, Malaysia. From the 39 consenting patients (mean age = 56 years; female = 56.4 percent; Malay = 53.8 percent), 38.5 percent were users of CIMT. Dried medicinal roots, herbs and sea cucumber products were the most preferred types of CIMT (53.3 percent). The most common reason cited for usage was because these were "easier and simpler to be administered" (46.7 percent). Although users' attitudes, beliefs and perceptions were more favourable than the non-users, between 30.0-73.3 percent of users remained unsure or had no knowledge regarding CIMT. They also exhibited significantly poorer Physical Symptoms than the non-users (p=0.006), a probable motive for seeking CIMT in the first place. Despite the small sample size, the findings provided some insight into the role of CIMT especially with regard to usage trends and overall well-being among the terminally-ill, of which healthcare professionals should constantly be vigilant of amidst their routine care responsibilities.