Integrating Traditional Medicine to Improve the Care of Persistent Physical Symptom

Persistent physical symptom (PPS) is a common condition in sub-healthy population and patients with chronic disease, and significantly influences the quality of life. Many PPS cannot be explained by any known disease, and thereby are attributed to socio-psychological reasons and treated by psychological interventions, such as cognitive behavior treatment. However, it is not ideal to rationalize and manage the PPS lack of pathophysiological explanation relying on psychological approaches. The entrenched disease-centered biomedical mode limits the perception of PPS. Traditional medicine is a unique methodology of medicine independent from biomedical mode. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), achieved knowledge of health and disease from extensive observation and developed theoretical framework based on ancient mathematics using the principles of ancient naive materialism and dialectical materialism, has amassed extensive experience in symptom management. Particularly, the system of body constitution in TCM serves a reference model of evidence-based integration of traditional and modern medicine in healthcare, and offers a promising approach for managing PPS. Nine types of body constitution were identified and validated through a series of scientific research. Individuals with a specific type of body constitution tend to present a corresponding cluster of symptoms, physical signs, disease susceptibility and prognosis. Adjustment of unhealthy constitution helps the symptom control and disease management. Standardized protocol of body constitution classification was established as an industry standard, and that of body constitution adjustment was compiled as clinical guidelines for quality control. Taken together, such evidence-based integration of traditional medicine with modern medicine provides new avenues for managing PPS effectively.