traditional Chinese medicine Modern, or ‘Western’, medicine is the conventional medicine used in Singapore. However, many people being treated with modern medicine also seek other types of treatment, including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), although this is confined mainly to outpatient care.

According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health in 1994, 45 per cent of Singaporeans have used TCM. Singaporeans go to Chinese medical halls or acupuncturists for treatment with TCM. To provide some regulation, the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Practitioners Bill was passed in Parliament in November 2000. As a result, all acupuncturists have been registered with the TCM Board from 2002. From January 2004, all TCM practitioners have been registered.

There are many types of treatment that involve TCM, including acupuncture, moxibustion (heat treatment), herbal medicine, acupressure, qigong, Oriental massage and diet. Acupuncture and herbal medicine are the most popular. In acupuncture, specific areas of the skin (known as acupoints) are penetrated with thin metallic needles, which are then manipulated manually or by electrical stimulation. This technique claims to be effective for such ailments as chronic lung diseases, alcoholism, relief of pain (post- operative and back pain) and nausea. It has been used as an adjunctive treatment for stroke rehabilitation and such conditions as asthma, osteoarthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome and menstrual cramps.

The use of moxibustion (heat treatment) is less well- known than acupuncture. In moxibustion, change of skin temperature occurs at acupoints, which are heat- stimulated by the burning of compressed herbal powders at these sites. Moxibustion is said to work through the heat- mediated neuronal release of nitric oxide and stimulation of somato- visceral reflex; ‘somato’ refers to muscles, bones and nerves and ‘visceral’ refers to the internal organs, such as the uterus, liver, heart, colon and lungs. Acumoxia is a combination of acupuncture and moxibustion.

At least three public hospitals in Singapore, namely Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Ang Mo Kio- Thye Hua Kwan Hospital and Changi General Hospital— have acupuncture clinics. The latter two have gone beyond acupuncture to also allow TCM practitioners to provide tuina (a form of massage). At Ang Mo Kio- Thye Hua Kwan Hospital, TCM practitioners are allowed to dispense Chinese medicinal products to patients. Since 2005, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has offered a course on biomedical sciences and TCM. Students spend the first three years at NTU and the next two years at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

Photo credit: Sin Kam Cheong