Various authors have noted that Traditional Oriental Medicine (TOM) has developed historically by adopting new models and theories over time, without however, discarding the old ones, even if the two are apparently contradictory. Rather, the practitioner is free to choose whatever theoretical model is empirically most useful in a given clinical situation. This article illustrates the ongoing value of such philosophical openness by demonstrating the possible roots of one of the newest branches of TOM, Korean Hand Acupuncture (KHA), in the teaching of one of the oldest branches, Ayurveda.
Ayurveda, which was developed in ancient India by revelation, has influenced and been influenced by many other traditional medical systems, including ancient Green medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. The only aspect of this vast set of teachings to be addressed in this article is the doctrine of the three doshas (the system of three dynamic principles on which Ayurvedic diagnosis and therapy are based), which parallels that of the three constitutions in the KHA.
KHA was developed as a new therapeutic system by Tae-Woo Yoo starting in 1971, based on TOM theory. Only the three constitutions theory, one of numerous innovations introduced by Dr Yoo as part of KHA, will be discussed here.
The three constitutional types in KHA are known as Yin Excess, Yang Excess and Kidney Excess. The last of these types, Kidney Excess, is frequently encountered in KHA while in contemporary traditional Chinese medicine, it is considered to be an impossible situation and, therefore, non-existent. These contradictory positions exemplify the opening line of this article, and the great popularity of KHA, particularly in Korea and Japan, reflects the victory of empirical results over theoretical dogma in guiding the development of TOM. Dr Yoo does have a logical explanation for his system of typology in terms of TOM theory, but even he stresses that the theory evolved to account for the empirical findings of the following three patterns of pressure sensitivity on abdominal palpation: Spleen -15 in Yin Excess, Stomach 25 in Yang Excess and conception vessel-4 & 5 in Kidney Excess types.
Each constitutional type also presents typical patterns, which curiously coincide almost one hundred per cent with the patterns of the three doshas of Ayurveda.
The author is Head of Acupuncture at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi