Tan’s Balance Method for Pain
Dr. Richard Tan has become very famous for his acupuncture balance method for treating pain. The method is very simple. In fact he often says it’s so simple that it is acupuncture 1-2-3. Just follow three easy steps and you are done.
Originally the method was directed at pain only; however, over the years Dr. Tan has modified the system for internal medicine. I can’t say I’m impressed with his new found modifications for internal medicine. Actually, I think most of them are founded on far out theories that have no clinical reality and do not stand up to scrutiny. Nonetheless, he is a major lecturer in the acupuncture community and many apply his techniques.
His balance method for pain management and pain relief actually works very well. As opposed to Classical True Acupuncture which is concerned with very accurate point location, Tan’s method is only concerned with painful areas. He doesn’t concern himself with finding the actual acupuncture point. The process does work; however, it is much more effective when the actual point is located and then tonified or sedated according to True Acupuncture theory.
Combining Tan’s Balance Method with True Acupuncture
Tan often claims that he discovered these energetic relationships, although that is not true. Not even slightly. He may have read them and then demonstrated them clinically, and this would seem “new” since modern Chinese Medicine has ignored these relationships in acupuncture, but he did not discover them.
George Soulie de Morant clearly discuses all the same relationship Tan talks about and he published these relationships back in 1930. In “The Great Puncture” Morant gives a very simplified process of treating pain. This process is nearly identical to Tan’s Balance Method. The only difference is that Morant does not discuss the six relationships in that particular passage, rather, he discusses all the relationships throughout his material, thus covering the same ideas.
We don’t believe in throwing something away just because of some squabble about who found what. We think Richard Tan has done a great job in promoting these energetic relationship and showing how effective they are at treating pain; however, we know that True Acupuncture goes much deeper. It may take longer to apply (during a treatment session), but the results are significant compared to Tan’s balance method.
The two approaches are not so different, only one of accuracy. Both can be used appropriately to treat pain, but Tan’s balance methods for internal medicine are inappropriate at best and should be discouraged. In this area there is no comparison between Morant and Tan. Morant is head and shoulders above others in his understanding of acupuncture for internal medicine.
Come in and see just how effective Classical True Acupuncture is at treating pain. You will be amazed at how immediate the pain relief is.
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