Author(s)

Ping-Chung Leung

Department of Orthopaedics & Traumatology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.

Introduction: Orthopaedic surgery includes varieties of injuries and other pathologies. Treatments are complicated while healing and recovery take time. Rehabilitation needs planning and commitment. In the Chinese Communities, traditional medicine has been popular since hundreds of years ago and has remained so in spite of the current advances in medicine. The purpose of this review is to identify the techniques being used in current situations, the indications and problems. Varieties of Traditional Treatments: 1) Topical applications of herbs are very much welcome after joint sprains, inflammatory conditions and even fractures. 2) On the wide area of physical training, the Chinese Tai-chi and Qigong are excellent gentle exercises for personal pursues. These exercises emphasize on body-mind interactions and carry strong philosophical insights. 3) Acupuncture has become standard rehabilitation practice in some hospitals and is getting even more popular in pain control and rehabilitation training after nerve injuries. Problems: Topical agents for pain and inflammation are not totally safe because allergic adverse conditions could happen from time to time. The major concern could be the unawareness of non-unions or delayed unions in fracture cases after herbal applications because the traditional healers are using too little modern assessment tools. Physical trainings and acupunctures are on the whole safe, only that indications are not clearly defined. Future Direction: 1) Concerning the topical agents used for pain and swelling, the essential research requirements include demonstration on the topical agents’ anti inflammatory, angiogenic and cell regenerative effects. The capability of skin penetration needs to be confirmed and a final clinical trial will further confirm the efficacy. 2) Clinical researches trying to obtain evidence on the use of Tai-chi and Qigong on the neuromuscular recovery are plentiful, while their effects on cardiovascular and respiratory health are likewise encouraging. 3) Acupuncture has already become a standard treatment option for pain control, nausea/vomiting and neuromuscular recoveries.

orthopaedics—Problems and future direction Medicine; Topical Agent; Tai-chi; Qigong

Leung, P. (2014) Traditional Chinese Medicine in orthopaedics—Problems and future direction. Open Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, 2, 1-4. doi: 10.4236/ojtr.2014.21001.