“Winter Disease, Summer Treatment” — Prime Time to Nourish Yang and Cure the Root

“Winter Disease, Summer Treatment” — Prime Time to Nourish Yang and Cure the Root

As the blazing summer heat sets in and the Sanfu days draw near, it's the prime season for the TCM practice of "treating winter diseases in summer." Some may ask: why treat winter ailments in the heat of summer? The answer lies in TCM's profound philosophy of "nourishing yang in spring and summer, and preventing illness before it starts." By tapping into summer's peak yang energy, we can replenish the body's warmth, expel deep-seated cold, and curb the recurrence of chronic and cold-related conditions in winter — at the very root. This is the true essence of TCM's preventive approach: "winter disease, summer treatment."

I. Understanding Traditional Chinese Medicine: What is Treating Winter Diseases in Summer?

"Winter diseases" are those deficiency-cold conditions that flare up in winter or worsen with the cold. "Summer treatment," on the other hand, seizes the unique window of summer — when yang energy peaks, pores open wide, and qi and blood circulate freely — to apply targeted TCM therapies that warm yang, scatter cold, clear the meridians, and fortify vital energy. This helps flush out deep-rooted cold and dampness accumulated over time, restoring the body's yin-yang balance. The result: cold roots are eradicated, yang energy is secured, and relapses are prevented. This is the quintessential practice of TCM's "treating before illness arises."

II. Precise Matching: Which Groups of People Are Suitable for Treating Winter Diseases in Summer?

Winter-disease-summer-treatment is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It is tailored specifically for people with yang-deficiency or cold-deficiency constitutions, as well as those with chronic conditions of a cold nature. Common candidates include:

• Respiratory issues: chronic bronchitis, asthma (in remission), allergic rhinitis, chronic pharyngitis, frequent colds, etc.
• Digestive issues: chronic gastritis, chronic diarrhea, poor digestion, etc.
• Joint and pain conditions: neck, shoulder, back, and leg pain; rheumatoid arthritis; joint pain that worsens in cold weather.
• Gynecological conditions: painful periods, irregular menstruation, etc.
• Pediatric conditions: childhood asthma, allergic rhinitis, weak constitution with frequent colds, etc.
• Sub-health symptoms: feeling chilly, cold extremities, weakened immunity, chronic fatigue, etc.

III. What "Treating Winter Diseases in Summer" therapies does our hospital provide?

Our TCM Department stays true to traditional Chinese medical principles while drawing on modern clinical insights to offer a comprehensive range of summer-treatment options for winter diseases. Every plan is tailored to the individual — one person, one prescription — based on pattern differentiation and specific constitution types:

1. Sanfu Acupoint Plaster Therapy
We use high-grade, authentically sourced Chinese herbs, prepared into a proprietary paste using a classic formula. Depending on the patient's condition, we apply the plaster to precisely selected acupoints — such as Feishu (BL13), Pishu (BL20), Shenshu (BL23), and Zusanli (ST36). The combined effect of herbal penetration and acupoint stimulation warms the channels, expels cold, reduces phlegm and wheezing, and supports spleen and stomach function.

2. Warming-Needle Acupuncture / Sanfu Acupuncture

In the height of summer, the body's meridians are open and qi-blood flows abundantly. By combining pattern-based needling with warming-needle techniques, this therapy reaches deep into the muscles and bones to flush out entrenched cold. It warms and clears the channels, balances qi and blood, and delivers marked results for stubborn pain in the neck, shoulders, back, and legs, chronic digestive issues, insomnia linked to yang deficiency, and persistent coughs or wheezing.

3. Moxibustion Therapy

We employ gentle suspended moxibustion and indirect moxibustion (with materials like ginger or herbs) to warm the spleen and kidneys and lift yang energy. This approach is especially effective for those with yang-deficiency who feel chilly, suffer from weak digestion, or have cold-related issues such as uterine cold or a chilly constitution. It gently fortifies the body's defense, restores vitality, and strengthens the body's fundamental essence.

4. Ear-Seed Acupressure + Sifeng Therapy (For Children Only)

By providing continuous, gentle stimulation to the ear's reflex zones corresponding to internal organs, this therapy helps relieve allergic cough, wheezing, sleep issues, and poor digestion in children. When paired with Sifeng (Four Seams) fingertip bloodletting, it efficiently clears food stagnation, reduces internal heat, and tackles the root problems of indigestion and recurring respiratory episodes in young patients.

5. Oral Herbal Prescriptions

For those with a deeply cold-deficiency constitution or long-standing chronic conditions, our TCM physicians conduct thorough pattern differentiation and prescribe personalized herbal formulas. These formulations work to warm yang, fortify the spleen, dispel cold, and clear dampness. When used alongside external treatments, they create a synergistic inside-out approach that tackles both symptoms and underlying causes — significantly amplifying the overall benefits.

IV. Seize the Opportunity: Maintain Health in Accordance with Seasons and Bid Farewell to Ailments Lingering from Autumn and Winter

The Sanfu days offer the one and only annual window to replenish yang energy and flush out stubborn, long-buried cold. Many winter woes — repeated coughing and wheezing, aching joints, feeling perpetually cold and weak, uterine cold, and sluggish digestion — all trace back to the same underlying issue: depleted yang and hidden cold pathogens.

But "treating winter diseases in summer" is far more than a seasonal wellness fad. It's a smart, forward-thinking investment in your health — a way to intervene early, prevent illness before it takes hold, and live in harmony with nature's rhythms. Why wait until winter brings pain and discomfort, then scramble for reactive fixes? Seize this present summer window, take charge, and give your body the "charge" it needs — store up vitality now for a healthier, more resilient autumn and winter. Recharge in summer, thrive through autumn and winter.

Gastroenterology / Oncology Rehabilitation

Our Department of Gastroenterology / Oncology Rehabilitation is a flagship specialty of the center, combining clinical services, teaching, and research. It features two outpatient clinics (Gastroenterology and Oncology Rehabilitation) and one inpatient unit. Our team consists of 13 healthcare professionals: 1 senior specialist, 2 mid-level practitioners, and 10 junior staff. Academically, we have 1 Ph.D. and 5 Master's degree holders, along with 4 provincial-level distinguished TCM physicians who hold regular consultations. Our multidisciplinary staff includes clinical doctors, TCM physicians, rehabilitation therapists, psychological counselors, psychotherapists, health coaches, and dietitians — all trained in specialized rehabilitation techniques, TCM meridian hypnosis, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and psychological drawing analysis. We are dedicated to providing comprehensive care for digestive disorders and cancer rehabilitation, integrating Chinese and Western medicine, physical therapy, exercise therapy, psychological support, and nutritional guidance. Following an MDT (multidisciplinary team) approach, we craft individualized diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitation plans for every patient.

I. Scope of Diagnosis and Treatment

1. Digestive System: We treat a full range of digestive conditions — from esophageal, gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, and pancreatic disorders to psychosomatic digestive issues — and also provide palliative care and TCM-based therapies for gastrointestinal cancers.

2. Integrated Rehabilitation: Our rehabilitation services cover musculoskeletal and neurological conditions such as lumbar disc herniation, cervical spondylosis, degenerative joint disease, muscle atrophy, and peripheral nerve injuries. We also specialize in managing cancer-related complications and side effects from non-surgical oncology treatments — including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue, skin reactions, bone marrow suppression, hair loss, and lymphedema.

II. Diagnostic and Treatment Technologies

1. Routine Services: We provide painless gastroscopy and colonoscopy, along with a full range of endoscopic interventions — polypectomy, hemostasis, stricture dilation, stent placement, endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR), and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) — all performed with minimally invasive techniques.

2. Specialized Services: Our advanced endoscopic offerings include POEM, EUS, ultrasound-guided radioactive seed implantation, ERCP, combined endoscopic-laparoscopic full-thickness resection, and sclerotherapy/ligation for esophageal and gastric varices. Beyond procedures, we specialize in integrated Chinese-Western medicine management of chemotherapy/radiotherapy GI side effects, especially radiation proctitis; physical therapy combined with CBT and MBSR for anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders; integrated TCM and psychological support for cancer-related fatigue and treatment side effects; prevention and management of radiation-induced lymphedema; TCM therapies for chemotherapy-induced hand-foot syndrome; and comprehensive rehabilitation for cancer pain and other chronic pain conditions.

III. Facilities and Equipment

1. State-of-the-Art Endoscopy Equipment: We are equipped with Olympus high-definition electronic gastroscopes, duodenoscopes, colonoscopes, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), magnifying endoscopes, and small-bowel enteroscopes — covering all diagnostic and interventional needs.

2. Advanced Rehabilitation Equipment: Our rehabilitation unit features a full range of modern devices, including an automatic constant-temperature wax therapy unit, water-filtered infrared-A (wIRA) therapy, interferential current therapy, deep muscle stimulator, shockwave therapy, ultrasound therapy, lymphatic drainage device, air-wave pressure therapy, medium- and low-frequency electrotherapy units, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), psychological CT, mental stress analyzer, computerized mindfulness training system, sandplay therapy kit, and polysomnography (PSG) for sleep monitoring.

Our Service Philosophy:

Precision medicine to ease your pain; compassionate care to enrich your life.

Clinic Location:

Room 418, 4/F, Inpatient Building, Lanzhou Campus, Gansu Wuwei Cancer Hospital

Ward Location:

10/F, Inpatient Building, Lanzhou Campus, Gansu Wuwei Cancer Hospital

Writer: Sun Han

First Review: Liu Qiong

Second Review: Guo Yishan

Third Review: Cai Qinghua

Lanzhou Campus, Gansu Wuwei Cancer Hospital Consultation Hotline

Director Li: 166 0931 3666

MS. Yan: 176 9325 0603