As a 65-year-old retired engineer, Peter Worsop is perhaps not the most likely candidate to be practising T'ai Chi in a glass-fronted shop in Manchester's Trafford Centre, visible to the curious eyes of passers-by. He used to be embarrassed, he says, but not any more, so grateful is he to the ancient form of exercise which, together with acupuncture and herbs, has relieved his arthritis and reduced his bouts of tachycardia.
Worsop, however, could be seen as a symbol of the way in which traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM, is increasingly moving from ethnic communities into the wider population. Indeed the premises in Manchester are themselves symbolic of the transition from backstreet mystery to mainstream commodity. The idea that you can now pick up a remedy based on the 3,000-year-old principles of yin and yang between nipping into Next and M&S is the brainchild of Dr John Wu, who opened his first Dr and Herbs shop in Luton in 1997 and now has 65 branches across the country, all based in shopping malls. Last year, he says, they dealt with a million consultations; this year he expects double that.
Dr Wu, 48, is himself an interesting example of cross-culturalism. Like many of his generation starting working life in China, under the cultural revolution he was only allowed to study TCM - the regime's fanatical anti-intellectualism forbade western medicine. When the revolution ended he switched to ophthalmology and became a specialist in cataract surgery. He did not, however, abandon TCM and would prescribe it for non-surgical conditions such as retinal haemorrhage in diabetics and corneal infections.
Although a move to this country to work first at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London and later at Southampton University as an epidemiologist setting up a glaucoma screening programme, prevented him continuing to mix the disciplines - British regulations do not allow such combinations - he never lost his conviction that the two could work in tandem. "You don't have to pull down the old bridge over a river when you build a new one."
The problem, he believed, was one of image rather than efficacy: practioners were often hard to find, premises were shabby, clients had no sense of quality control or safety. What he decided to offer was walk-in accessibility and a recognised brand in which people could have confidence.
In simple terms the theory behind TCM is that illness is caused by an imbalance in the body between the complimentary yet endlessly changing and interactive energies of yin and yang, or a blockage along one of the meridians or pathways associated with various organs through which flows the vital energy of Qi (pronounced 'chee'). A diagnosis is reached by taking a patient's history, looking at their tongue and taking their pulse: not just in the brief way of conventional medicine but more, as Dr Wu describes it, in the manner of playing a musical instrument. "So you get a different interpretation according how much pressure each finger applies."
Problems can then be corrected by acupuncture, acupressure and herbal remedies to restore the proper energy balance and stimulate the appropriate meridians. Advocates claim it works for a vast number of conditions including migraines, skin diseases, hormonal problems, sexual dysfunction and infertility, stress and depression. In fact, they claim, virtually the only conditions it cannot treat are acute, life-threatening ones or something requiring surgery.
Peter Worsop from Swinton, near Manchester, was one such. Married with a grown-up son and two grandchildren, he first developed arthritis in his right hand about 10 years ago.
"It was quite painful and it had also started to get worse. The joints were beginning to swell and it was also starting in my left hand. I tried anti-inflammatories but I didn't like the idea of having to take something for the rest of my life.
"My other problem was that I got this tachycardia. If I was stressed, particularly in situations over which I had no control, my heart beat could shoot up to 130 beats a minute. As well as being an awful sensation, it impairs the blood flow and so you can pass out. I hit the floor a few times. I had a full check-up but there was no underlying physical cause so I was sent to a behavioural psychologist who taught me relaxation techniques. They did work but you have to wait for the condition to come on and then practising meditation might not be very convenient if you're, say, in the middle of a traffic jam.
"I can't say I trooped around endless consultants, but I did feel that no one in western medicine could really help. They could give you things to make the conditions less unpleasant but they couldn't cure you, so when I saw the shop I thought I'd see what they could do."
After taking his history, checking his blood pressure, examining his tongue and taking his pulse for several minutes on both wrists, the doctor said his problems were renal in origin. The treatment was to comprise six weekly acupuncture sessions and a course of herbal medicine. She also recommended T'ai Chi as a means of relaxation. "Every customer is given free instruction; you do it in the shop and everyone joins in, including the consultant."
The herbs were to be boiled for 30 minutes in two cupfuls of water every morning and the brew drunk. The same herbs were to be infused again in the evening and that weaker solution also drunk. "The smell was disgusting and the taste was absolutely foul.
"But at the end of six weeks the arthritis had gone. The pain has stopped and the swelling seems to be going down. It's wonderful."
There are probably thousands of success stories like Peter Worsop's and presumably plenty of failures too. At the moment, however, all evidence remains anecdotal and the although many individual doctors maybe increasingly sympathetic to complimentary therapies the medical establishment in this country remains wary.
A spokesperson for the British Medical Association says: "We have no specific policy on TCM, but our view of alternative medicine generally is that it should all be more closely regulated by a statutory body, not just an organisation which practioners have set up themselves, but a regulated organisation with rules, recognised training and qualifications and which can also strike someone off.
"We're aware that lots of patients want to try these approaches but they should talk to their GP first if they're on conventional medication to see if there are any contradications."
For further information go to www.ic-tcm.com
