Traditional Chinese medicine is still far from sporting activity in Macao. Insurers only cover Western medicine treatments, and therapists complain that they cannot promote for legal reasons. The Sports Institute itself admits that it has no TCM alternatives in its treatment center
With a long history and presence in Macao, traditional Chinese medicine has a considerable presence in the city, whether in stores, clinics, higher education courses and the public health system.
Incidentally, the Chief Executive of Macau, Ho Iat Seng, has repeatedly referred to the development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry as one of the priorities for the economic diversification of the territory.
However, the use of TCM for the treatment of athletes in the Macao SAR has not been highlighted, and the Sports Institute itself indicates that it prefers to use Western medicine in its Sports Medicine Centre.
The Sports Medicine Center is an organic subunit of the Sports Institute, which is responsible for providing specialized and diversified services for the development of sport in Macau, consolidating the physical constitution of the local population and improving the level of competition of athletes.
The CMC’s service recipients are athletes affiliated to sports associations, those involved in sports for all, sports for the disabled, school sports and university sports and patients transferred by the Health Services, in addition to providing examination and assessment of physical condition to the public.
When questioned about the use of TCM at the center, the ID told PLATFORMA that the center’s doctors and therapists currently only resort to “Western medicine” in their treatments for athletes.
Practical implementation
To PLATAFORMA, several therapists pointed out that TCM has advantages for the treatment of sports injuries in high competition athletes and that its use could be even more prevalent in the city.
Dong Xiaoyan, a physician at the Department of Encephalopathy at the TCM Hospital in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, highlights how in China the use of treatments in this area of health is already recurrent for professional athletes.
“At the hospital where I work, athletes with knee injuries, for example, come to us for physical tests and confirm whether they have bone or joint problems. Then they undergo TCM treatments,” he says.
For the President of the Association of Researchers, Practitioners and Promoters of Chinese Medicine of Macau, Shi Chong Rong, ignorance and lack of promotion are some of the reasons why Chinese medicine is less used by athletes in the Macao SAR.
“I believe that Chinese medicine has its advantages in the treatment of sports injuries and therefore it should be widely publicized. However, due to the lack of a system of Chinese medicine specializations in Macao and the restrictions of the current medical system regarding the promotion of medicines, some injured athletes do not know how to find suitable and professional TCM doctors to help them,” he tells PLATAFORMA.
The current licensing system for TCM therapists in Macau is divided into four categories: TCM doctor, TCM practitioner, acupuncturist and massage therapist (bone configuration), without the different specializations found in Western medicine, including sports physiotherapists.
Current regulations for the advertising of medicines, including those used by traditional medicine, also impose various restrictions on their promotion.
The association representative also points out that athletes who have purchased medical insurance generally choose to go to the hospital to receive treatment in Western medicine.
“Currently, it is not common for professional athletes to seek TCM treatment for sports injuries in Macao. Most professional or amateur athletes have medical insurance and in emergency situations they choose to go to the hospital for Western medicine treatments,” he points out.
“But some athletes may personally prefer TCM treatment and seek help from TCM doctors. Overall, the number of athletes seeking TCM treatment for sports injuries in Macao has increased compared to the past.”
In the experience of Marco Lao, a TCM doctor at the Uni-World Medical Rehabilitation Center clinic in Macau, there is still a high proportion of local sportsmen using these treatments.
Both Lao and Shi consider that although there is general support from the Government of Macao for the promotion of TCM, this involves more general guidelines, mainly for trade and re-export.
“This support only benefits large institutions or doctors with the capital to participate, but ordinary doctors cannot participate,” says Lao.
In any case, the two specialists do not see the need to promote the use of TCM specifically for sports, as they consider that, deep down, using Western or Chinese medicine ends up being a “patient choice”.
“Some patients will choose Chinese medicine, others will choose Western medicine or physical therapy, and the younger generation may also try different or new methods. In the end, it all boils down to finding a treatment method that you find most suitable,” says Lao.
