More TCM hospitals offering sports injury treatment

More than 2,000 public traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in the top two tiers of the country's three-level hospital system have established departments for orthopedics, acupuncture and rehabilitation, according to the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

In addition, more than 1,300 of those hospitals have opened TCM massage clinics, the administration said.

Yan Huaguo, who leads the administration's department overseeing the integration of TCM with Western medicine and traditional ethnic medicine, said at a news conference Thursday that the administration has in recent years focused on improving TCM services related to sports health.

For example, the administration has developed and promoted several TCM diagnosis and treatment protocols for common sports injuries, including acute lumbar sprain, ankle sprain and traumatic synovitis—an inflammation of the synovial membrane in the knee joint.

Yan said efforts will continue to strengthen the construction of a national TCM sports medicine center and to expand training for medical professionals specializing in the field.