IF YOU'RE IN PAIN AN ALTERNATIVE MEDICAL CURE MIGHT HELP
E-mail this page 
Printer-friendly page
Remember back when many of us used to wonder how in the world could sticking needles in your flesh cure you of an illness? I remember the only mention of it that I ever heard from my mother make was: "That's crazy. There's more crazy stuff in the world every day."
She was born in the 1940s in North Carolina. People's life-long beliefs change slowly, and sometime they never change no matter what. She died in 1997 of complications resulting from diabetes. Medical treatments for diabetes are improving every day and I often think about what might have happened if she had treated herself better.
I am not a grieving kind of person. I have made peace with my mother passing. "Peace that surpasses all understanding," she would say. In fact, I smile now when I think of her.
But you could say that I am somewhat of a "what if" type person and I was up in Toronto in July of 2005 and there was a television program about acupuncture. It made me think: What if something like acupuncture that would have helped her? That was not the first time I thought about acupuncture and how it works.
It seems that more and more non-Chinese people are using it, using not only it, but dozens of other "cures" and going back to other sickness remedies that many modern people abandoned long ago. And so when the folk at SVdigitalUniverse got in touch with me about researching and putting together an introduction to alternative medicine I went on the Internet and found more information than I could easily digest.
Millions of people in the world use some form of alternative medicine. When taking into account the situation in underdeveloped countries, the world wide number is much higher than the number that get treatment from practitioners trained by established medical schools.
But in so-called advanced countries the numbers have increased. "The U.S. public's use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) increased substantially during the 1990s," says a 2002 study by the Center for Disease Control.
Based on 2002 survey of 31,044 interviews of adults aged
18 years and over by the Centers for Disease Control
BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS
From Center for Disease Control
Complementary and alternative medicine - Therapies not usually taught in U.S. medical schools or generally available in U.S. hospitals (until very recently), it includes a broad range of therapies and beliefs such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, relaxation techniques, massage therapy, and herbal remedies.
Prayer -- Certainly the most widely used and often the most controversial non-medical treatment for illness is prayer. Within CAM, prayer is defined as an active process of appealing to a higher spiritual power, specifically for health reasons; it includes individual or group prayer on behalf of oneself or others. Spirituality is broader; it is defined as an individual's sense of purpose and meaning to life, beyond material values. Spirituality may be practiced in many ways, including through religion.
Nonvitamin, nonmineral, natural products -- These products are taken by mouth and contain a dietary ingredient intended to supplement the diet other than vitamins and minerals. They include herbs or herbal medicine (as single herbs or mixtures), other botanical products such as soy or flax products, and dietary substances such as enzymes and glandulars. Among the most popular are echinacea, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, feverfew, garlic, kava kava, and saw palmetto. Garlic, for example, has been used to treat fevers, sore throats, digestive ailments, hardening of the arteries, and other health problems and conditions.
Deep breathing -- Deep breathing involves slow, deep inhalation through the nose, usually for a count of 10, followed by slow and complete exhalation for a similar count. To help quiet the mind, one generally concentrates fully on breathing and counting through each cycle. The process may be repeated 5 to 10 times, several times a day.
Meditation -- Mental calmness and physical relaxation is achieved by suspending the stream of thoughts that normally occupy the mind. Generally performed once or twice a day for approximately 20 minutes at a time, meditation is used to reduce stress, alter hormone levels, and elevate one's mood. In addition, a person experienced in meditation can achieve a reduction in blood pressure, adrenaline levels, heart rate, and skin temperature.
Chiropractic care -- This care involves the adjustment of the spine and joints to influence the body's nervous system and natural defense mechanisms to alleviate pain and improve general health. It is primarily used to treat back problems, headaches, nerve inflammation, muscle spasms, and other injuries and traumas.
Yoga -- This combination of breathing exercises, physical postures, and meditation, practiced for over 5,000 years, calms the nervous system and balances body, mind, and spirit. It is thought to prevent specific diseases and maladies by keeping the energy meridians (see acupuncture) open and life energy (qi) flowing. Usually performed in classes, sessions are conducted at least once a week and for approximately 45 minutes. Yoga has been used to lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and improve coordination, flexibility, concentration, sleep, and digestion. It has also been used as supplementary therapy for such diverse conditions as cancer, diabetes, asthma, and AIDS.
Massage -- This therapy involves pressing, rubbing, and otherwise manipulating muscles and other soft tissues of the body, causing them to relax and lengthen and allowing pain-relieving oxygen and blood to flow to the affected area. Using their hands and sometimes feet, elbows, and forearms, massage therapists may use over 75 different methods, such as Swedish massage, deep-tissue massage, neuromuscular massage, and manual lymph drainage. Massage is considered effective for relieving any type of pain in the body's soft tissue, including back, neck, and shoulder pain, headaches, bursitis, and tendonitis.
Diet-based therapies -- Atkins Diet, Macrobiotic Diet, Ornish Diet, Pritikin Diet, Vegetarian Diets, Zone Diet - most of these are perceived as remedies for losing weight. However, each makes claims to health-giving benefits beyond weight lost.
Biofeedback -- This method teaches clients, through the use of simple electronic devices, how to consciously regulate normally unconscious bodily functions (e.g., breathing, heart rate , blood pressure) to improve overall health. Biofeedback has been used to reduce stress, eliminate headaches, recondition injured muscles, control asthmatic attacks and relieve pain.
Ayurveda -- This comprehensive system of medicine, developed in India over 5,000 years ago, places equal emphasis on body, mind, and spirit. The goal is to restore the natural harmony of the individual. An ayurvedic doctor identifies an individual's "constitution" or overall health profile by ascertaining the patient's metabolic body type (Vata, Pitta, or Kapha) through a series of personal history questions. Then the patient's "constitution" becomes the foundation for a specific treatment plan designed to guide the individual back into harmony with his or her environment. This plan may include dietary changes, exercise, yoga, meditation, massage, herbal tonics, and other remedies.
Chelation therapy --This therapy involves a series of intravenous injections of a binding (chelating) agent, such as the amino acid EDTA, to remove toxic metals and wastes from the bloodstream. Following injection, the binding agent travels through the bloodstream attaching itself to toxic metals and wastes, which are subsequently excreted through the patient's urine. Used initially to treat lead poisoning, chelation therapy is used by a growing number of practitioners to treat and reverse the process of arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).
Energy healing therapy/Reiki -- This method helps the body's ability to heal itself through the flow and focusing of healing energy (Reiki means universal healing energy). During treatment, this healing energy is channeled through the hands of a practitioner into the client's body to restore a normal energy balance and health. Energy healing therapy has been used to treat a wide variety of ailments and health problems and is often used in conjunction with other alternative and conventional medical treatments.
Folk medicine -- These systems of healing (such as Curanderismo and Native American healing) have persisted since the beginning of culture and have flourished long before the development of conventional medicine. Folk healers usually participate in a training regimen of observation and imitation, with healing often considered a gift passed down through several generations of a family. Folk healers may employ a range of remedies including prayer, healing touch or laying on of hands, charms, herbal teas or tinctures, magic rituals, and others. Folk healers are found in all cultures and operate under a variety of names and labels.
Guided imagery -- This method involves a series of relaxation techniques followed by the visualization of detailed images, usually calm and peaceful in nature. If used for treatment, the client may visualize his/her body as healthy, strong, and free of the specific problem or condition. Sessions, conducted in groups or one-on-one, are typically 20-30 minutes and may be practiced several times a week. Guided imagery has been advocated for a number of chronic conditions, including headaches, stress, high blood pressure, and anxiety.
Homeopathic treatment -- This system of medical practice is based on the theory that any substance that can produce symptoms of disease or illness in a healthy person can cure those symptoms in a sick person. For example, someone suffering from insomnia may be given a homeopathic dose of coffee. Administered in diluted form, homeopathic remedies are derived from many natural sources, including plants, metals, and minerals. Numbering in the thousands, these remedies have been used to treat a wide variety of ailments including seasonal allergies, asthma, influenza, headaches, and indigestion.
Hypnosis -- An altered state of consciousness, it is characterized by increased responsiveness to suggestion. The hypnotic state is attained by first relaxing the body, then shifting the client's attention toward a narrow range of objects or ideas as suggested by the hypnotist or hypnotherapist. The procedure is used to access various levels of the mind to effect positive changes in a person's behavior and to treat numerous health conditions. For example, hypnosis has been used to lose weight, improve sleep, and reduce pain and stress.
Megavitamin therapy -- This therapy refers to the use of vitamins in excess of the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) established by the National Academy of Sciences, Food and Nutrition Board. Although these therapies have been used for the prevention and treatment of diseases and illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, schizophrenia, and the common cold, some high dose or megavitamin regimens can produce adverse or toxic effects.
Naturopathy -- This broad system of medicine is based on the theory that the body is a self-regulating mechanism with the natural ability to maintain a state of health and wellness. Naturopathic doctors, who generally reject invasive techniques and the use of synthetic drugs, try to cure illness and disease by harnessing the body's natural healing powers. This is done with the use of various alternative and traditional techniques, including herbal medicine.
Qi gong -- This ancient Chinese discipline combines the use of gentle physical movements, mental focus, and deep breathing designed to integrate the mind, body, and spirit, and to stimulate the flow of vital life energy (qi). Directed toward specific parts of the body, qi gong exercises are normally performed two or more times a week for 30 minutes at a time and have been used to treat a variety of ailments including asthma, arthritis, stress, lower back pain, allergies, diabetes, headaches, heart disease, hypertension, and chronic pain.
E-mail this page Printer-friendly page
Copyright 2008 Soul Vibrations, Inc. All rights reserved.
i
More Good Stuff
