Complementary & alternative medicine

(Part 1)

In celebration of Medicine Week, I have chosen to discuss Complementary and Alternative Medicine, as well as Integrative Medicine. They are important topics that we have not covered more extensively in the past. This report, however, will not attempt to discuss all the nontraditional health practices. That would be too lengthy to cover, even for a two-part series. Rather, consider this article as your field guide to some of the most common nontraditional medical approaches. This report likewise is not an endorsement of any of these alternative or complementary practices. It is meant mainly to provide you with objective information about this rapidly evolving area of medicine and health care.

Integrative Medicine

Modern medicine has at times been accused of missing the whole picture when it comes to treating individuals — of becoming so specialized that doctor-patient relationships seem more like business arrangements than healing therapy. Seeking a more personal touch, many people turn to nontraditional methods to supplement, and sometimes even replace, the conventional treatment they receive. However, nontraditional medicine often lacks hard evidence of any benefits. As interest and use grow, however, more evidence of its usefulness is expected to become available.

A new approach to health care seeks to combine the best of both worlds. Today’s high-tech, cutting-edge treatments, used in conjunction with nontraditional techniques, form what’s known as integrative medicine. Integrative medicine focuses on the whole person — mind, body, and spirit. It also emphasizes the importance of the relationship between you and your physician to achieve optimal health and healing. This combination opens up many possibilities for more personal treatment.

Alternative Medical Systems

Present-day modern medicine as practiced in the Philippines is patterned after Western medicine, but it is not the only approach to health and healing. Homeopathy, naturopathy, and traditional Chinese medicine, for example, are considered whole medical systems that operate with their own sets of principles to treat the whole person — mind and body.

• Homeopathy. This system of medicine, which relies on the belief that the body can heal itself, was developed in Germany over 200 years ago. Research regarding the effectiveness of homeopathy is limited in the standard medical literature. A number of homeopathy’s key concepts are not explainable with current scientific theories. However, it’s considered to be generally safe.

Core principles of homeopathy include:

• The principle of similar, otherwise known as “like cures like.” This is the belief that a disease can be cured by treatment with a substance that produces similar symptoms in healthy people.

• The principle of dilutions, otherwise known as the “law of minimum dose.” Homeopaths believe that very small doses of highly diluted substances stimulate the body to heal itself.

Naturopathy.  This form of health care is based on the belief that the body has innate healing power that can establish, maintain and restore health. The emphasis is on supporting health rather than fighting a disease. This form of medicine relies on natural remedies such as sunlight, air and water, along with “natural” supplements to promote well-being.

Core principles of naturopathy include:

• Health can be restored by returning to nature, which has healing power.

• The body has the power to maintain — or return to — a state of health and to heal itself with proper support.

• Traditional Chinese medicine. This health system originated in ancient China and has evolved over thousands of years. This approach includes many methods of treatment, although Chinese herbs and acupuncture are the most common.

Scientific evidence of traditional Chinese medicine’s effectiveness as a whole is limited. However, it should be noted that there are challenges to evaluating the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine using current research model.

 Core principles of traditional Chinese medicine include:

• The world is shaped by opposing, yet complementary, forces — the basis for the yin-yang theory.

• Health depends on the harmonious balance of energy (qi) circulating through pathways (meridians) in the body.

• Symptoms and conditions can be categorized using these eight principles: cold/heat, interior/exterior, excess/deficiency, and yin/yang.

• Five natural elements — fire, earth, metal, water, and wood — reflect how our bodies work and correspond to different organs and tissues.

Mind-Body Therapies

Research in neurobiology increasingly shows how the mind and body interact, and how they influence and regulate each other. Feelings of stress, for instance, can initiate the production of stress hormones. These hormones in turn can prompt a cascade of reactions in your body. Mind-body therapies enhance the relationship between mind and body, using brainpower to cause positive physical change.

Mind-body therapies include:

• Mindfulness. This form of meditation focuses on becoming aware of yourself – your thoughts, your breathing, your emotions – and the world around you with nonjudgmental acceptance.

Mindfulness is most often used for pain management, stress reduction, insomnia, depression, and motivating lifestyle changes, such as weight loss and smoking cessation.

• Biofeedback. Biofeedback therapy teaches you to consciously control bodily processes that you have previously been unaware or that seem involuntary – such as heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, muscular tension or brain activity.

Biofeedback is most often used for incontinence, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia, smoking cessation, headaches, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, pain management, and rehabilitation.

• Guided imagery. This can be described as a form of directed daydreaming.

Guided imagery is most often used for pain management, headaches, and stress relief.

• Hypnosis. Derived from the Greek word for sleep, the term “hypnosis” refers to a state of heightened mental awareness and attention.

Hypnosis is most often used for irritable bowel syndrome, pain management, headaches, asthma, stuttering, anxiety, depression, unwanted habits, and coping with cancer.

• Music therapy. For thousands of years, music has been used to soothe, inspire, and motivate people. People interact with music, and it can alter the nervous system, affecting your blood pressure, temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and tension.

Music therapy is most often used for relaxation, stress relief, depression, anxiety, rehabilitation, and pain management.

Energy Therapies

Energy-based therapies are intended to influence and optimize the flow of energy that surrounds and permeates your body in order to maintain or restore health. It is assumed that if your energy flow is blocked, illness could result. The goal of energy therapy is to correct the energy flow and restore health.

Energy therapies include:

• Acupuncture. Among the oldest healing practices in the world, acupuncture originated in China and other parts of Asia. It seeks to influence pathways of energy, called qi (chee), that flow through the body and help maintain vitality and balance. Acupuncture aims to correct the flow and to restore balance and harmony in your body.

Research suggests that acupuncture affects regulation of the body’s nervous system, encouraging the release of chemicals that act as natural painkillers (endorphins) and adjusting immune cell function. Acupuncture may also alter brain chemicals and hormones that control blood pressure, blood flow, and body temperature regulation.

Acupuncture is most often used for postsurgical or chemotherapy-related nausea, pain management, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, stroke rehabilitation, sports injuries, mood disorders, chronic fatigue, insomnia, stress management, migraines, tension headaches, anxiety, tinnitus, infertility, and menstrual irregularities.

Next week, we will continue with Part II of our report on Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Don’t miss it!