Glossary Of Alternative Healthcare/Medicine/Techniques/Philosophy

Acupuncture

  • is a method of healing developed in China at least 2,000 years ago
  • involves stimulating specific points on the body, usually by inserting very fine needles into the skin and underlying tissues. Sometimes, additional stimulation is added with a very low voltage electrical current or by warming the needle. ( Stimulating these specific points is believed to unblock the flow of qi/chi along energy pathways (meridians) and thus restore balance between yin and yang.
  • The procedure is not painful but may cause a tingling sensation. (A variation of acupuncture, called acupressure, uses localized massage instead of needles.)
  • Is one of the most widely accepted alternative medicine techniques in the Western world.
  • Research has shown that acupuncture releases various chemical messengers in the brain (neurotransmitters), including serotonin, that serve as natural painkillers.
  • Besides its potential effectiveness as a pain reliever, acupuncture may help relieve the nausea and vomiting that commonly occur after surgery. However, acupuncture has been ineffective in helping people to stop smoking or lose weight.
  • Normally there is no side effects if the procedure is performed correctly
  • Infection is one of the greatest risks but is extremely rare. Most practitioners use disposable needles; reusable ones must be sterilized properly. Worsening of symptoms (usually temporary) and fainting are the most common side effects reported by people who have undergone acupuncture

Aromatherapy

  • involves the use of essential oils (extracts or essences) from flowers, herbs, and trees to promote health and well-being.

Ayurveda

  • Is a complete traditional medical system that has been practiced primarily in the Indian subcontinent for 5,000 years.
  • Ayurveda includes diet and herbal remedies and emphasizes the use of body, mind, and spirit in disease prevention and treatment.
  • It is based on the theory that illness results from the imbalance of the body’s life force, or prana. The balancing of this life force is determined by the equilibrium of the three bodily qualities, called doshas: vata, pitta, and kapha. Most people have a dominant dosha; the specific balance is unique to each person.
  • Ayurveda uses herbs, massage, yoga, and internal cleansing to restore balance within the body and with nature.

Biofeedback:

  • uses relaxation and visualization in order to lower patients’ stress levels, alleviate headaches, or reduce their blood pressure.

Chiropractic

  • it focuses on the relationship between bodily structure (primarily that of the spine) and function, and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health.
  • Chiropractors use manipulative therapy as an integral treatment tool.
  • Chiropractic services involves the adjusting of the spine to treat pain and to prevent disease.

Dietary supplements.

  • Congress defined the term “dietary supplement” in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994.
  • A dietary supplement is a product (other than tobacco) taken by mouth that contains a “dietary ingredient” intended to supplement the diet. Dietary ingredients may include vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, and substances such as enzymes, organ tissues, and metabolites.
  • Dietary supplements come in many forms, including extracts, concentrates, tablets, capsules, gel caps, liquids, and powders. They have special requirements for labeling. · Under DSHEA, dietary supplements are considered foods, not drugs.

Electromagnetic fields

  • also called electric and magnetic fields are invisible lines of force that surround all electrical devices. The Earth also produces EMFs; electric fields are produced when there is thunderstorm activity, and magnetic fields are believed to be produced by electric currents flowing at the Earth’s core.

Homeopathic medicine

  • It was developed in Germany in the late 1700s which is based on the principle that “like cures like” (thus the name homeo [Greek for “like”] and patho [Greek for “disease”]). In other words, a substance that in large doses causes illness is believed to cure the same illness if given in minute doses
  • In homeopathic medicine, there is a belief that “like cures like,” meaning that small, highly diluted quantities of medicinal substances are given to cure symptoms, when the same substances given at higher or more concentrated doses would actually cause those symptoms.
  • The remedies used in homeopathy are derived from naturally occurring substances, such as plant extracts and minerals. These substances are used to stimulate the body’s innate capacity to heal. The more dilute the homeopathic medicine, the stronger it is considered to be. · Homeopathy uses very small and diluted doses of natural, yet frequently poisonous, substances such as snake venom, poison ivy, and mercury to treat certain illnesses or disorders (e.g., allergies, asthma, epilepsy).
  • Traditional scientists can find no scientific explanation for how the diluted remedies used in homeopathy might cure illness. There are few risks associated with homeopathy. However, side effects, such as allergic and toxic reactions, can occur.

Massage

· therapists manipulate muscle and connective tissue to enhance function of those tissues and promote relaxation and well-being.

Naturopathic medicine, or naturopathy

  • proposes that there is a healing power in the body that establishes, maintains, and restores health.
  • Practitioners work with the patient with a goal of supporting this power, through treatments such as nutrition and lifestyle counseling, dietary supplements, medicinal plants, exercise, homeopathy, and treatments from traditional Chinese medicine.
  • uses a variety of therapies to help the body heal itself through nutrition counseling (e.g., emphasizing low-fat diets), herbal medicines (e.g., St. John’s wort and other natural herbs), ultrasound therapy, massage, yoga, and other methods. Purist naturopaths avoid all antibiotics and other mainstream medicine. · Naturopathy, which draws its practices from many cultures, began as a formal health care system in the United States in the early 1900s. Founded on the notion of the healing power of nature, naturopathy emphasizes prevention and treatment of disease through a healthy lifestyle, treatment of the whole person, and use of the body’s natural healing abilities. This system also focuses on finding the cause of the disease rather than merely treating symptoms.· Naturopathy uses a combination of therapies, including nutrition, herbal medicine, homeopathy, physical medicine, exercise therapy, counseling, stress management, acupuncture, natural childbirth, and hydrotherapy.

Osteopathic medicine

  • is a form of conventional medicine that, in part, emphasizes diseases arising in the musculoskeletal system
  • There is an underlying belief that all of the body’s systems work together, and disturbances in one system may affect function elsewhere in the body.
  • Some osteopathic physicians practice osteopathic manipulation, a full-body system of hands-on techniques to alleviate pain, restore function, and promote health and well-being.

Qi qong (”chee-GUNG”/chi kung)

  •  is a component of traditional Chinese medicine that combines movement, meditation, and regulation of breathing to enhance the flow of qi (an ancient term given to what is believed to be vital energy) in the body, improve blood circulation, and enhance immune function.

Reiki

  • a Japanese word representing Universal Life Energy.
  •  a technique of Japanese origin in which the practitioner channels energy through his hands and into the person’s body to promote healing.
  • based on the belief that when spiritual energy is channeled through a Reiki practitioner, the patient’s spirit is healed, which in turn heals the physical body.

Therapeutic Touch

  • derived from an ancient technique called laying-on of hands .· is based on the premise that it is the healing force of the therapist that affects the patient’s recovery; healing is promoted when the body’s energies are in balance; and, by passing their hands over the patient, healers can identify energy imbalances.
  • actual touch is not needed, this therapy uses the therapist’s healing energy to identify and repair imbalances in a person’s biofield.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

  • an ancient system of health care from China.
  • TCM is based on a concept of balanced qi (pronounced “chee”), or vital energy, that is believed to flow throughout the body. Qi is proposed to regulate a person’s spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical balance and to be influenced by the opposing forces of yin (negative energy) and yang (positive energy). Disease is proposed to result from the flow of qi being disrupted and yin and yang becoming imbalanced.
  •  Among the components of TCM are herbal and nutritional therapy, restorative physical exercises, meditation, acupuncture, and remedial massage.