Alternative Medicine

Acupuncture, Naturopathy, Ayurveda, Homeotherapy,

Acupuncture

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture, is a form of alternative medicine and a pseudo scientific form of treatment which follows the traditional Chinese medicine theories and practices. There are a lot of variants in acupuncture and each start from different philosophies, techniques and lands. Basically, relieving pain by inserting thin needles into the body to stimulate the nerves.

Acupuncture like naturopathy and homeopathy are the ability to heal oneself. The treatment is a part of integrative medicine because it can directly communicate with this system which flows through the entire body and helps to increase the ability to relieve pain and disease.

What is Integrative Medicine?

Integrative medicine means taking a team approach to healthcare and it can usually bring about different approaches than Western biomedical treatments. This can be by using meditation or massage or acupuncture with those traditional therapies.

Understanding of the patient treatment plan is important. So the patient gets a more optimal outcome and a more positive experience. The entire team of providers keeps communicating as if everyone is on the same page alternative medicine the whole time.

History of Acupuncture

Acupuncture started in China between two to five thousand years ago. The main written history of acupuncture is from an ancient text called the ‘Huangdi Neijing’. This means the yellow Emperor’s classic of Chinese medicine that may date to around 200 BCE during the Song Dynasty. It is a detailed question answer conversation between the Emperor Huangdi and his medical minister. They are just talking about energetics and the workings of the universe and man. The medicine of acupuncture spread to neighboring countries including Japan, Vietnam, Korea by around 500 BC and finally to Europe in around the 16th century CE. The spread of this medicine to different countries and cultures is the reason for the many different styles of acupuncture.

Acupuncture did not enter the West until about 1972 when President Nixon and the New York Times columnist James Reston traveled to China on a historic diplomatic mission. James Reston fell ill and he underwent an emergency appendectomy using only acupuncture anesthesia. He wrote about his successful acupuncture treatments for post-operative pain. So this report attracted attention and a ton of Canadian and American physicians and researchers went to China to learn acupuncture techniques.

How does Acupuncture work?

From a biological point of view, acupuncture stimulates the body to maintain its balance and it affects the immune system, the nervous system and the inflammatory process, through such complex neuro-chemical pathways. Another theory comes from the traditional Eastern perspective. It explains that our bodies are a microcosm of the natural world and have an energy that revives us and keeps us alive. Each of our organs contains a type of energy called Qi (Chi).

Qi is that energy travels through the body through pathways and we call those pathways meridians and along those pathways, there are points where that energy collects. Each of those points has very particular functions. It is by stimulating those very precise and specific points that we can affect certain changes in the body. Depending on what we are treating alternative medicine uses ones natural abilities to soothe and heal.

Science behind Acupuncture

Doctors of (TCM)Traditional Chinese Medicine have now explained the science behind how acupuncture helps relieve pain. Acupuncture works in two major ways. One, endogenous opiate release, and the other is down-modulation of sympathetic up-regulation. It releases to the body its well-known pain-killing and naturally felt good chemicals and it helps to relax the nervous system. It improves circulation and healing and it helps with pain. There are many levels of care delivered through these needles.  All the acupuncture points are in areas where there are a lot of nerves and mass cells for the immune system and lymphatic system. So, when you do acupuncture, you are improving circulation.    

Does Acupuncture Hurt?

Acupuncture is a very relaxing treatment. It feels very good. The placement of the needles stimulates the body’s own ability to relieve pain and release endorphins. Most of the patients who come for treatment fall asleep and leave an acupuncture treatment feeling very good. It’s acupuncture naturopathy that relieve pain.

What conditions can acupuncture treat?

Acupuncture can treat a wide range of conditions that can affect a patient’s quality of life. Anything from joint pain, orthopedic sports injuries, Crohn’s disease, colitis, inflammatory bowel disease,  gastro-paresis, a lot of women’s health issues, menopause, infertility, PMS, anything that causes pain. Acupuncture is very effective.

How many treatments does it take to work?

The number of treatments that a patient may need for any given condition varies from case to case as it does to any other medical modalities and their treatment styles. It is important to speak with a licensed acupuncturist who can give someone more targeted information.

How severe a condition is, how long it has been a problem, acupuncturists have answers. The main consideration is the health of the patient. Acupuncture is performed in a series of treatments usually. It is like a course of antibiotics and the effect is cumulative.

Benefits of Acupuncture

•    Helps to reduce migraines and headaches.
•    Improves chronic pain, including for the back, neck, knee or arthritis pain.
•    Helps treat insomnia.
•    Anxiety
•    Faster Chemotherapy recover

What is Naturopathy?

Naturopathy, founded on a belief that the human body has its own ability to heal itself. This through special vital energy or force guiding bodily processes, internally. Naturopaths follow the holistic approach in Naturopathy and they do not involve in any kind of surgery or conventional medicines.

Naturopath, used for centuries to treat disorders and illnesses of any kind. It is the combination of both modern and traditional methods of healing from acupuncture to herbal medicine. There are no side effects when it comes to naturopathic medicine or surgery.

What is naturopathic medicine?

Naturopathic medicine helps people to feel better and reach their optimal health goals. More specifically naturopathic doctors use conventional as well as naturopathic tools in order to diagnose conditions. They treat both acute and chronic conditions. Conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and infertility cancer, and the list goes on.

Nutritional medicine starts with dietary changes and then naturopathic doctors suggest supplementation and if there is a deficiency by strengthening the body. Herbal medicine also treats different conditions. Traditional Chinese Medicine where in addition to using plants, use acupuncture and moxibustion cupping to treat different conditions. If you want to know about Traditional Chinese Medicine and Herbal Medicine and Homeopathic medicine, Click on this link.

Homeopathic medicine is using substances that highly diluted concentrations to treat specific conditions. Though you may not have any medical conditions that you are aware of. It is still important to see a naturopath to see how it can prevent any future conditions from happening. Family history and personal medical history reveals if there is anything that you may be susceptible to in the future.

Benefits of Naturopathy

• Naturopathy can treat a variety of illnesses and disorders. Digestive disorders, headaches, common colds, and allergies can be the special treatment of naturopathy.
• Naturopathy can treat sleep disorders. Insomnia and other sleep disorders.
• Naturopathy helps prevent disease. Naturopathic medicine helps prevent diseases from developing.
• Naturopathy helps improve well-being. It helps improve mental, psychological, and spiritual wellness.   
• Naturopathy combined with traditional and conventional healthcare can improve the body at a natural level.  

What is Homeopathy? 

Homeopathy is a system of alternative medicine created in the late 18th century by the German doctor Samuel Hahnemann. This is one of the longest established medicines in Europe. Practitioners, called homeopaths believe that the ingredient that is responsible for a disease in healthy people can cure similar symptoms in sick people. Homeopathy is a pseudo scientific system as an alternative medicine .

How does Homeopathy work?

There are three basic principles of homeopathy. The first is that “like cures like”. The substance taken in small amounts will cure the same symptoms it causes if it were taken in larger amounts. So for example, if you are having trouble sleeping and taking a stimulant like caffeine will help. The second is dilution. It passed the most well-known aspect of homeopathy.

The chosen substance, repeatedly diluted in alcoholic or distilled water until it’s gone. According to homeopathy, this makes the substance more powerful with a higher potency. The third principle is succussion. It describes the method of vigorously shaking the substance during each dilution.

Doubts about homeopathy

The first principle that “like cures like” was Hanuman’s own observation, reflection, and experience. The second principle dilution is perhaps the most problematic. A typical homeopathic dilution is 30 C.

The third principle comes in succussion. They argue the vigorous shaking and striking up with substance on an elastic or leather service. Not only makes them more potent, but it also allows the water to gain memory of the wished substance. Although it is true, that water molecules will form structures around molecules dissolved in them at room temperature.

The everyday random motion of water might mean that these structures are very short-lived with lifetimes in pico-seconds or even less. This is further problematic when you consider that any water will have been in contact with millions of different substances throughout his history.

Homeopathic medicine is incredibly popular today as an alternative medicine. With many people claiming that it has helped cure them. This explains effects of regression or simply the body naturally healing itself over time.

Benefits of Homeopathy

•      Safe medicine
•      For all life’s stages
•      Raises immunity
•      Long-lasting effect
•     Treats physical problems like headache, backache, and acidity.

What is Ayurveda?

Ayur means science and Veda means life. Ayurveda is often called the science of life or the wisdom of life. Wisdom and knowledge is power and anyone knows better, can do better.

Ayurveda is the ancient system of Indian medicine. What is so incredible about Ayurveda is that it is uniquely tailored to each person’s psycho-physiological constitution. This is not a one-size-fits-all approach to health. Using the principles of Ayurveda anyone can make choices that are going to empower them to change their life and improve well-being with this alternative medicine.

How does Ayurveda benefit health?

While Ayurveda is a 5,000 year old discipline out of India, it could not be timelier and more relevant in Western culture than it is today. Over the last 100 years, people have been leaning on Western medicine as a preventive way to manage their symptoms and that simply is not working. As we all know there are climbing rates of heart disease obesity and other chronic preventable illnesses, there are lifestyle choices and alternative medicine.

When it comes to emergency medicine and life or death problems, Western medicine is the common approach. When it comes to what you choose on a daily basis and the way that you take care of yourself, Western medicine is not working.  So we need to move away from this mentality of jumping in and getting a prescription or popping a pill to manage our symptoms. Symptoms are those which can gently tell us that something is not working, something is imbalanced.

Ayurveda gets to the root of the imbalance and does not address just the symptom which results in someone actually having a whole health overhaul.

Ayurveda like acupuncture naturopathy, homeopathy are the ability to heal oneself symbolic of an alternative medicine.

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