Posted July 6, 2017.
According to a report released by the Bravewell Collective, integrative medicine led to significant improvements in patients suffering from chronic pain, stress and depression.
Researchers collected and analyzed survey data from 369 patients from the Patients Receiving Integrative Medicine Intervention Effectiveness Registry (PRIMIER), the first-ever registry of integrative medicine patients. PRIMIER is a nationwide database that evaluates patient-reported outcomes such as quality of life, pain, mood, and stress for patients who supplement conventional medical care with integrative therapies.
Over the course of six monthsPRIMIER patients reported reduced stress and depression. Among those were patients being treated for chronic pain, who noted significant decreases in pain severity and a one-third decrease in how much their pain interfered with their quality of life.
Examples of Integrative Therapies include:
1. Acupuncture
A key modality of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which involves the insertion of extremely thin needles through the skin at specific points along what are considered to be lines of energy (meridians) throughout the body, restoring its health and balance.
2. Yoga
Mind-body practice combining movement, controlled breathing, breathing exercise and meditation. The focus on the breath in all aspect of yoga helps reduce stress, leading to a healthy balance between mind and body.
3. Integrated Massage
Combining the principle of massage and bodywork to increase the flow of blood and oxygen to muscles. It supports a holistic mind-body approach to wellness by incorporating physical, emotional and spiritual elements to its therapy. Known to be a great stress-reliever as well as being beneficial to patients with arthritis, high blood pressure, infertility, and immune dysfunction.
4. Meditation
Mind-body practice that can help you relax and access a deeper awareness through connecting your mind, body andheart. Meditation is known to help manage stress and a more mindful life.
5. Biofeedback
Connecting you with electronic sensors that’ll give you information (feedback) about your body such as your heart rate. With this feedback you can make subtle changes in your body to achieve the results you want.
6. Chiropractic
A healthcare discipline that emphasizes the inherent recuperative power of the body to heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery. It focuses on the relationship between structure (primarily the spine) and function (as coordinated by the nervous system) and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health.
All these therapies focuses on “treating the whole person” rather than just “treating the symptoms.” It looks to find the root of the problem and work towards changing the habits or issues that generated the problem in the first place.
The study found that patients that used integrative medicine significantly increased their belief that they have the knowledge, skills and confidence to take meaningful action to improve their health and maintain self-care.
Contact us if you would like to learn more about Integrative Medicine and Integrative Therapies. Have you ever gotten any integrative medical treatments? How effective did you find it? Leave a comment and let us know!
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/04/integrative-medicine-_n_7190704.html?utm_hp_ref=integrative-medicine