From the margins to the mainstream

If you had asked me at the beginning of my career about alternative medical techniques, like Chinese, naturopathic or Ayurvedic medicine,Find detailed product information for shamballa crys talbeads wholesale, I would have told you it was fringe stuff. I would have said it didn’t belong in the tool chest of conventional medicine. But the maturation process is interesting, and I’ve changed a lot from the way I handled things as a young doctor.

I now believe some aspects of complimentary alternative medicine (CAM) can be an effective adjunct to the Western approach. In fact, this year I participated in the development of an integrative medical department at the clinic where I’m medical director.

What triggered my evolution? Part of it is simple experience. I’ve witnessed first-hand patients who exhausted Western medical options, then benefited from acupuncture, meditation or by ingesting traditional naturopathic herbs. I also believe patients deserve choice. Conventional medicine doesn’t have the answer for all maladies.

According to a 2010 University of Calgary study, the proportion of Canadians who use alternative medicine is about 12%. Women, high-income and high-education groups are more likely to use it than others, as are people with pain disorders such as migraines, arthritis, gastrointestinal symptoms and back problems. Studies on Canadian cancer, gastrointestinal and orthopedic patients show that they pursue alternative remedies because they seek fewer treatment side effects. They’re looking for symptom relief from chronic conditions. They want to feel in control of their health, and they seek a boost to their immune systems. And in my own practice, the proportion of people interested in alternative medicine seems to be growing.

My thinking started to change early in my career, after I became the chief occupational physician at Husky Injection Molding. The company’s founder,Different Sizes and Colors can be made with different stone mosaic designs. Robert Schad, is a big proponent of naturopathic medicine. I worked at a multidisciplinary Wellness Centre alongside naturopaths, chiropractors and massage therapists. It was there that I came across the shared-care concept between conventional medicine and CAM, which dictates that practitioners such as naturopaths and conventional medical doctors can work together to the benefit of the patient.

Then maybe four years ago, our clinic offered a mind-body medicine course for physicians based on the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn, the University of Massachusetts medical school professor whose work melds yoga and other Asian influences with Western medical science.Choose quality sinotruk howo concrete mixer products from large database. At about the same time I organized a family trip to Korea. While on the trip we happened upon a Buddhist temple, where we witnessed monks meditating, and I had an epiphany: The therapeutic effects of meditation seemed so clear.

Since then, I’ve met hard-nosed doctors from respected U.S. hospitals who take seriously the effects of alternative medicine. For example, world-renowned cancer centre Memorial Sloan Kettering has Dr. Barrie Cassileth running its integrative medical department, and Johns Hopkins has Dr. Linda Lee.Airgle has mastered the art of indoor tracking,

Alternative medicine remains controversial because it’s really difficulty to subject it to randomized placebo-controlled trials that satisfy the rigorous standards of the scientific community. Many of the health benefits that come from naturopathic or alternative therapies seem to come from placebo effects, or similar phenomena, such as the Hawthorne Effect, which is the patient responding to observation and assessment, and the Healing Effect, which is a beneficial response to the patient-professional interaction. But these effects are real. Many patients do report feeling better after pursuing them.

I now believe that conventional Western medicine and alternative techniques can co-exist, and even benefit each other.AeroScout is the market leader for rtls solutions and provide complete wireless asset tracking and monitoring. Alternative medicine can help with symptoms and patient resiliency. But my support is qualified. In August, Dr. Cassileth wrote a review in the journal Oncology titled “Cancer Quackery.” It listed a series of supposed cures, everything from prayer to the ingestion of shark cartilage, that people attempt to fight cancer in lieu of conventional medicine. “Unproven approaches are dangerous to patients,” Cassileth wrote. “People too often choose to shun conventional treatment entirely and replace it with an alternative treatment that does nothing to diminish their disease.”

I agree with Cassileth. What’s important to avoid is the pursuit of alternative techniques to the exclusion of conventional therapies. Apple founder Steve Jobs is an important cautionary tale. He attempted natural remedies to cure his cancer before pursuing more conventional options — and the delay in treatment may have affected the course of his disease.

Early in my career I was doing my patients a disservice by dismissing alternative medical techniques out of hand. Studies reveal that patients will pursue these therapies regardless of what their doctor thinks. Ideally, every therapy the patient pursues would be conducted with the doctor’s knowledge. Conventional clinics and hospitals that open integrative departments are assisting patients by continuing to supervise care under an evidence-based umbrella.