A Healthy Alternative
Sun Herald
Sunday October 19, 2008
MIM BEIM demystifies complementary medicine.
IT wasn't long ago that natural medicine was considered a vestige of the flower power era. Nowadays, complementary medicine has become almost mainstream. Here's what it's all about: * Naturopathy Practitioners focus on lifestyle and diet issues and how they relate to illness. Naturopathy is helpful for most health problems, including digestive disorders, skin problems and allergies. * Herbalism Herbs are mankind's oldest medicine. Using the leaves, flowers, roots and bark of various therapeutic plants, practioners use herbs to enhance the body's own recuperative potential. Herbal medicine can help hormonal imbalance. * Bach flowers Developed in the 1930s by Edward Bach. Rescue remedy is the most famous of his remedies. It helps to calm people down when they feel stressed.* Acupuncture Based on the flow of qi (energy), which flows throughout the body along lines called meridiens. Acupuncture is often used for muscular-skeletal problems and more recently in maternity hospitals in Britain to reduce pain in labour.* Hypnotherapy A hypnotic state is when you are physically relaxed but mentally alert and focused. Hypnotherapy can delete unwanted, negative habits and thought patterns, while replacing them with positive behaviour. Good for stopping smoking and relieving anxiety. * Alexander technique A study reported in the British Medical Journal in August, showed long-term benefits for patients with chronic back pain after as few as six Alexander technique lessons. The lessons involve very subtle changes of posture and gentle exercises.* Reflexology Reflexology is based on the principle that certain parts of the body reflect the whole, in this case the foot. It can be used to help relieve stress as well as help with sciatica and even sinus congestion.* Osteopathy/chiropractic Both these deal with the muscular skeletal system, particularly the spine and spinal nerves which relate to the health of the entire body. Good for muscular skeletal problem, headaches and digestive problems. Find out moreAustralian Association of Massage Therapists www.aamt.com.au Australian Traditional-Medicine Society www.atms.com.au National Herbalists Association of Australia www.nhaa.org.au Australian Hypnotherapists' Association www.ahahypnotherapy.org.au Alexander Technique Education www.ate.org.au Australian Osteopathic Associationwww.osteopathic.com.au Chiropractors' Association of Australia www.chiropractors.asn.au
© 2008 Sun Herald
