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Alternative & Complementary

Therapies
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 Alternative Therapy

• Unconventional therapies are referred to as

complementary therapies or alternative medicine
(CAM)
• Frequently becomes the primary treatment
modality that replaces allopathic medicine (shark
cartilage, coffee enemas)
• 1/3-1/2 of US population uses one or more forms
of CAM, more buy in from traditional medicine
& insurance co
 Complementary or Alternative
Medicine
• Relaxation Techniques
• Exercise
• Massage
• Reflexology
• Biofeedback
• Hypnotherapy
• Creative Therapies(Acupuncture)
 Biobehavioral Therapies

• Designed to teach individuals ways to change

their behavior to alter physical responses to stress
& improve symptoms such as muscle tension, GI
discomforts, pain & sleep disturbances
• Individual becomes actively involved in
treatment
• Must practice techniques daily, commitment to
therapy
 Biobehavioral Therapies

• Relaxation
• Imagery
• Biofeedback
• Hypnosis
• Meditation
 Relaxation Therapy

• State of generalized decreased cognitive,

physiological, & or behavioral arousal
• Elongates muscle fibers
• Decreased neural impulses to brain
• Decreased brain activity
• Decreased HR, RR, BP, O2 consumption
 Clinical Application Relaxation
Therapy
• Decrease HR, BP, metabolic rate
• Reduce muscle tension
• Improve feeling of well-being
• Reduce symptom distress
• Relaxation can be used alone or in combination
with deep breathing, imagery, yoga, music
• Labor pain, post-op pain, chronic back pain,
reduce cancer related nausea, improve immune
function, decrease anxiety
 Imagery

• Visualization techniques which uses

conscious mind to create mental images to
evoke physical changes in body
• Improves well-being, enhances awareness
• Can be combined with relaxation therapy
 Clinical Application
Imagery
• Visualize cancer pain cells being destroyed by
immune system
• Control or relieve pain
• Achieve calmness, serenity
• Used in the treatment of asthma, high BP,
functional urinary disorders, premenstrual-
menstrual syndromes, GI disorders, rheumatoid
arthritis
 Biofeedback

• Assist individual in learning to control specific

autonomic nervous system responses
• Uses electronic or electromechanical instruments
to measure, process & provide information to
persons about their neuromuscular & autonomic
nervous system activity
• Provides a greater awareness & resulting
voluntary control over their physiological
responses of which they were otherwise unaware
Clinical Application Biofeedback
• Stroke patients-Muscle rehabilitation
• Raynauds disease
• Urinary Stress Incontinence
 Manual Healing Therapies
• Energy systems in the body need to be
balanced in an effort to enhance healing
• Ancient Chinese healing discipline
 Therapeutic Touch

• Natural human potential that consists of placing

the practitioner’s hands either on or close to the
body of the person
• Practitioner scans the body to find areas of
accumulated tension
• Redirects energies to bring person back into
balance
 Clinical Application
Therapeutic Touch
• Decrease anxiety in heart attack patients
• Decrease headache pain
• Improve mood
• Alleviate pain in sprains, burns
• Reducing chemo-induced nausea
 Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Herbs, acupuncture, diet, exercise, meditation
• Yin & Yang
• Qi- Vital energy of human
• Acupuncture-method of stimulating certain points
on the body by insertion of special needles to
modify the perception of pain, normalize
physiological functions or treat/prevent disease
 Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Acupuncture needles unblock the
obstruction of energy
• Re-establish the flow of Qi
• Stimulates the body’s self healing
mechanism
 Clinical Applications
Chinese Medicine
• Low back pain
• Myofascial pain
• Headaches (Migraine)
• Sciatica
• Shoulder pain
• Osteoarthritis
• Whiplash
• Musculoskeletal sprains
• Asthma
• Clinical depression
 Herbal Therapies
• FDA does not approve their use as drugs
• Sold as food or food supplements in health
food stores
• No health claims can be made on label
 Clinical Applications
Herbal Therapies
Chamomile- Antispasmodic (GI upset)
Echinacea- stimulates immune system
Feverfew- prevent migraines
Garlic- lipid lowering agent
Ginger- antiemetic
Gingko- memory improvement
Gingseng-increased physical endurance
St. John’s Wort- mild depression
Saw palmetto-enlarged prostate
Ma huang- (Ephedra) CNS stimulant, bronchodilator