UpBeat Living: Integrative Medicine |
©Kebba Buckley 1999, World Rights Reserved
An exciting transformation has been taking place in medicine over the last several decades. The transformation is moving so rapidly now, that daily news media carry articles about it. We are moving into what I call "the Age of International Medicine."
Have you seen those photos of Russian women from the 1950’s and 1960’s? Typically, each woman stood in a field, holding a farm implement, wearing a wool scarf tied under her chin. The women were plain, stocky, serious, and strong. Flash forward into the age of satellite television, and the Russian Peasant Icon is gone. Russians want fashion and glamour. Russian ballet dancers are now slim. Russians cannot be denied the images of other cultures.
Information can no longer be held back from the people of most nations. Yesterday, I saw a picture of a highly painted warrior from New Guinea, in breechcloth and beads, holding a 2000-model portable water purifier. In New Guinea, even traditional types want clean, healthy water. The warrior looks "primitive", but he has a clear grasp of the advantages of good water for good health. And he wants health. Most people want the finest health they can "get". So how do you "get" it?
Both casual observation and spending statistics show that people are more actively conscious of their health than perhaps ever before in history. In a 1990 survey, Harvard University researchers found that people in the U.S.A. were spending about $10.3 billion, per year, out-of-pocket for health care not covered by their insurance plans. And that doesn’t cover the rise in spending on low-fat, organic and whole grain foods, or payments made to personal trainers and health clubs.
If you have broken a bone or have a need for antibiotic protocol, there is no better decade than this and no better country to be in than the U.S.A., for conventional treatment. Without question, we have the finest pharmaceutical and surgical medicine ever available in history. However, many conditions are arising that have not been documented before and are not easily addressed by surgery or pharmaceuticals. Allergies, deep fatigues, Chronic Fatigue, and other immune deficiency/autoimmune system syndromes are among the leading conditions that patients find poorly addressed by M.D.s. Stiffness and soft tissue pains plague many people, in the forms of myofascitis, fibromyalgia, and unlabeled conditions. Women entering menopause and men entering andropause are bewildered by the new body sensations and moods. Disinterested in anti-depressives, anti-inflammatories, or other drugs, many patients have looked around for the complete array of healing tools available.
Some patients, especially those with nagging pain after accidents, have tried Biomechanical Therapies. These include Osteopathy or Chiropractic care for structural alignment, massage therapies for soft tissue, and Rolfing for fascia, the connective tissue that holds muscle-bone combinations in place. Each of these therapies can increase circulation and nerve function, flexibility, and tissue comfort. Some patients use Bioenergetics, which emphasize the relationships of energy in the body and in substances. These therapies include acupuncture, homeopathy, Therapeutic Touch, Healing Touch, Jin Shin JyutsuR, Reiki, and JoRei. Also very popular currently are Biopharmacologic Therapies. These are botanicals and aromatherapy, supplements, Ayurveda (Indian system of diet, herbal remedies, and mental technique), and Chinese medicine (diet, herbal remedies, and energy balancing). Finally, Biopsychosocial therapies include hypnosis, guided imagery, meditation techniques, and yoga. Spiritual techniques are also increasingly proven. Many of these "nonconventional" modalities are the accepted, successful methods in other countries. Today, we look to China, India, and Bali to add to our healing toolkit. A patient can choose the best combination of therapies from the international array. MD’s are increasingly taking training in modalities formerly shunned by the American Medical Association.
Dr. Tracy Gaudet calls this "Integrative Medicine". Dr. Gaudet is the Executive Director of the first Integrative Medicine Program in the U.S., at the University of Arizona Medical School. The program was founded by Dr. Andrew Weil. Drs. Gaudet and Weil agree, "Integrative Medicine seeks to combine the best ideas and practices of conventional and alternative medicine into cost-effective treatments that aim to stimulate the body’s natural healing potential." In medical education and in healing practice, the U/A is boldly initiating, not a new medical subspecialty, but a paradigm shift.
As we enter the new Millennium, it is an exciting time to be a health care professional. It is the best time ever, in the history of humanity, if you are the patient.
Kebba Buckley speaks nationally on stress management and energized living. She is a coach, energy therapist, and spiritual teacher, as well as the author of a handbook on how to trade in your stress for energy.