Wholistic natural remedies, are they for you?
Wholistic medicine practitioners treat the whole person; mind, body, and spirit. They believe that each of us is made from the three parts. To treat one part of the body, they must treat all three parts. The belief is that if one part of the whole is in distress the other two parts are also in distress. That is why all parts must be treated at once to achieve harmony in the body again.
What are wholistic natural remedies?
Wholistic natural remedies include:
- Chiropractic
- Acupuncture
- Massage therapy
- Meditation
- Homeopathy
- Aromatherapy
- Naturopathy
- Herbal supplements
- Diet
- Exercise
You may notice the last two seem to overlap with traditional medicine.
Some traditional doctors are also wholistic medicine practitioners.
If you are looking for a wholistic practitioner, be sure to do your homework. Just like every profession, there are good wholistic practitioners and some that are not as good. Start with a visit to the American Holistic Medical Association web site. It can help you find practitioners in your area. Also, ask the people you trust for their recommendation.
Check for the following when it comes to wholistic natural practitioners:
- Have they been board certified by a credible medical board?
- What about that person’s training, experience, and specialty?
- Do they have an association with professional organizations and hospital affiliations
- What is their treatment philosophy and it is close to your own?
- Are you comfortable with this practitioner? Remember wholistic medicine requires a team approach, your practitioner and you.
- Is the practitioner asking the right questions and getting to know the whole person you are?
- Treatment plans should go beyond just pills and encompass your lifestyle, exercise, and diet, also any medical issues that could be a contributor to your sickness.
How to use wholistic natural remedies?
As with traditional pharmaceuticals; wholistic natural remedies have had some studies done on them which show that some of the remedies can be quite effective. One such wholistic natural remedy that studies show is effective is acupuncture, just make sure that you see a board-certified practitioner in acupuncture.
Another is meditation which can be used to calm anxiety, stress, and pain. It can help the person sleep better, help improve memory, and attention span.
Massage therapy can reduce tension, stress, and pain from muscles. It also helps elevate a person’s mood, helps with sleep, and can reduce anxiety and stress especially when used in conjunction with meditation.
Chiropractic has shown relief in joint pain such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, and other issues such as back and neck pain, as well as headaches.
Integrating wholistic natural remedies with your prescriptions can help reduce the number of medications you need. For example, when it comes to pain pills using one or more of the wholistic natural remedies can reduce the number of pain pills you need to take each day. It may reduce the need for more potent pain medications such as Vicadin or Oxycodone to something less potent such as Tramadol.
As wholistic natural remedies are non-addictive and have far fewer side effects than pharmaceuticals they may be your best choice. However, it will depend on what exactly you are treating.
Often, holistic natural remedies can be combined with traditional pharmaceuticals for serious health issues. For example, holistic pain relievers can be used in place of prescription pain killers.
If you wish to try integrating wholistic natural remedies with your traditional prescriptions or physical therapy speak to your doctor first. He or she will know which remedies will be able to safely be combined with any prescription drugs you are currently taking.
Wholistic natural remedies and research
Understand that there need to be more real and honest studies done comparing wholistic natural remedies with pharmaceutical drugs to show the effectiveness of both separate and combined treatments.
It seems that some medical doctors and pharmaceutical companies are afraid of wholistic natural remedies, either because they do not understand them or how they work.
Education on wholistic natural remedies must be more widespread among the medical profession and patients. That is especially true if we want to combat the opioid crisis going on today. Treating the whole person (mind, body, and spirit) can help reduce the number of opioids needed for pain thereby reducing the risk of addiction.
