Alternative & Integrative Medicine

Integrative medicine has been grounded in the definition of health. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. Integrative medicine is a philosophy of healthcare which focuses on individual person, combining the best of conventional western medicine and evidence-based complementary medicine and therapies within current mainstream medical practice.

Integrative medicine prepares standard treatments with complementary and alternative therapies to care for your body, mind and spirit. It emphasizes respect for the human capacity for healing, the importance of the relationship between the practitioner and the patient, a collaborative approach to patient care among practitioners, and the practice of conventional, complementary, and alternative health care that is evidence-based.

Holistic medicine means addressing the person completely as per their mind, body and spiritual aspects in the management and prevention of a disease. It is a system of health care which engulfs a cooperative relationship among all those involved, leading towards the physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual aspects of health. In an holistic approach, there is the belief notice that it relies not just on what is going on in our body physically in terms of disease, but also on the inter-relation of this with our mind, body and spirit. These different states can be equally important as they should be managed together so that a person is treated as a whole. To prevent and treat the condition of diseases, holistic medicine use conventional and alternative therapies to promote optimal health.

Traditional medicine is also known as folk or indigenous medicine. The essential aspect of this folk medicine is to have an idea of body physiology, health and healing practices to be used in treatment of a disease or a person in whole. It is similarly a home remedy, which can be used in a treatment to cure a disease or ailment which contains vegetables, spices or other common properties that may or may not contain medicinal properties. This has been more prevalent based upon their culture and usage. Traditional medicine has been used for thousands of years with great contributions made by practitioners to human health, particularly as primary health care providers at the community level. TM has maintained its popularity worldwide and since the 1990s its use has surged in many developed and developing countries.

A combination of catabolism and anabolism of food in the body is Nutrition. It is a science which explains the interaction of nutrients and other substances in the food that helps in growth and maintenance of an organism. It is responsible for all the major changes in the body. The study of Nutrition is increasingly concerned with Metabolism and Metabolic pathways and also the sequence of biochemical steps through which substances in living things change from one form to another. An unhealthy and inactive response of the metabolism of the body also causes early death.

In sports nutrition, there are several major reasons to study interactions between muscle protein interaction during and after exercise and nutrition. Plants are also irreplaceable food resources for humans.  There is no substitute for plant derived foods that can replace plant derived medicines that are replaced by synthetic chemicals and petroleum derivatives.

Complementary medicine is a major part of integrative medicine and a healing resource that encompasses all practices, health systems and its beliefs and theories that are not intrinsic to the health system of particular society.

Complementary Medicine Today is "a diverse group of treatments, ranging from symptomatic interventions to be used in conjunction with traditional therapies, meditation to other treatments to be used other than the chemotherapy techniques and surgeries. Complementary medicine courses take up the challenge to overcome ill health conditions and different conventional therapies.

Herbal medicine or phytotherapy is the use of plants as dietary supplements or as medicinal purposes as a cure of many diseases. Herbs and medicines which are derived from natural sources are used in Phytotherapy and Phytochemistry for testing the modern standard effectiveness. Herbal medicine includes fungal and bee products including minerals and shells. Modern medicine recognizes herbalism as a form of alternative medicine, as the practice of herbalism is not strictly based scientific method evidence which is gathered. The list of herbal medicine depends on the type of plant and the method used for the modification of herbal medicine. Modern phytotherapy have been using conventional methods to access the quality of herbal drugs.

Ayurveda works on a theory that disease results from an imbalance of the body’s life force (prana). It aims to restore balance within the body. The two main guiding principles of Ayurveda are the mind and the body which are inextricably connected, and to know that nothing has more power to heal and transform the body than the mind. It offers a body of wisdom to help people stay healthy while realizing their full human potential. The balance of prana is determined by equilibrium of the 3 Ayurvedic body types (doshas): vata, pitta, and kapha. Use of Ayurveda and herbal combinations to relieve symptoms in patients with RA has been studied. RA is treated based on the efficacy of Ayurveda and herbal combinations by identified 2005 systematic review of randomized controlled trails.

Yoga is that the Indic word for union and may be a 5000-year-old Indian body of information. Although many consider yoga solely as an exercise wherever individuals twist, turn, stretch, and suspire the foremost advanced ways in which, these are literally solely the foremost superficial side of this profound science of development the infinite potentials of the human mind and soul. The science of Yoga imbibes the entire essence of the manner of life.

Yoga offers a large number of mental and physical advantages within the epoch of yoga, advances in technology and accessibility of data enable researchers to check and prove these advantages that are mentioned for generations. In the modern era, advances in technology and accessibility of information allow researchers to test and prove these benefits that have been discussed for generations.

Acupuncture is a treatment of alternative medicine which involves thin needles that are inserted into the body. It is used in treatment of migraine, chronic/back pain and insomnia which are the common problems faced by people. It is very effective at relieving the pain and restoring normal function and is often used with electrical stimulation in treating nerve conditions. Acupuncture stimulates the brain to release chemicals such as opioids and neurotransmitters into the body that reduce pain and normalize the nervous system or acupuncture with electrical stimulation interrupts the pain signal allowing the nerve to calm down thereby reducing the pain.

Acupressure, a non-invasive form of acupuncture, uses physical pressure applied to acupressure points by the hand, elbow, or with various devices. Clean needle technique and single use needles of acupuncture are safe when done by a perfectly trained practitioner or acupuncturist.

Chiropractic technique deals with the diagnosis of mechanical disorder of SPINE which belongs to musculoskeletal system of our body. The main part of Chiropractic technique is the massage and manipulation which helps in the adjustment of spine and related tissues. According to the scientific evidence, Chiropractic manipulation is not effective for any medical condition with the exception of treatment for lower back pain. Cervical spine has been debated particularly with the safety of manipulation. Gonstead chiropractic technique is the major chiropractic technique used on the theme of spinal adjustment treatment “on hands”. The best treatment of back pain, neck pain and headaches used by chiropractors is Chiropractic activation method which is an instrument assisted treatment method.

A major connection by which the mental, emotional, social, behavioural and spiritual factors can directly affect the health is Mind body connection. Mind-body connection psychology is based on the theory that mental and emotional factors. These regulate physical health through a system of interdependent hormonal and immunologic connections throughout the body. Mind Body Interventions are designed to facilitate the mind’s capacity to affect bodily functions and symptoms. Examples of Mind body Interventions mainly include hypnosis and hypnotherapy. To enhance the mind’s capacity to affect the body there are behavioural, psychological, spiritual and social techniques in mind body medicine and also to preserve health and to prevent or cure disease. As Mind body medicine is beneficial, abundantly supported with the scientific evidence, many of these techniques of mind body medicine are considered as the mainstreams.

The term Yunani is derived from the Greek word Arabic Yunani based on the teachings of Greek physicians, Galen and Hippocrates. Unani or Yunani medicine is the term practiced in Mughal India and as Muslim culture in South Asia and modern day Central Asia in terms of Perso-Arabic traditional medicine. Frequently used Unani medicine is for the weight loss and diabetic treatment which are the major problems faced by people. The main aspect in management of disease using Unani medicine depends upon the diagnosis of the disease. During the diagnosis there are some important clinical features which has to be followed i.e., signs, symptoms, laboratory features and mizaj (temperament). Hamdard Unani Medicine is useful in treatment of Sexually Transmitted diseases.

A pressure applied on a body with particular action is Massage therapy. These are the techniques commonly applied using fingers, hands, forearm, knees, elbows, feet or even with a device. Bodywork and Aquatic massage is performed with recipients floating or submersed in a warm-water therapy pool. Styles used in massage therapy range from smooth, long strokes to percussive, short strokes. Few massage therapists use lotions and oils for massage where most massage therapists have their clients unclothe for a massage, where some do not. A massage can last anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours. A therapist customizes the massage, depending on the condition of the person, age, or any special needs or goals the person has.

This was created by Samuel Hahnemann in 1796. Homeopathy is based on the idea that "like cures like."  Homeopathy is also an alternative medicine which is used in cure and prevention of many diseases. That is, if a substance causes a symptom in a healthy person, giving the person a very small amount of the similar substance may cure the illness.

Homeopathy is also useful in treatment of major illness such as cancer, heart diseases, and major infections and also in case of emergencies. Homeopathy is used to address the individual’s experience on diseases and to prevent individuals in falling ill. Homeopathic remedies are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, FDA does not evaluate the remedies for safety or effectiveness.

These techniques are based on an ideology created by Andrew Taylor Still which explains the existence of myofascial continuity, a tissue layer that connects all parts of the body. The combination of Osteopathy and Osteopathic medicine techniques distinguishing from other fields of medicine is Osteopathic manipulative medicine. Parts of osteopathy, such as cranial therapy have been labelled pseudoscience and are said to have no therapeutic value.

Manipulation of persons bones and muscles in the treatment of somatic dysfunction and diagnosis by the non-physician osteopaths and osteopathic physicians to address a variety of ailments. OMT techniques are commonly used techniques to treat musculoskeletal issues and back pain. It is less effective in treating asthma and Parkinson's disease.