Integrating Complementary Medicine

into Hospital Settings

 

by: Michael Ellner

Multiple published studies demonstrate that acupuncture, biofeedback, chiropractic, hypnosis, massage, meditation, and cognitive behavioral therapy should be incorporated into conventional medical practice.

Offering these complementary approaches actually gives a physician, hospital, or a medical center a competitive edge because over 50% of patients surveyed by the Centers for Disease Control want Complementary and Alternative treatments integrated into conventional medicine.

The good news is that some medical providers are already beginning to wake up to this fact. For example, according to CBSnews.com, more than one in four U.S. hospitals now offer complementary and alternative therapies and techniques like mind-body, chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, music, and yoga therapy. Unfortunately, 75% still do not.

September is Pain Awareness Month. Let's face it, conventional pain management leaves a lot to be desired….these medications are actually toxic to our systems and really don't work very well, either. Although some of the most popular prescribed painkillers have proven to be dangerous and even lethal, many physicians are ignorant of this. They are also unaware that hypnosis; chiropractic, acupuncture, and massage therapy can help relieve their patient's pain.

The problem is that physicians today are simply not taught that pain relief without drugs is possible. They are educated specifically to prescribe drugs to manage pain, while other time-tested and effective therapeutic modalities like those I have mentioned previously are virtually ignored.

Hypnosis utilizes relaxation and focused attention. Hypnotic modalities like self-hypnosis, visualization, and guided imagery can be a valuable adjunct in the management of pain. In fact, many researchers have documented hypnotic pain relief for a wide range of acute and chronic issues such as gastrointestinal illnesses, post-operative pain, headaches, cancer, burns, and chronic pain syndromes like fibromyalgia.

Chiropractic is based on promoting the unimpeded flow of information from the brain and body via correction of spinal and other skeletal imbalances. It has been shown to relieve the pain associated with numerous problems.

Acupuncture is based on balancing and promoting the flow of life energy (called Chi or Qi). Research shows that acupuncture can help relieve joint, back, and headache related pain.

Massage Therapy reduces pain by relieving stress and body tensions and has been shown, similarly, to reduce back, cancer and headache related pain.

It has been scientifically shown that all of the above techniques promote the release of pain relieving neuropeptides…..yet American health providers rarely use this knowledge.

It is good to know that the enlightened physician can simply recommend the use of these adjunctive approaches to lower the dose and reduce the adverse effects of painkillers, steroids, and other drugs they use for pain.

That way, everybody wins!

About Michael Ellner: Armed with what he calls "Quantum Focusing" - Michael Ellner, DD, CHT, MSH, has helped thousands of develop attitudes and mindsets that promote healing, self-empowerment and effectiveness. Ellner has three years of experience as an active member of the National Institutes of Health Complimentary Therapies Working Group, and his honors include Educator of the Year from the National Guild of Hypnotists and receiving Diplomat status with the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association. Ellner's Blog on Complementary Therapies is featured on the Therapy Times website (www.therapytimes.com). His goal is to further integrate the practice of hypnosis and other complementary approaches into medical and therapeutic practices. For more info:  www.ellner.info and www.quantumfocusing.com

 

Published in Hospital Newspaper, The New York Edition, Oct '06, page 14