Complementary Alternative Medicine

Canada’s health care system is starting to integrate complementary alternative therapies with modern medicine. Although not covered by Alberta Health, people are finding relief with these ‘New Age’ therapies:

Types of Alternative Therapy:

• Naturopathy
• Massage therapy
• Acupuncture
• Chiropractic
• Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Reiki
• Qigong
• Reflexology
• Homeopathy
• Shamanism
• Rolfing
• Alexander Technique
• Craniosacral Therapy
• Mind body stress reduction
• Ayurveda

Different things work for different people. At the very least, it’ll be a new experience. Who knows what’ll work for you.

The Association of Doctors Integrating Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) has three principles:

1. All healing therapies have validity
2. Prevention has equal weight as therapy.
3. Patient participation, empowerment, self-management

How to be a bad patient:

• Get many opinions
• Research the disease
• Try lots of therapies
• Get better

Where you put your mind, there goes your experience. Remember that the locust of control is inside you and around you.

URGENT: Never alter prescribed medication without the supervision of your family doctor. Never take herbal medication if on prescribed medication without consulting your physician.

The traditional view of the ‘doctor as expert’ can breed dependency, helplessness, blame and apathy on the part of the patient as well as resentment and burnout for the doctor. Therefore, share responsibility for your health with the Medical doctor.

An ideal complementary and integrative approach occurs when the patient's doctors know about the complementary care, agree that it will not be harmful, and continue to monitor the patient's progress while keeping an eye on the effects of both the complementary and the conventional therapies.

For example, someone with cancer who has acupuncture to help with the side effects of chemotherapy would be taking a complementary approach.

Physicians who practice integrative medicine focus on the whole person. And, just as they must keep abreast of current research in conventional medicine, they also review the latest research results for complementary therapies. This ensures that the treatments don't conflict with each other and don't cause any harm to the patient.

For any proposed CAM therapy, it is important to consider:

• Safety (appropriateness for particular conditions, producers' quality control for items such as herbal medicines, etc.)
• Effectiveness
• Cost in time and money in relation to potential benefit
  
• Credentials of the practitioner

DEPRESSION

Depression is a troublesome and sometimes incapacitating condition that affects more than one million Canadians a year. Sadness is a normal occurrence. Depression often has no identifiable trigger and can last anywhere from a week to two years. If unrecognized and untreated, it may look like a prolonged bad mood, stealing your energy and joy. Not knowing why you’re in a ‘bad mood’ spirals the symptoms with self degradation and deepens the depression. Many people coping with undiagnosed depression, are relieved to realize that they’re not bad people, they’re just depressed and there is help.

Signs and Symptoms of depression:

• Irritability & anger
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Weight gain
• Indifference to favorite activities
• Chronic Pain
• Hopelessness & pointlessness
  

Some types of depression:

• Seasonal Affected disorder
• Bipolar
• Postpartum
• Perimenopausal
  

Depression is not just in your head. It’s in your organs and glands which control the level of over 40 hormones in your body plus your immune system. Hormones impact our stress response, our happiness, healthiness, even sleepiness. Too much or too little of any particular hormone will change our mood and clarity. That’s why it’s important to discuss medical treatment with your doctor if depression is affecting your daily life.

Medical therapy:

• Psychiatry or counseling
• Medication
  

Complementary Alternative Therapy:

• Acupuncture to regulate hormones and reduce stress
• Massage to reduce stress and increase well being
• Tai Chi for exercise and meditation
• Light Therapy
  

Give high priority to learning to unwind and to let go after a stressful encounter. Holding onto resentments and negative feelings is proven to reduce our immune system, which is trying to keep us healthy. Perceiving a situation differently will actually cause a different hormonal response in the body. When you feel depressed, make an extra effort to do things that make you feel good even if it’s difficult to get yourself motivated. Socializing with friends and positive people will actually improve your immune response.

Activities to Increase Good Feelings:

• Exercise
• Volunteer
• Games
• Music / Funny movies
• Socialization
  

Research has recently identified inflammation (redness and swelling) as a precursor to depression. In fact, many anti-depressant medications actually include an anti-inflammatory agent. This is a major break through in understanding what triggers depression. Inflammation diseases include: Asthma, Allergies, gingivitis, Crohns & Ulcerative colitis. Inflammation also rises during the third trimester of pregnancy which commonly leads to postpartum depression.

You can reduce Inflammation by:

• Eating an anti-inflammatory diet rich in colourful vegetables and healthy fats found in olives, avocados, cold water fish.
• Supplementing with ultra-refined fish oil.
• Reducing sugar and preservatives especially MSG.
• Daily multi-vitamin rich in B vitamins.
• Following prescribed treatment, if applicable.

Depression can be healed with the help of your doctor and self care. There are many on-line sources of information and support.

References:

“Proinflammatory cytokines and negative emotions”

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, May, 2007 by Robert A. Anderson

What High Heels are doing to your body

Alkaline vs. Acid Foods

Diseases Thrive in an ACIDIC Environment

Scientists report that over 150 or more degenerative diseases are caused by high acid levels!! Parasites, viruses, bad bacteria, and disease cannot live in an alkaline body.

Body fluids range between 4.5 and 7.5 pH (blood must maintain 7.35 to 7.45 pH). A 1-point drop on the pH scale is 10 times more acidic - from 7 to 6 is 10 times, from 7 to 5 is 100 times, from 7 to 2 is 100,000 times more acidic.

Therefore: Eat more Alkalizing foods and Less Acidic Foods

ALKALIZING FOODS VEGETABLES Garlic Asparagus Fermented Veggies Watercress Beets Broccoli Brussel sprouts Cabbage Carrot Cauliflower Celery Chard Chlorella Collard Greens Cucumber Eggplant Kale Kohlrabi Lettuce Mushrooms Mustard Greens Dulce Dandelions Edible Flowers Onions Parsnips (high glycemic) Peas Peppers Pumpkin Rutabaga Sea Veggies Spirulina Sprouts Squashes Alfalfa Barley Grass Wheat Grass Wild Greens Nightshade Veggies FRUITS Apple Apricot Avocado Banana (high glycemic) Cantaloupe Cherries Currants Dates/Figs Grapes Grapefruit Lime Honeydew Melon Nectarine Orange Lemon Peach Pear Pineapple All Berries Tangerine Tomato Tropical Fruits Watermelon PROTEIN Eggs Whey Protein Powder Cottage Cheese Chicken Breast Yogurt Almonds Chestnuts Tofu (fermented) Flax Seeds Pumpkin Seeds Tempeh (fermented) Squash Seeds Sunflower Seeds Millet Sprouted Seeds Nuts OTHER Apple Cider Vinegar Bee Pollen Lecithin Granules Probiotic Cultures Green Juices Veggies Juices Fresh Fruit Juice Organic Milk (unpasteurized) Mineral Water Alkaline Antioxidant Water Green Tea Herbal Tea Dandelion Tea Ginseng Tea Banchi Tea Kombucha SWEETENERS Stevia SPICES/SEASONINGS Cinnamon Curry Ginger Mustard Chili Pepper Sea Salt Miso Tamari All Herbs ORIENTAL VEGETABLES Maitake Daikon Dandelion Root Shitake Kombu Reishi Nori Umeboshi Wakame Sea Veggies
ACIDIFYING FOODS
FATS & OILS Avocado Oil Canola Oil Corn Oil Hemp Seed Oil Flax Oil Lard Olive Oil Safflower Oil Sesame Oil Sunflower Oil FRUITS Cranberries GRAINS Rice Cakes Wheat Cakes Amaranth Barley Buckwheat Corn Oats (rolled) Quinoi Rice (all) Rye Spelt Kamut Wheat Hemp Seed Flour DAIRY Cheese, Cow Cheese, Goat Cheese, Processed Cheese, Sheep Milk Butter	NUTS & BUTTERS Cashews Brazil Nuts Peanuts Peanut Butter Pecans Tahini Walnuts ANIMAL PROTEIN Beef Carp Clams Fish Lamb Lobster Mussels Oyster Pork Rabbit Salmon Shrimp Scallops Tuna Turkey Venison PASTA (WHITE) Noodles Macaroni Spaghetti OTHER Distilled Vinegar Wheat Germ Potatoes	DRUGS & CHEMICALS Chemicals Drugs, Medicinal Drugs, Psychedelic Pesticides Herbicides ALCOHOL Beer Spirits Hard Liquor Wine BEANS & LEGUMES Black Beans Chick Peas Green Peas Kidney Beans Lentils Lima Beans Pinto Beans Red Beans Soy Beans Soy Milk White Beans Rice Milk Almond Milk

Simple Stretches to avoid arm pain

Everything we do works our hands and arms. Keep them healthy and strong by doing some simple stretches every day:

1. 1. Arm straight out in front of you, palm up, pull fingers down so palm gradually faces away from you.

1. 2. Arm straight out in front of you, palm down, pull fingers up so that palm gradually faces away from you.

1. 3. Arm straight out in front of you, palm down, let fingers drop so that palm gradually faces you.

There are many common causes of arm pain, such as:

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Tennis Elbow
• Golfer’s Elbow
• Frozen shoulder
• Pinched nerve
• Tired muscles
  

Any activity requiring a repetitive motion will overwork a muscle. A tired muscle will encourage you to compensate and may swell from muscle break-down. High risk jobs:

• cashier
• construction
• dry walling
• typing
• cleaning

If the pain doesn’t go away and if it’s painful to do your normal activities, see your doctor. In depth testing and diagnosis is urgent to identify the true cause in order to treat the source effectively. Then the treatment can be focused on the cause rather than the symptom.

Meanwhile the following home remedies may minimize and possibly heal arm pain.

1. Rest
2. Stretch
3. Apply alternating warm and cold over the forearm muscles, (those muscles just below the elbow).
4. Massage therapy
5. Acupuncture

Good health reflects a balanced lifestyle including exercise plus stretches, proper nutrition, rest and fun. Respect and honor your body for a long and happy life.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a well know term for pain at the wrist. Did you know that the pain may only be a symptom and may actually have little to do with the wrist? As the name implies, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a symptom of many issues from the wrist to the neck. In depth testing and diagnosis is urgent to identify the true cause in order to treat the source effectively. Then the treatment can be focused on the cause rather than the symptom.

Diagnostically, CTS is a disease of nerve compression. Specifically, the big nerve running down the inside of your forearm gets squished as it goes through a canal made by the wrist bones, just above your palm.

This canal is designed for your nerve to pass through easily along with several muscle tendons and blood vessels. When you have carpal tunnel syndrome, space in the canal is crowded out by swelling and inflammation in any of the tendons traveling through the canal or in the sheath covering the canal. It would be similar to your truck transforming into a monster truck while in your garage, the same tendons that were fine last year are now bigger. There is only a limited amount of space and now nothing can move.

How does this happen? When you do repeatedly twist your wrist or hand in jobs like check outs, construction working, dry walling, typing, cleaning and accounting, the forearm muscles are overworked and become tired. A tired muscle will encourage you to compensate and will eventually swell from muscle break-down and tendonitis.

If compensating changes your posture, the problem may go into your neck, if the swelling goes down your arm, carpal tunnel pain may start. In this case where the carpal tunnel syndrome is a symptom of a problem somewhere else in the arm, then the traditional surgical treatment is not a cure. Treatment may include exercises to strengthen the muscle, stretches to elongate the muscle and massage therapy to release adhesions and realign the muscle.

You may first notice tightness in your wrist and then some or all of the following symptoms: pain and/or tingling in the hand, numbness, weakness of the thumb, sensitivity to cold. It can feel like gripping a coffee cup takes all the strength you have.

Although potentially crippling, there is a lot you can do to prevent and treat Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. If it’s painful, see your doctor about medical treatment. Meanwhile you can do the following yourself to minimize and potentially heal the problem:

Daily wrist stretches are very effective:
Arm straight out in front of you, palm up, pull fingers down so palm gradually faces away from you.
Arm straight out in front of you, palm down, pull fingers up so that palm gradually faces away from you.
Arm straight out in front of you, palm down, let fingers drop so that palm gradually faces you.
Alternating heat and cold over the forearm muscles, (those muscles just below the elbow).
Massage therapy, 30 minutes twice a week for 4 – 8 weeks

The wrist is designed to bend 90 degrees to your arm bone, forwards or backwards (not side to side). Stretches will benefit everybody by maintaining health in the forearm muscles.

Often this problem sneaks up on us when we start a new job or activity, but whenever possible prevention and staying healthy is the best treatment. Be aware of your body and treat sore muscles early to avoid larger problems.

Tennis Elbow

Did you know that you could be diagnosed with Tennis elbow even if you don’t play tennis?

Characterized by pain near the outside of the elbow, tennis elbow is common in the spring when warm weather entices us outside to play tennis, golf, paint, etc. Tendinitis (epicondylitis) is defined as inflammation of a tendon, is caused by repetitive actions particularly while gripping something.

The tendon attaches muscle to bone. Repetitive actions strain the junction between the tendon & the muscle causing fatigue, then micro-tears.

If the muscle is not rested, it then becomes weak & painful especially when you grip something. You may first notice it as a general arm soreness and then a feeling of weakness as if you’re not as strong as you used to be. You may not notice it all day and then feel it throbbing at night as the muscle relaxes. To repair muscle tears, collagen fibres (scar tissue) grow in & around the musculo-tendinous junction. This scar tissue & has no contractile power & will hinder your range of motion.

Although most common near the elbow with the wrist flexors & extensors, tendinitis also occurs in other area such as the rotator cuff tendons and the achillies tendon in runners.

Tendinitis can be treated with massage therapy, but requires a commitment by the client. The more active a person is in their own recovery, the less you need therapists. Treatments can be painful & should be 3 days apart for 6 – 10 sessions depending on the extent of the injury. Recovery is faster is clients stretch & rest the muscle between sessions.