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“I was tired of all the prescription drugs. I was taking pills to
suppress the side effects of the other pills I was taking. By switching
to a healthy lifestyle supported by natural therapies, I got rid of the
side effects and regained my health. I feel like myself again.”
You can also feel good about being part of the solution to “out of
control” healthcare costs and dependency.
https://theholistichealthclinic.com/FindOut.html
Americans are using more natural therapies like chiropractic, acupuncture and massage
With the cost of conventional health care rising not to mention increasing negative effects from medications more Americans are opting for alternative medicine practices.
A new study has revealed between the years 2002 and 2007, alternative therapies (CAM)
have been on the up rise. The numbers have indicated increases of 18.1%
among Caucasians, 17.2 among Asians, 6.6% among African American and
one percent among Hispanics.
Alternative medicine is home to numerous therapies including yoga, herbal, Bio feed back, Bach Flower remedies, Tai Chi and many more.
The
study had suggested these therapies had been sought out when their
conventional medical care was restricted however, other reasons have
included conventional medical care was not met or their was a delay in
receiving care.
Researcher Dejun Su, director of the South Texas
Border Health Disparities Center at the University of Texas,
Pan-American stated over the course of time we are witnessing an
increase in health care costs in America. A lot of people cannot afford
the raising costs of health care, so people may turn to alternative
medicine.
Researchers analyzed from 2002 and 2007, National Health Interview Survey. The survey is a national model questionnaire which gathers information on health behaviors, access and usage of health care.
In
2007, around one third of Caucasians had used at least one alternative
therapy, along with 31.8% of Asian Americans, 20% African Americans and
16.9% Hispanic Americans. Prayer was not included as a therapy by
researchers.
The use of alternative medicine was associated to medical care needs not being met and delayed medical care due to cost.
Other
explanations for the up rising trend have been increased knowledge of
therapies along with the fact more and more states are now licensing
these therapies.
There has been sound evidence in the treatment of alternative medicine in treating a variety of conditions and diseases.
Such notations on alternative treatments have included briefly the following:
Chiropractic
Chiropractic has been found to be cost effective for treating chronic back pain. Could aide children with learning disorders and more parents use it to control their children's asthma.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture has been found to help children with lazy eye, can increase success rates for women to become pregnant that undergone fertility treatments, and can reduce hot flashes.
Massage Therapy
Massage therapy has been noted to aide children in pain with Sickle Cell disease, aides in improving mood and decreases pain in advanced cancer patients and has aided with osteoarthritis patients.
There are dozens of case sites showing the benefits of alternative medicine.
When choosing an alternative practitioner make sure you feel you can communicate with them just the same as a
conventional practitioner so your concerns are answered and your needs
are met.
Debbie Nicholson is based in Detroit, Michigan, United States of America,
and is Anchor for Allvoices
Tai Chi Chuan
Health Benefits
Before tai chi's introduction to Western students, the health benefits
of Tai Chi Chuan were largely explained through the lens of traditional
Chinese medicine, which is based on a view of the body and healing
mechanisms not always studied or supported by modern science. Today, tai
chi is in the process of being subjected to rigorous scientific studies
in the West.
Now that the majority of health studies have displayed a tangible
benefit in some areas to the practice of tai chi, health professionals
have called for more in-depth studies to determine mitigating factors
such as the most beneficial style, suggested duration of practice to
show the best results, and whether tai chi is as effective as other
forms of exercise.
Chronic Conditions
Researchers have found that intensive tai chi practice shows some
favorable effects on the promotion of balance control, flexibility,
cardiovascular fitness, and has shown to reduce the risk of falls in
both healthy elderly patients, and those recovering from chronic stroke,
heart failure, high blood pressure, heart attacks, multiple sclerosis,
Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and fibromyalgia, Tai chi's gentle, low impact
movements burn more calories than surfing and nearly as many as downhill
skiing.
Tai chi, along with yoga, has reduced levels of LDLs 20 26 milligrams
when practiced for 12-14 weeks. A thorough review of most of these
studies showed limitations or biases that made it difficult to draw firm
conclusions on the benefits of tai chi.
A later study led by the same researchers conducting the review found
that tai chi (compared to regular stretching) showed the ability to
greatly reduce pain and improve overall physical and mental health in
people over 60 with severe osteoarthritis of the knee.
In addition, a pilot study, which has not been published in a
peer-reviewed medical journal, has found preliminary evidence that tai
chi and related qigong may reduce the severity of diabetes.
In a randomized trial of 66 patients with fibromyalgia, the tai chi
intervention group did significantly better in terms of pain, fatigue,
sleeplessness and depression than a comparable group given stretching
exercises and wellness education.
A recent study evaluated the effects of two types of behavioral
intervention, tai chi and health education, on healthy adults, who,
after 16 weeks of the intervention, were vaccinated with VARIVAX, a live
attenuated Oka/Merck Varicella zoster virus vaccine.
The tai chi group showed higher and more significant levels of
cell-mediated immunity to varicella zoster virus than the control group
that received only health education. It appears that tai chi augments
resting levels of varicella zoster virus-specific cell-mediated immunity
and boosts the efficacy of the varicella vaccine. Tai chi alone does
not lessen the effects or probability of a shingles attack, but it does
improve the effects of the varicella zoster virus vaccine.
Stress and Mental Health
There have also been indications that tai chi might have some effect on
noradrenaline and cortisol production with an effect on mood and heart
rate. However, the effect may be no different than those derived from
other types of physical exercise. In one study, tai chi has also been
shown to reduce the symptoms of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD) in 13 adolescents. The improvement in symptoms seem to
persist after the tai chi sessions were terminated.
In June, 2007 the United States National Center for Complementary and
Alternative Medicine published an independent, peer-reviewed,
meta-analysis of the state of meditation research, conducted by
researchers at the University of Alberta Evidence-based Practice Center.
The report reviewed 813 studies (88 involving Tai Chi) of five broad
categories of meditation: mantra meditation, mindfulness meditation,
yoga, Tai Chi, and Qi Gong. The report concluded that "the therapeutic
effects of meditation practices cannot be established based on the
current literature," and "firm conclusions on the effects of meditation
practices in healthcare cannot be drawn based on the available evidence.
Tai Chi Wikipedia
There are five major styles of tai chi chuan, each named after the Chinese family from which it originated:
- Chen-style of Chen Wangting (1580-1660)
- Yang-style of Yang Lu-ch'an (1799-1872)
- Wu- or Wu/Hao-style of Wu Yu-hsiang (1812-1880)
- Wu-style of Wu Ch'uan-yu (1834-1902) and his son Wu Chien-ch'uan (1870-1942)
- Sun-style of Sun Lu-t'ang (1861-1932)
People are looking for a better way. They’re hoping to avoid getting
caught up in a healthcare crisis that’s getting worse every year.
They’re tired of buying into the idea that the only way to stay healthy
is to rely on a healthcare system that considers drugs to be the primary
solution to our nation’s growing health problems.
Well then, join the people who are embracing Naturopathic
medicine. Besides the obvious benefits of learning how to take care of
yourself using natural therapies instead of drugs to achieve wellness,
you can also feel good about being part of the solution to “out of
control” healthcare costs and dependency.
How? By becoming and staying healthy. The best way to do that
is to use Naturopathic medicine to restore your health and to keep your
body working properly in order to prevent the chronic health problems
that people are facing today.
