Integrative Approach To Health and Wellness

By Carlos Durana, PhD, MAc

Seasons In Our Lives

. http://seasonsinourlife.com/

More Complementary & Integrative Healthcare Articles

Integrative Approach To Health and Wellness

In the treatment of pain, an integrative therapeutic approach can be very effective. In addition to attending to the presenting complaint (pain), this approach also addresses predisposing patterns that contribute to the dysfunction These may include postural patterns, dietary and life style habits, life coping strategies, physical health, mental attitudes, and quality of relationships to name a few. Attending only to the physical aspects of the problem, in many cases, may not be sufficient for its resolution.

Integrative therapeutic approaches such as integrative medicine, take into account the whole person (body, mind, emotions, spirit, relationships, life style, etc.). They also affirm the importance of the relationship between the patient and the practitioner, and they make use of evidence based therapeutic approaches (conventional and complementary).

Let's illustrate this with a case example. Take “Margaret”, a 45 year old woman with shoulder, neck, and back pain. The neck pain seemed to be associated with her posture from sitting at the computer for long periods of time. The shoulder pain resulted from an injury in exercise training, and her back pain seemed to have developed from running and was also affected by her menstrual cycle.

Traditional acupuncture and manual therapy were used to address her pain. In addition, Chinese herbs were helpful in improving her menstrual cycle, anxiety and sleep problems. However, a very important contributor to the pain was related to the recent dissolution of her marriage. She experienced bouts of anxiety and depression. Coaching her in transforming maladaptive beliefs and life coping strategies became an essential part of her healing. This resulted in her feeling grounded, empowered, more energetic, and it helped her in moving on with her new life.