Alternative Medicine
As the name suggests Naturopathic medicine (also known as Naturopathy) is a total natural approach to health. It is similar to the vitalistic tradition of medicine in the Western world, emphasizing the treatment of disease through the inherent healing capacity of the person. It addresses the root causes of illness, and promotes health and healing using natural therapies.
Naturopathic practice may include a broad array of different modalities, including manual therapy, hydrotherapy, herbalism, acupuncture, counselling, environmental medicine, aromatherapy, wholefoods, cell salts, and so on. Practitioners tend to emphasise on a holistic approach to patient care.Today, Naturopathy is quickly growing in popularity and accepted use.
One of the areas where it is becoming increasingly attractive is the childbirth. Naturopathic physicians provide natural childbirth care in an out-of-hospital setting. They offer prenatal and postnatal care using modern diagnostic techniques.
The naturopathic approach strengthens healthy body functions so that complications associated with pregnancy may be prevented.
Recognising the fact that mental attitudes and emotional states may influence, or even cause physical illness, naturopathic cure through counselling, nutritional balancing, stress management, hypnotherapy, biofeedback, and other therapies is gaining popularity to help patients heal on the psychological level.
The practice of Naturopathic Medicine emerges from six underlying principles of healing. These principles are based on the objective observation of the nature of health and disease, and are continually re-examined in the light of scientific analysis. It is these principles that distinguish Naturopathy from other medical approaches.
The principles of naturopathic medicine:
1. The healing power of nature (Medicatrix naturae)
The body has the inherent ability to establish, maintain, and restore health. The healing process is ordered and intelligent; nature heals through the response of the life force. The physician’s role is to facilitate and augment this process, to take action to identify and remove obstacles to health and recovery, and to support the creation of a healthy internal and external environment.
2. Identify and Treat the Causes (Tolle causam)
Illness does not occur without any cause. Therefore, the physician must evaluate elementary underlying causes of illness and treat the root causes rather than visible symptoms.
3. First Do No Harm (Primum non nocere)
Naturopathy follows these three rules to avoid harming the patient:
Use methods and medicines with no or minimum risk of harmful side effects while employing the least force required to make a diagnosis and treat a patient.
Avoid, whenever possible, the harmful suppressing of symptoms.
Acknowledge, appreciate and work with the individual’s self-healing process.
4. Doctor as Teacher (Docere)
Naturopathic doctors share information and knowledge with their patients and encourage self- responsibility for health in patients.
5. Treat the whole person (The multi-factorial nature of health and disease)
Naturopathy treats each patient as a unique human being taking into account his/her specific physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental and social factors.
6. Emphasize prevention (Prevention is the best "cure")
Naturopathic doctors emphasize on the prevention of diseases by assessing risk factors, heredity and susceptibility to these disease, and making appropriate interventions to prevent illness.
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| This section's articles A recent study indicated that over 87% of paediatricians had been asked by their patients for complementary or alternative therapy. More than half of Canadians surveyed in 2006 reported using at least one form of alternative health care
There are few greater pleasures in this world than the feeling of a good massage. Feeling tired, sore and stressed? A massage, whether it’s full-body, back or just a head massage... Today more Canadians are seeking a more natural approach to their healthcare. A recent survey done by the Canadian Association for Naturopathic Doctors (CAND)...
As the name suggests Naturopathic medicine (also known as Naturopathy) is a total natural approach to health. It is similar to the vitalistic tradition of medicine in the Western world... If you long for a doctor who uses natural therapies to keep you healthy and tends to minor medical conditions, consider a naturopathic doctor (ND). |
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