What is Holistic Medicine?

Holistic medicine is a system of health-care based on a concept of the “whole person" as one whose mind, body, spirit, and emotions are in balance with themselves and the environment. Stressing personal responsibility for health, a holistic approach may include conventional medicine and various non-traditional methods of diagnosis and therapy,  for example: Acupuncture, Faith healing, Folk medicine, Meditation and Yoga. 

Patients are encouraged to establish self-regulated regimes to control such illness-related factors as poor diet, smoking, alcohol intake, and stress. Within Holistic treatments, surgery and prescription drugs are generally avoided.

Holistic therapies focus on balancing the body's' energy and restoring the body's' health. Some holistic hands-on therapies that are more common and recognisable by name are Kinesiology, Massage Therapy, Reflexology and Shiatsu. AcuMedic offers some of these treatments at our clinic, and encompasses them in our whole approach to medicine.

These holistic hands-on therapies are based on the theory that the body can heal itself through its own balancing and regulation. Our day-to-day life can bring with it stresses on our minds, bodies and spirits. All holistic complementary medicine recognises the interdependence between mind, body and spirit. 

The medical profession estimates that 80% of all conditions are stressed-related. These range from headaches to digestive problems, back, shoulder pain, and general discomfort due to tension. Holistic hands-on treatments aim to bring balance to our stressful lives.

Kinesiology 

Kinesiology is the science of muscle testing in relation to all body functions. Originally, Kinesiology was simply the study of movement - particularly the human body. It was developed from a system of structural muscle testing that was used for many years by the orthodox medical profession. The original Kinesiological muscle tests were used by physiotherapists to test the range of movement, power, and tone of various muscles (especially in injury and stroke cases).

In 1965, an American chiropractor - Dr. George J. Goodheart through his work discovered that when a muscle was tested it could reveal essential information about the individual, which was almost impossible to determine by any other means of investigation. Kinesiology is based on the principle that certain muscle groups are related to specific parts of the body. It uses the person’s own body as the source of vital information. Energy blockages and imbalance cause illness and are detected through muscle tests.

Once the energy blockage or imbalance has been found, the Kinesiologist uses light touch, finger-tip pressure and deep massage which allows the body to quickly adjust its own energy patterns. In addition, dietary counselling is often given. Kinesiologists recognise and address all four realms of a person: Mental, Chemical, Physical, and Energetic - simultaneously.

Massage Therapy

Massage Therapy seeks to improve and maintain the balance of the body's' systems. Massage releases tensions in the muscles, stimulates circulation, reduces anxiety levels and helps aid sleep. It can also help with regard to problems of the musculo-skeletal system.

Massage is now widely used in the treatment of work and sports injuries. It can be used as a preventative treatment during sport training and competition to ensure that the muscles are well-balanced, smooth and relaxed when resting. It can also help to ensure that muscles are well toned and strong.

Massage is also being re-introduced into some hospitals. Research has been carried out at the Charing Cross Hospital in London where cardiac patients have had massage therapy. This research showed that massage lowered blood pressure even in very agitated patients and kept it lowered much longer than expected - all using natural techniques and without the ingestion of any type of prescription drug.

Reflexology

Reflexology is known to be more than 4000 years old. It was first practiced by the Egyptians and then the Chinese and Indian peoples. Each organ in the body is reflected in a specific area on the soles of the feet and the palms of the hands. By applying Thumb-Finger pressure on the feet and hands, blockages in the energy pathways are released, inducing deep relaxation and allowing the body's' natural healing forces to correct any imbalance.

In 1913, Dr. William Fitzgerald - an ear, nose and throat surgeon introduced Reflexology to the West. He found that pressure on specific parts of the body could have an anaesthetizing effect on a related area. In developing the theory, he divided the body into ten equal zones - ending in the fingers and the toes. He found that pressure on one part of a zone could affect everything else within that zone. So reflex areas on the feet and hands correspond to other areas and organs of the body within the same zone. 

In the 1930s, a therapist - Eunice Ingham further developed and refined the zone theory into what is now known as Reflexology. She found that tension and congestion of the energy flow in many parts of the foot mirrors congestion or tension in a corresponding part of the body.

Shiatsu 

Shiatsu literally means "finger pressure" in Japanese. This ancient healing method originating from Traditional Oriental Medicine, works on the body's' pressure points and energy meridians (Meridians are energy channels). The root of Oriental medicine lies in the concept of  ‘Qi’ - the life force that runs along these defined channels or meridians. This life force flows into every cell of the body through the meridians. 

Qi sustains every activity of the mind, body and spirit and needs to be abundant and balanced for health to be maintained. Shiatsu practitioners use their fingers, thumbs and sometimes elbows, knees and feet to work the meridians to balance energy flow. The Shiatsu practitioner uses four major approaches to Oriental diagnosis: Observation, Questioning, Listening and Touching. It is through the power of touch and the practitioners' ability to sense and empathise with the patients' strengths as well as weaknesses, that the receiver’s Qi is promoted to achieve greater balance within the mind, body and spirit.

Always seek health advice from your doctor, or local  Health Outlet. AcuMedic will be very pleased to offer advice regarding difficulties with this condition. Please see our Clinic

Please note that although we are confident that our treatments will help the majority of our patients, we cannot absolutely guarantee a cure as the needs and difficulties of each patient can differ greatly