Integrative Medicine, the New Buzzword on Health
Integrative medicine is the new buzzword in health care, making news headlines and now having its own page at Web MD. What is it?
Integrative medicine is the practice of approaching a medical problem not only as the facts of the disease process, but from the perspective of how that disease process affects the "whole" individual, in mind, physical body, and spiritual health. Additionally integrative medicine considers what personal qualities the individual with a medical problem brings to the table. These include personal strengths and weaknesses that affect the person's ability to care for themselves in a healthy way.
To illustrate the process of integrative medicine let's take a random individual that I have made up for this purpose of this discussion.
"Nancy" is a 58-year-old woman who has three grown children, all successfully living on their own; she also has four young grandchildren. She works as an administrative assistant to the head of a family-owned business that does business domestically and overseas, and although she enjoys her work very much, it can be pretty stressful when the boss is traveling and she is left to "hold down the fort." She used to find this a fun challenge, but as she has gotten older it is more of a challenge to find the fun in the constant decision-making that the position requires. She is looking forward to retirement and enjoying travel and her family and hopes to return to her church community, something that she used to enjoy.
Nancy has recently been feeling really tired at the end of the day, and has been feeling a little blue. She feels that a lot of the sadness comes from feeling at a loss to deal with life stresses, and she hasn't been sleeping well because her mind "races" at night going over her day's work.
After completing a physical with her health care provider, including having an exercise stress test and some blood work, she meets with her provider to get the test results. She is told that the weight she has gained over the last few years has added up and she is now overweight and has high cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and that her fitness level is poor.
Her provider is concerned that these problems and her family history of early heart disease put Nancy at greater risk of having a heart attack. She also points out that Nancy is working under stressful circumstances that she doesn't completely enjoy.
So what is Nancy to do? Her provider offers her an array of medicines to control her blood sugar and cholesterol and to help her sleep, but Nancy would prefer a more "natural" plan.
Fortunately for her, Nancy's provider has an understanding of Nancy as a person and talks to her about the other options available to her. They talk about Nancy's personal strengths, including her spiritual faith and her "can do" attitude that has gotten her through a long career in a demanding position. They talk about Nancy's ability to make decisions and stick to them, which could help her to make new decisions about her health choices and press on when things get difficult and she'd prefer to eat that whole plate of pasta or sit on the couch.
Nancy says that she thinks "diets" are a waste of time, because she loves to cook gourmet meals and doesn’t want to compromise taste for health. If she doesn't like the food she says, she'll never stick to a diet. Nancy decides to make an appointment with a dietitian and to read up on the Mediterranean style of eating, because she wants a plan that will still seem tasteful to her and which she believe she'll be able to maintain as a life change.
They talk about Nancy's family support, including her husband who already has a walking habit with the dog, and who would welcome her company on his daily strolls. Nancy's provider draws on her leadership skills by pointing out that her grandchildren need her encouragement to get off the couch and play outside, and this will be another opportunity for Nancy to be more active.
While talking about how Nancy has been feeling a bit blue, her provider asks her about her spiritual beliefs, and finds that she drifted away from the church in her child rearing years, and had "just never gone back." Nancy has a friend who attends her former church however, and she has reported to her that the young new pastor is a dynamic speaker and has encouraged the choir to take on more modern and spirited music for the services.
Nancy has been thinking about going back to see if she would enjoy this community again, but feels a little shy about going on her own. Of her own volition Nancy suggests that she might call the pastor and make an appointment to talk with him in his office. This would give her an opportunity to meet him and see for herself if he is a good match for her beliefs.
Nancy sets off to put her plans in motion, and three months later she is back in the office meeting with her provider. She has lost 5 pounds and feeling better physically; she is sleeping a bit better and enjoying the chats with her husband as they walk most every morning.
She has a new problem however, and that is that she is having some low back and knee pain since she began walking. She also feels as though she still has a lot of work stress, and would like some suggestions on how to stop feeling so pressured on the job.
Her provider refers her to several web sites to read about alternatives for her pain, and Nancy decides to ask for a referral to an osteopathic physician, who works on her pain through gentle manipulation of her back muscles. She encourages Nancy to practice some stretching exercises before and after she walks, and suggests that Nancy find a yoga or tai chi class to help her to develop stronger trunk muscles. Nancy joins a yoga class and finds that the breathing techniques that she learns there assist her to manage stressful situations at work.
At six months Nancy is making very good progress, but her cholesterol levels remain too high for her provider's comfort. She strongly recommends a small dose of medication because Nancy's family history of heart disease suggests that she may have an increased risk of having high cholesterol levels based on her genetics, rather than the ways she eats or how much she exercises.
Nancy accepts the medication and continues with her healthy eating habits, attending church, spending more time being active with her family, and practicing yoga and yoga breathing exercises. Overall she is doing quite well, and she and her provider feel very good about Nancy's accomplishments.
There you have it, an example of integrative medicine, which combines "traditional" medical techniques such as tests and medications, with "alternative" medicine such as osteopathic manipulation, yoga, and spiritual and family support to improve the well being of a "whole" individual. It is I think, a much better way to practice medicine, and I am happy to see medical research and practice moving in this direction.
If you'd like to read more about it, I'd suggest the following web sites:
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institute of Health.
Related Topics: 7 Ways to Make your Recipes Heart Healthy, "The New Medicine" Airing on PBS
Technorati Tags: integrative medicine, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure
Integrative medicine is the practice of approaching a medical problem not only as the facts of the disease process, but from the perspective of how that disease process affects the "whole" individual, in mind, physical body, and spiritual health. Additionally integrative medicine considers what personal qualities the individual with a medical problem brings to the table. These include personal strengths and weaknesses that affect the person's ability to care for themselves in a healthy way.
To illustrate the process of integrative medicine let's take a random individual that I have made up for this purpose of this discussion.
"Nancy" is a 58-year-old woman who has three grown children, all successfully living on their own; she also has four young grandchildren. She works as an administrative assistant to the head of a family-owned business that does business domestically and overseas, and although she enjoys her work very much, it can be pretty stressful when the boss is traveling and she is left to "hold down the fort." She used to find this a fun challenge, but as she has gotten older it is more of a challenge to find the fun in the constant decision-making that the position requires. She is looking forward to retirement and enjoying travel and her family and hopes to return to her church community, something that she used to enjoy.
Nancy has recently been feeling really tired at the end of the day, and has been feeling a little blue. She feels that a lot of the sadness comes from feeling at a loss to deal with life stresses, and she hasn't been sleeping well because her mind "races" at night going over her day's work.
After completing a physical with her health care provider, including having an exercise stress test and some blood work, she meets with her provider to get the test results. She is told that the weight she has gained over the last few years has added up and she is now overweight and has high cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and that her fitness level is poor.
Her provider is concerned that these problems and her family history of early heart disease put Nancy at greater risk of having a heart attack. She also points out that Nancy is working under stressful circumstances that she doesn't completely enjoy.
So what is Nancy to do? Her provider offers her an array of medicines to control her blood sugar and cholesterol and to help her sleep, but Nancy would prefer a more "natural" plan.
Fortunately for her, Nancy's provider has an understanding of Nancy as a person and talks to her about the other options available to her. They talk about Nancy's personal strengths, including her spiritual faith and her "can do" attitude that has gotten her through a long career in a demanding position. They talk about Nancy's ability to make decisions and stick to them, which could help her to make new decisions about her health choices and press on when things get difficult and she'd prefer to eat that whole plate of pasta or sit on the couch.
Nancy says that she thinks "diets" are a waste of time, because she loves to cook gourmet meals and doesn’t want to compromise taste for health. If she doesn't like the food she says, she'll never stick to a diet. Nancy decides to make an appointment with a dietitian and to read up on the Mediterranean style of eating, because she wants a plan that will still seem tasteful to her and which she believe she'll be able to maintain as a life change.
They talk about Nancy's family support, including her husband who already has a walking habit with the dog, and who would welcome her company on his daily strolls. Nancy's provider draws on her leadership skills by pointing out that her grandchildren need her encouragement to get off the couch and play outside, and this will be another opportunity for Nancy to be more active.
While talking about how Nancy has been feeling a bit blue, her provider asks her about her spiritual beliefs, and finds that she drifted away from the church in her child rearing years, and had "just never gone back." Nancy has a friend who attends her former church however, and she has reported to her that the young new pastor is a dynamic speaker and has encouraged the choir to take on more modern and spirited music for the services.
Nancy has been thinking about going back to see if she would enjoy this community again, but feels a little shy about going on her own. Of her own volition Nancy suggests that she might call the pastor and make an appointment to talk with him in his office. This would give her an opportunity to meet him and see for herself if he is a good match for her beliefs.
Nancy sets off to put her plans in motion, and three months later she is back in the office meeting with her provider. She has lost 5 pounds and feeling better physically; she is sleeping a bit better and enjoying the chats with her husband as they walk most every morning.
She has a new problem however, and that is that she is having some low back and knee pain since she began walking. She also feels as though she still has a lot of work stress, and would like some suggestions on how to stop feeling so pressured on the job.
Her provider refers her to several web sites to read about alternatives for her pain, and Nancy decides to ask for a referral to an osteopathic physician, who works on her pain through gentle manipulation of her back muscles. She encourages Nancy to practice some stretching exercises before and after she walks, and suggests that Nancy find a yoga or tai chi class to help her to develop stronger trunk muscles. Nancy joins a yoga class and finds that the breathing techniques that she learns there assist her to manage stressful situations at work.
At six months Nancy is making very good progress, but her cholesterol levels remain too high for her provider's comfort. She strongly recommends a small dose of medication because Nancy's family history of heart disease suggests that she may have an increased risk of having high cholesterol levels based on her genetics, rather than the ways she eats or how much she exercises.
Nancy accepts the medication and continues with her healthy eating habits, attending church, spending more time being active with her family, and practicing yoga and yoga breathing exercises. Overall she is doing quite well, and she and her provider feel very good about Nancy's accomplishments.
There you have it, an example of integrative medicine, which combines "traditional" medical techniques such as tests and medications, with "alternative" medicine such as osteopathic manipulation, yoga, and spiritual and family support to improve the well being of a "whole" individual. It is I think, a much better way to practice medicine, and I am happy to see medical research and practice moving in this direction.
If you'd like to read more about it, I'd suggest the following web sites:
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institute of Health.
Related Topics: 7 Ways to Make your Recipes Heart Healthy, "The New Medicine" Airing on PBS
Technorati Tags: integrative medicine, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure
