Complimentary and Alternative Healing

Methods
CHAPTER 11
Megan D'Andrea, Brittney Hill, Haley Davis and Andrew Edie
Factors Contributing to the Desire for CAMs

• Dissatisfaction with the conventional health care system

• Increased empowerment of consumers in the health care
system
• Unwillingness to "grin and bear" the effects of the disease
• Shrinking world
• Growing evidence of effectiveness
Dissatisfaction With the Conventional Health
Care System
• Sky-rocketing costs
• Impersonal care and the feeling of being rushed
-With CAM, practitioners will take more time to fully
assess their patient by looking at the total picture.
-Example: lifestyle (Does the patient exercise? How is their
nutrition?)
• Negative effects of medications
-With CAM, there are many options in terms of healing
-"The body has the ability to heal itself"
 Increase empowerment of Consumers in
the Health Care System

• Technologic advances
• grants us more information at our fingertips
• People know more
• they just don’t take doctors orders
• involved in their care-planning
Unwillingness to "grin and bear" the effects of
the diseases
• Consumers are less willing to live with the symptoms that’s alter their
lifestyle and less willing to accept a diagnosis
• They want options
• Empowerment to do anything they can to promote the best quantity
and quality of their lives
• So, they turn to alternate healing
Shrinking World
• We are able to share more information
• Technology makes it easy to share information with each other in the world
• Due to the ease of information sharing we learn about other
cultures
• Learning about other cultures includes learning about that cultures medicine
• Learning other cultures practice of medicine gives more options to consumers
Growing evidence of effectiveness
• Research supports CAMs
• Support of CAMs increase almost daily
• Word of mouth
• People talk to one another about how well they have been helped by CAMs
• Media supports CAMs
• The media continues to report findings of the effectiveness of CAMs
Mind Body Interventions
Biofeedback
• The client uses various relaxation and imagery exercises to
affect desired responses.
• Machinery such as electroencephalograms,
electromyograms, and thermistors
Imagery
• Creating a picture in someone's mind that can cause a specific bodily
response
• Person creates the image on their own
• Nurse assists the patient as they create this image
Hypnotherapy
• Was not approved as a valid medical treatment until 1950
• Used for a wide range of conditions such as pain, migraines, asthma,
smoking cessation, and irritable bowel syndrome
Meditation and Progressive
Relaxation
Meditation:
• Focusing on the present moment
• Boomed in the 1970's after Harvard Medical School
published research on the benefits
• Decreases: blood pressure, respirations and others
Progressive Relaxation:
• Similar to meditation
• Participant helps themselves by tightening/relaxing
muscle groups to achieve relaxation
Yoga
• Originated as a Hindu practice over 5000 years
ago
• Utilizes deep breathing techniques, meditation, and many,
many positions
• Physical and mental benefits include but not limited to:
-reducing stress
-enhancing mood
-relaxing
-shown to decrease blood pressure
as well as heart rate
 Prayer and
Faith
• Scientifically backed proof to show there are therapeutic
benefits of faith and prayer in ones health and healing
process
• These people are live longer, recover from illness faster,
are generally more happy, and are healthier
• As a nurse, we must put our own opinions and thoughts
aside in term of being subjected to beliefs and practices
that may differ from our own
-Our job is to heal our patient and make them
feel comfortable. Assist your patient in prayer if
requested, for it is a healing method.
Manipulative and Body-Based
Methods
Chiropractic Medicine
• Based on the belief that
misalignments in the spine called
subluxations put pressure on the
nerves and lead to pain in the body.
• Typically, the chiropractor's hands
do the alignment, sometimes using
heat and electrical stimulation.
• https://youtu.be/HezEElmzokY
Massage, Bodywork, and
Energy Therapies
• Has been used for many years
• Aides in stress management, pain management
• Self-relaxation
• Reducing problems such as: edema, promoting
circulation, and respiration, relieving pain, and
depression
Alexander Technique

• Teaches improved
balanced, posture, and
coordination by using
gentle hands-on
guidance and verbal
instruction.
Feldenkrais Method
• Teaches movement re-
education by using
gentle manipulations
to heighten awareness
of the body; believes
each person has an
individualized optimal
style of movement.
• Feldenkrais
Method Video
• Application of pressure to pressure
points on the hands and feet that
correspond to various parts of the
body.

Reflexology
Rolfing(Structural Integration)
• Use of manual
manipulation and
stretching of body's
fascial tissues to
establish balance and
symmetry.
Swedish Massage
• Most prevalent form
of massage that uses
long strokes, friction,
and kneading of
muscles.
Trager Approach
• Use of gentle, rhythmic
rocking and touch to
promote relaxation
and energy flow.
Natural Products & Whole
Medical Systems
Herbs
• Plants have been used as treatment
for as long as humans have been
around
• 70,000 plant species have been
used for medical treatment
• Many drugs today are from plants
such as:
• Atropine-Atropa belladonna
• Ipecac-Cephaelis ipecaucuanha
Naturopathy
• Our bodies have the ability to treat disease with natural cures
• Treating the cause of disease in place of ridding symptoms
• Healthy lifestyle habits suggested, herbs to be used, exercise was
promoted, usage of dietary supplements
• Not many states license Naturopaths
• As a patient, one should educate themselves on a Naturopaths
credentials prior to receiving this form of healing
Ayurveda
• Has existed in India for 5000 years
• Means "science of life"
• Promotes spiritual, mental and physical
balance
• Includes: Yoga, massage, diet, purification
regiments, breathing exercises, meditation,
and herbs
• There are difficulties that can come from
some treatments
 Dietary Supplements
• Used to not be recommended
• People that ate well were not advised to take vitamins
• This was changed to everyone should take some sort of vitamin & mineral
supplement
• People do not consume enough nutrients
• Other factors lead to the want for more protection
• Pollutants
• Stress
• More processed foods
• Although, too much of a good thing can cause harm
• High doses of minerals and vitamins can cause more harm than good in some cases
Energy Therapies
Acupuncture
• Channels within the body called meridians that
energy flows through
• The energy is called qi pronounced "chee" and is
considered the vital life force
• Energy imbalances are the cause of illnesses and
disease
Magnet Therapy
• Mainly in Germany and Japan
• For pain and wound healing
• Magnets create a slight electrical current that stimulates the nervous
system and blocks nerve sensations
• Magnets come in a variety of forms, strengths, and prices
Wrap up of Approaches
Statistics
Statistics Cont.
• The main reasons for use are
musculoskeletal related problems
• Therapies for Head and Chest colds
has significantly decreased since
2002
How CAMs affect Nursing
 Holistic Approach
• Body, Mind, Spirit
• Uniqueness of each individual is honored
• Individuals have the capacity for healing, nurse facilitates this process
• Individuals have a dynamic relationship with their environment; the
environment is part of the healing process
• Nurses engage in self-care and an ongoing process of unfolding inner
wisdom; empower individuals for self-care
Integration of Medicines
• Begins during the assessment, nurses must see if their patient uses
CAMs because it is not unusual for them to be used without the
knowledge of the client's physician
• Educate about appropriateness
• Ex. A patient with a pacemaker should not use magnet therapy
• Become knowledgeable and stay current
• Be aware of cultural factors
• Ex: meditation, touch therapies
Nursing Responsibilities
• Nurses can learn to use many of the complimentary and alternative
measures but they need to seek the appropriate training
• Scope of practice: Nurses should develop clear guidelines that ensure
a legally sound practice.
• Some practices require separate licensure
• Ex. Message therapists
References
• Cherry, B. J. (n.d.). Contemporary Nursing: Issues, Trends and Management. Mosby Inc.
• About Essential Oils. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2017, from https://www.youngliving.com/en_US/discover/about
• Complementary, Alternative, or Integrative Health: What's In a Name? (2016, June 28). Retrieved September 27, 2017,
from https://nccih.nih.gov/health/integrative-health
• The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States. (2016, March 22). Retrieved September 27,
2017, from https://nccih.nih.gov/research/statistics/2007/camsurvey_fs1.htm