Can’t sleep? Thyroid out of whack? Bothered by stress and anxiety? Struggling through chemo? Just can’t shake that old sports injury? Frustrated by the effects of ADHD medications on your child?
When the body and mind are out of balance and traditional medicine just isn’t helping, maybe it’s time to consider alternative paths for returning to center. Believe it or not, traditional medicine is making room for alternative medicine, integrating a holistic approach to patient health into its offerings.
After all, that’s how our grandmother’s grandmother got well, before pharmaceuticals and surgery became the “cure-all,” panacea says Jessica Shoemaker of Natural Paths to Wellness, Camp Hill (www.naturalpathstowellness.com). Through natural approaches that address the body’s intertwined systems, “we get the good without the bad.”
Consider the key elements of today’s integrative medicine, and you might find a way to fix what’s ailing you.
The Whole Person
Whether it’s called integrative, alternative, complementary or functional medicine, the core principle is attention to the whole person. Penn State Hershey’s Dr. John Neely is a traditionally trained physician who says that the old model is firmly based in science and excellent at treating acute conditions, but it doesn’t address the chronic conditions now plaguing our society.
“Why are people so obese?” asks Neely, who practices Integrative Holistic Medicine with Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Family and Community Medicine at Fishburn Road (www.pennstatehershey.org). “Why do they develop diabetes not just as adults but as children? Why is autoimmune disease so rampant now?”
At the first meeting, the holistic practitioner spends as much as an hour and a half with the patient, charting every tendency and condition. From there, a picture of the problem can emerge.
“It’s almost always true that if you let the patient talk, they’ll tell you what’s wrong,” says Neely.
Shoemaker is a naturopathic healthcare consultant at Natural Paths to Wellness. Pennsylvania does not license naturopathic physicians, but a legislative effort is underway to bring licensure to the state. As a graduate of a four-year naturopathic medical school, and by maintaining an Oregon naturopathic medical license, Shoemaker would be eligible for licensure once approved in Pennsylvania.
The first two years of naturopathic medicine training mirror conventional medical training; the trainee learns how the body’s systems function and can become diseased, the receives 600 to 800 hours of training in alternative forms, or modalities, of dealing with sickness, says Shoemaker. “We’re looking at how disease develops and dissecting it, and then learning where and when and how we can actually reverse that disease process.”
Stephanie Shull, practice manager of York’s Wellspan Center for Mind/Body Health (www.wellspan.org), says that improving the mind and body overall might have “seemed kind of weird” in the past, but today, the health of the community depends on relieving stress, healing injuries and managing chronic conditions. The center works directly with physicians who see the benefits of such techniques as acupuncture, yoga and prenatal yoga, t’ai chi chih and massage therapy for patients with a wide range of conditions, including migraines, injuries, cancer and chronic pain.
Reversing Course
Alternative medicine can prevent, and even heal, many conditions prevalent today. Neely has seen “phenomenal changes” among patients early in adult-onset diabetes who come to him because they don’t want to go on insulin. “If they’re motivated on changing their nutrition, I have seen them within two weeks come down to totally normal.”
Shoemaker often sees people with thyroid imbalances, but instead of being on a prescription for life, they “rejuvenate the thyroid with nutrition.” She also sees children with ADHD whose parents want alternatives to the medications that keep their children awake all night and make them sleepy in class. She advises “amino acid and brain nutrition that can accomplish the same things as the medication does, without all the adverse effects. It’s fantastic to see that come true for a young kid.”
Lifestyle Changes
From her bright, serene office in Camp Hill, Shoemaker says, “This is not a place you come to get a quick pill to fix you tomorrow. That type of mentality has gotten us into having a very sick nation.”
Success in alternative medicine requires motivation and a willingness to adopt lifestyle changes, experts agree. Shoemaker sees her role as “motivating and cheerleading and coaching people into lifestyle choices.”
Wellspan’s Center for Mind/Body Health stresses wellness education, and patients can take a free class at the beginning of each session to test the fit. “All these things can be learned and taught and shared,” says Shull. One client knows that faithful adherence to acupuncture has kept her from smoking for 10 years, despite the occasional urge for a cigarette, Shull says. “It does work, but you have to be plugged into it, and you have to do your part.”
Real Medicine
As alternative and traditional medicines find common ground, practitioners agree that their recommendations must be proven. Shoemaker might recommend botanicals because “plants have an affinity for different organs,” but she also applies her training to help people use those supplements effectively.
Neely first determines “what’s out of balance, and what might be helpful to bring it in balance” before providing supplements. In the regulation-free U.S., many herbals and supplements don’t even
contain the ingredients they claim, so any herbal he offers comes from a European country that requires safety testing.
Patients Pay the Bill
Though traditional health systems are seeing the value of alternative medicine, many insurance plans don’t cover much of the assessment and treatments involved. However, some plans might provide partial reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs.
The costs and the time to take for treatments are “worth the investment,” says Shull. “You have to remind people, because everyone gets busy,” she says. “These are the things we have to do for ourselves, the same as saying, ‘Oh, I have to clean the kitchen floor.’ Well, you have to take care of yourself, too.”
