Complementary therapies are part of a holistic approach to improving people’s wellbeing. They are used to treat the whole person by looking at all aspects of their lives including lifestyle, diet, occupation and emotions. Benefits can include: reduced stress and tension, a restored sense of equilibrium, improved immune system, reduced toxins, pain relief, improved circulation, improved sleeping patterns and increased energy levels. Complementary therapies are becoming increasingly popular in today’s busy, stressful society and offer an alternative way of dealing with specific physical, mental, emotional or spiritual problems, preventing health problems and inducing relaxation.
The ancient Chinese art of acupuncture has been around for at least 2500 years. Acupuncture was first introduced to Europe in the late 1600s. By the 1820's it was widely accepted both there and in the US. Acupuncture is based on a philosophy involving an energy flow of Qi (vital energy) around the body through channels called 'Meridians'. When these meridians become blocked Qi backs up and overflows, similar to water in a dam. When acupuncture needles are inserted near the blocked meridians, the Qi is restored to its normal flow and symptoms disappear. There is an ever-increasing mountain of research to support the claims made by acupuncture in the scientific world. Modern science tries to rationalise acupuncturists’ results through endorphin release, and other natural chemicals, as a result of stimulating specific areas of the nervous system. No matter what causes it the improved energy flow you get from acupuncture stimulates your body's natural healing abilities and puts you back on the path to health. Many people use acupuncture to help with specific symptoms or conditions. These might include anxiety states, arthritis, asthma, back pain, circulatory problems, depression, facial paralysis, fibrositis, high blood pressure, indeterminate aches and pains, infertility, menstrual problems, migraines, rheumatism, sciatica, skin conditions or ulcers. Acupuncture is considered a safe treatment for all. It has proved to be effective in pregnancy management and for the relief of pain in childbirth. Acupuncture is also helpful for people trying to overcome addictions such as those related to smoking, alcohol, food or drugs. Some people may have acupuncture as a preventive measure to strengthen their constitution, or because they feel unwell in themselves without being 'ill' in the Western sense. It can also be used alongside conventional medicine in the treatment of both acute and chronic disease.
The Alexander Technique is used to help to teach people about how efficiently and effortlessly they can use their bodies in everyday life. Often, we develop bad posture and habits without being aware of this, and expend too much energy or muscle force to achieve a task. Alexander Technique teachers help to adjust the client's posture to recognise the difference between current habits and what it feels like to use muscles with minimum effort and in a relaxed, fluid way. The Technique teaches how to become more aware of your own posture, balance and movement in everyday life. The Alexander Technique can enhance personal performance across the whole spectrum of human activity, from elite athletic or artistic performance to the management of disability, pain, illness or injury. Although the effortless upright posture of small children is in sharp contrast to that of most adults, it is possible for practically anyone to rediscover freedom and ease in movement by learning to become aware of, and then learning gradually to strip away, the habits of movement, tension and reaction that interfere with, distort or obscure natural and healthy patterns of coordination.
Aromatherapy is the use of certain therapeutic oils that are usually massaged into the body, run into a warm bath or inhaled. It is a popular and enjoyable way in which an aromatherpist can help someone maintain and enhance well-being, health, beauty and lifestyle. For centuries, mankind has used plants, many of them fragrant, in the treatment of common ailments, as well as in cosmetics and around the home, and aromatherapy can be seen as a natural extension of these practices. Aromatherapy can help relax, uplift, revitalise or restore the body and spirit depending on the oil used and is a natural aid in maintaining the body's own sense of balance and well-being, at the same time working on mood enhancement and ambience. Aromatherapy is believed to be suitable for people of all ages, even babies. Aromatherapists claim that they can treat many conditions, and often see a great improvement in nervous disorders, such as depression, anger, stress and other related symptoms such as headaches and insomnia. Aromatherapy is used to reduce the symptoms of a range of conditions and is believed to work both physiologically and psychologically.
The term 'Flower Remedy' refers to the products developed by Dr Edward Bach, a London bacteriologist and homoeopath. 'Flower Essences' are products devised by various people following on from Dr Bach's work. Dr Bach became disillusioned with the side effects of drug therapies and turned his research to the healing power of nature. He believed that illness was a result of a mental or emotional imbalance and that the unique energetic property of a plant could be used to rectify an imbalance and restore the awareness of 'wholeness'. Using the homoeopathic law of potentisation, he reasoned that the healing effects of plants might also be contained in the morning dew found on their flowers. Dr Bach believed that harmful emotions were the main cause of disease and he classified the various emotions into seven main categories. These seven categories were then divided further into 38 negative feelings. Each negative emotion is associated with a particular plant. He also developed a compound of five flowers called Rescue Remedy to be used in emergency situations or for trauma.
Chiropractic treatment involves manipulating the backbone to bring back into alignment the vertebrae that are partially misaligned or misplaced. This restores the normal flow of neuro-hormonal secretions in the spinal cord and the attached nerves, so that the body recovers from pain and the diseases causing that pain. Chiropractic treatment manipulates the bones and muscles of the body, usually by hand. This applies more to the spinal column or the backbone, which is adjusted to rehabilitate the normal functioning of the nervous system. As an art, chiropractic treatment is very old. Ancient Greeks manoeuvred legs for relief of low back problems. Many tribes in North America like the Sioux and Creek, the Aztecs, the Mayans and the Toltec’s of Central America used manipulative practices. However, in the context as it is understood today, chiropractic treatment was formulated by Daniel David Palmer in 1895.He established the Palmer School of Chiropractic at Davenport, USA, in 1903. Chiropractic treatment works by manipulating partially misaligned and dysfunctional vertebrae and other joints off-centre that may be impinging upon normal neurological functioning. Through chiropractic treatment these maladjustment are removed so that the flow of neuro-hormonal secretions is restored and the body recovers from pain and the disease(s) causing that pain. Pain is the body's signal of distress or dysfunction caught early enough chiropractic treatment can adjust this, helping to put the body's own healing mechanisms back on track. Chiropractic treatment lays stress on the concept of an individual's predisposition to disease. Chiropractors look for muscular and skeletal trauma from falls and accidents, strains and sprains. They note postural and occupational distortion that may induce abnormal joint function or partial contraction of muscles.
A registered dietician is uniquely qualified to translate scientific information about food into practical dietary advice for people on normal and therapeutic diets. As well as providing impartial advice about nutrition and promoting a healthy diet, dieticians offer advice on food-related problems and are involved in the diagnosis and dietary treatment of disease. Many dieticians work in the National Health Service where their role is varied. They may focus on specialist areas, such as diabetes or children's health, and may also work in community settings. Other dieticians work in the food industry, sport, the media, education and research.
Cranio-Sacral Therapy is a gentle form of holistic therapy developed from cranial osteopathy and oriental approach to bodywork. It uses touch to evaluate and affect the cranio-sacral system i.e. the cranium (skull), the spinal column and the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord. It is believed that changes in the cerebrospinal fluid will in turn affect every cell in the body via the connective tissue. Dr John E Upledger, an American osteopath, developed cranio-sacral therapy from the cranial osteopathy work of Dr William Garner Sutherland. The key difference in Upledger's development of the therapy was to focus the treatment on the soft tissues, fluid and membrane of the cranio-sacral system rather than the bones, and that the rhythm of the cranio-sacral fluid was independent to the heart and respiration rates. Treatment usually takes place on a couch with the client wearing light clothing. The practitioner will gently palpate areas of the body using a very light touch to feel the cranial rhythmic impulse (CRI) of the cerebrospinal fluid. The treatment aim is to restore balance by allowing the removal of restrictions to the movement of the CRI to facilitate the body's own self-healing. A Cranio-Sacral session will normally last between 30 and 60 minutes and is suitable for everyone, including babies, children and the elderly. Cranio-Sacral Therapy may help many conditions as it can affect all aspects of the body by enhancing general health, reducing stress and improving brain and spinal cord function. It is commonly used to treat conditions such as chronic pain, scoliosis, coordination problems, post-operative care, sports injuries, depression, birth trauma, hyperactivity and hormonal imbalances.
Is a form of treatment that is said to be as old as mankind itself. Primitive tribes still use their traditional knowledge of plants and their healing properties. In early civilisations food and medicine were closely linked together as many plants were eaten for their health-giving properties. Much of Britain's knowledge about the use of herbs can be traced back to ancient Egypt. The ancient Greeks and Romans also were practitioners of herbal medicine and much of their knowledge has been passed on as their armies conquered the world and military doctors took the plants and their uses with them. Two more cultures which have always relied very heavily on herbal medicine are the Chinese and the Indians and, to this day, Chinese herbs play a vital part in health care. In Britain, from the Dark Ages well into medieval times, monasteries had their own physic gardens for growing herbs to treat both monks and local people. In rural areas, particularly in the west and Wales, the Druids are believed to have had an oral tradition of herbal medicine, mixing medicine with mysticism and rituals. The crucial difference between medical herbalists and today's orthodox doctor is, firstly, that the herbalist looks at the patient as a whole, while conventional doctors look for symptoms which enable them to diagnose and treat diseases. They see the person as the carrier of a disease, whilst the herbalist regards the patient as a diseased person, requiring a holistic treatment. Secondly, the medical herbalist is using whole plants or plant products containing active constituents, while doctors use these constituents in refined and isolated forms or synthetics. A medical herbalist will treat the patient as an individual,with individual weaknesses and needs. He/she is likely to enquire about lifestyle, diet, stresses and look for any imbalance and disharmony, seeking the cause of the illness. Each treatment is tailored to specific and varying requirements.
The word "homoeopathy" is derived from the Greek words "homoios" meaning like or similar, and "pathos" meaning suffering. This system of therapeutics was discovered by Hahnemann at the end of the eighteenth century. He found that cinchona bark, which was used to treat swamp fever (now known as malaria), when taken by him produced the same symptoms as the disease. Here was a strange phenomenon, a remedy which was an effective treatment for a disease inducing the symptoms of that disease when given to a healthy person. He decided to experiment further. He took further doses himself, and gave some to his family. He found in every case that symptoms of swamp fever occurred on taking the cinchona bark, which stopped on ceasing to take it. He now began to determine and record the effect of a large number of substances on the human body. He gathered together a band of helpers to whom he gave remedies, interrogating them daily on sensations experienced. He called this a proving. He was thus able to produce a materia medica consisting of symptoms produced in healthy volunteers. This materia medica represented a vast collection of very accurate observations. These pictures, when matched with the symptoms of a sick person, enabled him to identify the remedy which would cure the patient. He found when actually treating patients that a small material dose of the substance would produce an aggravation of symptoms before it cured. He then started to dilute the remedies and vigorously shaking them (succussing) between dilutions. This produced a cure without the aggravation. He also found that a remedy so treated was more powerful as a curative and so he called the process potensisation. "Let like be cured by like". Homoeopathy is still based on this principle when used today, 200 years later then Hahnemann's time. It is very different from conventional medicine and is frequently misunderstood and denigrated. In conventional medicine we are taught to think in terms of disease and pathological states, changes from the normal physiological state wrought by outside factors such as infection, trauma and stress, and also conditions arising from allergy or even autoimmunity. In order to treat such disease states we try to make a diagnosis based on symptoms and physical signs. This may enable us to find a cause for which there is a specific treatment or failing this, to treat the patient's complaints by symptomatic measures. Although there has been an increasing emphasis on treating the patient as a whole, medicine is in actual fact becoming increasingly fragmented and specialised, and there are few treatments which cure the patient as a whole.
Kinesiology is a system of diagnosis and treatment that asks the body what it wants by combining muscle testing with the principles of Chinese medicine to assess energy and body function, using a range of gentle yet powerful techniques. Muscle testing is the principal method of assessment used in Kinesiology, and it is the use of muscle testing that distinguishes it from other therapies. The Kinesiology Federation gives the following definition: 'Kinesiology, literally the study of body movement, is a holistic approach to balancing the movement and interaction of a person's energy systems. Gentle assessment of muscle response monitors those areas where blocks and imbalances are impairing physical, emotional or energetic well-being. The same method can identify factors that may be contributing to such imbalances. The body's natural healing responses are stimulated by attention to reflex and acupressure points, and by use of specific body movements and nutritional support. These can lead to increased physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.'
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Naturopathy is a complete system of natural healthcare that believes the body has the knowledge to heal itself. Symptoms are viewed as signs that the body is attempting to heal itself, and treatment addresses the underlying causes of illness, primarily unfavourable habits of lifestyle. The aim of naturopathy is to induce health by making the individual more resilient, and the immune system stronger: the first stage being to prevent the development or further development of disease through a variety of natural health care methods. The three basic principles of naturopathy state that 1. the body has a natural drive to maintain equilibrium and that symptoms of disease are viewed as an indication that the body is striving to heal itself 2. the root cause of all disease is the accumulation of waste products and toxins, due to poor lifestyle habits 3. the body contains the wisdom and power to heal itself, provided treatment serves to enhance this power. A naturopath will often view themselves as a teacher, whose job it is to educate and support the client. The treatment involved will vary from client to client. Naturopathy can be used to treat a wide variety of illnesses and complaints. However, treatment is often dictated by the patient's willingness to change or participate. As primary care provides, naturopaths also know to refer a patient to a specialist when the illness is outside their area of expertise, or better served by modern medicine.
Nutritional Therapy is not just about healthy eating. It is a form of complementary medicine in which a practitioner will work with a patient or client, helping their body rid itself of stressful substances and improving the assimilation of food in order to aid physical repair. These days you can find many different books around on the subject of diets. Many of these have been written by people who have overcome their own problems with various types of diet. However, we are all different in our inheritance, our life experiences, our diets (past and present) and our combination of health problems. Therefore, what works for one will not necessarily work for someone else with a similar problem. It is for this reason that Nutritional therapists see each person as an individual with their own set of circumstances. These circumstances may include features in common with people troubled by similar complaints but in addition there may be factors particular to you. It is discovering these additional factors that are often the key to successful treatment. Nutritional therapists aim to improve your body's efficiency by identifying and then dealing with these problems using a number of different types of diets, herbs and dietary supplements, according to the individual need. An efficiently functioning body finds it easier to repair itself and heal itself, but if you have a serious illness much will depend on your body's power of recuperation and on other factors such as stress.
Osteopathy is a system and philosophy of health care that separated from traditional (allopathic) medical practice about a century ago. It places emphasis on the musculoskeletal system, hence the name—osteo refers to bone and path refers to disease. Osteopathy recognises the importance of the link between the structure of the human body and the way it functions. Osteopaths focus on the body’s skeleton and joint function along with the underlying muscles, soft tissue and internal organs. Osteopaths consider each person as an individual. Utilising a highly developed sense of touch, they identify problem areas of the body. Using gentle stretching and mobilising techniques as well as manipulating joints, an osteopath works with the body to create the perfect conditions to facilitate the healing process. Treatment usually consists of a combination of soft-tissue releasing techniques, and some specific adjustments affecting joints and soft-tissues (muscles, tendons and ligaments). Osteopaths usually start a treatment by releasing and relaxing muscles and stretching stiff joints, using gentle massage techniques, rhythmic joint movements and muscle releasing techniques. The osteopath may also carry out manipulation using short, quick movements to spinal joints.
Physiotherapy, sometimes referred to as ‘physio’, helps people to improve their range of movement in order to promote health and well being. In particular, physiotherapists concentrate on problems that affect muscles, bones, the heart, circulation and lungs. Physiotherapy involves a range of treatments, including manipulation, massage, exercise, electrotherapy and hydrotherapy. Physiotherapists may work in hospitals, private practices or with the social services. Working with the social services, for example, they provide care in the community for elderly people. They work in different places, from intensive care units to nursing homes, mental health wards and GP surgeries. They help and treat people of all ages who have physical problems. These problems can be caused by illness, accident, surgery or ageing.
Reflexology involves a method of treatment using massage to reflex areas found on the feet and the hands. Most commonly, the feet are treated. It is said to have originated in China some 5000 years ago, when pressure therapy was used to correct energy fields in the body. It was not until around 1913 that the therapy was introduced to the west by an American ear, nose and throat consultant, Dr William Fitzgerald. On the feet and hands, there are reflex areas corresponding to all parts of the body and these areas are arranged to form a map of the body, with the right foot/hand corresponding to the right side of the body and the left foot/hand to the left side of the body. Thus, it becomes possible to treat the whole body including the organs, structure and all the systems. It is thought that illness occurs when 'energy channels' in the body are blocked. Massage to the reflex areas is aimed at breaking up these blocks, allowing energy to flow freely again. Reflexology does not claim to be a "cure all", but numerous different disorders respond well to this natural therapy. These disorders include such things as migraine, sinus problems, hormonal imbalances, breathing difficulties, digestive problems, circulatory problems, back problems, pregnancy related symptoms, tension and stress.
Shiatsu is a traditional Japanese healing art. It has its roots in ancient Oriental medicine and has evolved from Traditional Chinese Medicine and Anma, a traditional Japanese form of massage. Shiatsu uses touch to affect the flow of Ki (energy) in the meridians. A Shiatsu practitioner will consider your state of health, the symptoms you are experiencing and depending on your constitution and general energy levels, will use a variety of techniques to improve your energy flow. This may include gentle holding, pressing with palms, thumbs, fingers, elbows, knees and feet on the meridians, and when appropriate, more dynamic rotations and stretches. As the quality of the Ki changes, the symptoms associated with an imbalance in the movement of Ki will gradually improve. Shiatsu is a therapy that works on the individual as a complete being - the physical body and also on an emotional and/or mental level. Each session usually takes place on a padded mat or futon at floor level and the client stays fully clothed.
Sports massage is a massage technique that deals directly with the body’s soft tissue. It has developed over the years to deal with the specific conditions that the human body experiences before and after being ‘pushed to the max’. It utilises such techniques as MET (muscle energy technique), Soft Tissue Release and NMT (neuromuscular technique). Sports Massage works deep to eliminate toxins embedded in muscle fibres, remove adhesions, and minimize scar tissue build-up. Muscle lengthening in sports massage helps restore a range of motion and overall flexibility. Sports massage also leads to improved circulation, which aids better cell nutrition, greater elasticity of muscle fibres, and reduces muscle recovery time. Sports massage is a blend of Swedish massage and Shiatsu specifically designed to cater to the needs of professional athletes or sporty individuals. Depending on the needs, a variety of techniques are used including classic Swedish strokes, cross-fibre friction, pressure-point work, and joint mobilization.
Traditional Thai Massage is an ancient system of healing with its roots in Yoga, Ayurvedic medicine and Buddhist spiritual practice. This unique and complete system of Yoga therapy combines rhythmic massage, acupressure, gentle twisting, deep stretching and meditation. For this reason the massage is sometimes referred to as 'meditation in movement'. Thai Massage releases tension, increases vitality and creates wholeness of mind, body and spirit. Thai Yoga Massage is practiced on the floor and the receiver remains lightly clothed.
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