If you are looking for ways to improve your health and wellness, consider integrative medicine. Integrative medicine complements conventional medical treatments, hence “integrative,” which involves the use of different therapies to further benefit patients.
Several studies have shown the benefits of integrative medicine for patients diagnosed with chronic diseases. Let’s explore the different therapies used in integrative medicine.
What Counts as Integrative Medicine?
Integrative medicine treatments include the following:
- Detoxification therapies
- Massage therapy
- Neurofeedback
- Pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy
- Medication reduction therapy
- Nutritional therapy (supplements, herbal medicines, and naturopathic medicines)
- Regenerative medicine
What’s great about integrative medicine is that it can also be used in combination with other treatments, such as functional medicine, which focuses on the optimal function of the body through acupuncture, naturopathy, and movement therapies. All in all, a patient’s sleep, diet, stress levels, and experience of pain and other symptoms can improve, which also improves the quality of life.
Benefits of Integrative Medicine
Integrative medicine can help patients with chronic pain, chronic fatigue, arthritis, cancer, and fibromyalgia. In one study, the integration of an integrative medicine clinic in a community hospital in California resulted in an improvement in the symptoms and overall health of patients who partook in its treatments.
There is evidence that integrative medicine helps cancer patients undergoing conventional treatment. In a study of over two hundred cancer patients, those who received integrative medicine services coped better and were more involved in their care. With integrative medicine, patients are able to address their concerns and improve their well-being. In another study of patients with reproductive cancers, those who received integrative medicine services were more likely to see an improvement in their sleep, appetite, energy levels, cognitive function, and emotional health.
Healing is a complex process. What integrative medicine aims to do is address aspects of illnesses or diseases that cannot be addressed fully by conventional medicine only. For instance, there is the mental, emotional, social, and spiritual aspects of being ill, that if addressed, facilitates the body’s natural healing and improves patient suffering.
Demand for integrative medicine is increasing in many U.S. healthcare facilities. Providers of integrative medicine are medical doctors, many of whom left conventional practice for integrative medicine to focus on optimal health, take a personalized approach to treatment, and treat patients as a whole. Integrative medicine has provided an opportunity not just for patients to improve their quality of life, but also for physicians.
Integrative Medicine Services in Mankato, Minnesota
If you would like to know how integrative medicine can change your life, consult with our integrative medicine provider, Dr. Jeffrey J. Kotulski, at Between the Bridges Healing Center. Dr. Kotulski has genuine care and compassion for patients and sets the welcoming, relaxing, and friendly tone in our facility. Our team of healthcare providers is driven to heal. We take the time to get to know you in order to give you the best possible care.
We serve the Minneapolis area, including Mankato, Rochester, Eau Claire, Saint Cloud, Willmar, New Ulm, and St. Peter. If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment with Dr. Kotulski, call us today at (507) 388-7488 or use our convenient online form.
