Complimentary and Alternative Therapies
Attention:
Always encourage the patient to look up objective and scientific data based research prior to beginning any alternative therapies.
Herbal Therapy
Table 17-1 & 17-2
pg 419 & 422
The use of herbs and natural supplements to treat illness and maintain health.
Herbs
Herbs vs Drugs
Complementary vs. Alternative Therapy
Relaxation Therapy and Imagery
- Derived from only the active part of herbs.
- more potent and more adverse reactions
- Standardized doses
- Aimed at the treatment of specific diseases or symptoms
- Un-purified extract of the whole plant
- One herb maybe used for multiple purposes
- Gentle, but may become toxic if used incorrectly
- No standardized dosages
- Goal is to restore balance within the individual by facilitating the person's self-healing capacity.
- Pt's do not always disclose herbal therapies that they are on.
Chiropractic Therapy
Alternative Therapy
- use the conscious mind to create mental images to evoke physical changes in the body, create a sense of improved well-being, and enhance self-awareness
Complementary Therapy
- Because of research deficits with herbal medicines, they must be sold as foods and food supplements. They cannot have any claims to health written on their label.
- Herb manufacturers are not held to the same standards as pharmaceuticals
- State of a generalized decrease in cognitive, physiologic, or behavioral arousal
- Elongates muscle fibers and reduces the neural impulses sent to the brain
- Focusing, passivity, and receptivity are cognitive skills developed to achieve relaxation.
- Relaxation Strategies Pg 427 box 17-2
- Has the power to evoke significant psychophysiologic responses such as alterations in immune function
- Cancer pts visualize the destruction of cancer cells
- used to to control or relieve pain
- Achieve calmness and serenity
- Asthma
- Often includes the same interventions as complementary therapy, but become primary course of treatment.
- Based on a holistic belief in the the body's capacity to take care of itself.
- The doctor adjusts the joint of the body by gentle manipulation to put an area of disturbed structural integrity, usually the vertebrae, back in proper alignment
- Contraindications: acute myelopathy, fractures, dislocations, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoporosis.
- Used in addition to conventional treatment recommended by the health care practitioner
A well-informed, non-judgemental care provider is mostly likely to inspire the patient's trust and gain not only a more accurate picture of the patient's herb use but also also an opportunity to provide valuable information about herb safety issues
Yoga
- Healing practice combining breathing exercises, physical postures, and meditation
- Has the potential to tone the muscles that balance all parts of the body. Including organs, musculoskeletal, and nervous systems.
- Used in treatment chronic back pain
- Everyone has the capacity to practice yoga
Acupuncture and Acupressure
Acupuncture
- Therapies based on the belief that there is a form of energy or Qi (life force) that flows through the body along meridians (channels of energy)
Acupressure
Method of stimulating certain points (Acupoints) on the body by the insertion of specialized needles, to modify the perception of pain, normalize physiologic functions, treat or prevent diseases.
Uses gentle pressure at similar points on the body. Pressure sometimes applied with a finger or small blunt object. For relief of muscle tension.
Massage performed by a trained professional to manipulate soft tissues of the body, and assist with healing.
The nurse is admitting a patient with a history of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The patient is admitted for a painful, swollen, reddened lower left extremity. While the nurse is obtaining the patient’s
medical history, the nurse questions the patient regarding the use of any complementary or alternative therapies. Why is the nurse interested in this information?
Guidelines: The nurse should inform the patient that this information will assist the physician and the nurse in providing the best plan of care while the patient is hospitalized. The nurse should inform the patient that some treatments and medications are contradictory with some alternative or complementary therapies at times.