Medical Keywords - Everything you need to know about health.

Glossary of Holistic Terms (Part One)

If you are unclear about many terms that are connected to holistic medicine and pain relief then read on for your own personal education when it comes to these matters. The more you know, the better off you will be.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a Chinese method of healing that dates back thousands of years. It involves the insertion of very small sterile needles into specific areas of the body known as acupuncture points that belong on meridians of the body. Acupuncture is effective at relieving pain in a number of different instances and it has been used for centuries to improve both the health as well as the welfare of its patients. There are approximately 1,000 (and some say 2,000) points known as "acupoints" on the body that are able to be stimulated by way of the practice of acupuncture.

Alternative Medicine

Alternative medicine has been defined as, "A group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine." Alternative medicine takes into account many types of holistic therapies that can work as complements to conventional Western medicine. Some of these therapies include acupuncture, aromatherapy, chiropractic, massage, homeopathy, hypnotherapy, etc.

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils made from plant sources that are able to be used in one form or other to relieve pain and to enhance or improve an individual's health and well-being. Aromatherapy is beneficial for both the body and the mind. Sometimes aromatherapy is combined in conjunction with other holistic therapies such as massage. In this case it is known as aromatherapy massage.

Ayurveda

Ayurveda first came out of India over 2,000 years ago and is believed to be one of the oldest as well as one of the most "complete medical systems in the world." Ayurveda stands for "Science of Life" and its focus is equally on the mind, body and spirit. The main goal of Ayurveda is to restore the harmony and natural balance of an individual. Ayurveda often consists of a number of different elements for healing such as modifications to diet, physical fitness, yoga, herbal tonics, massage, meditation and other types of remedies.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback is when a person is connected to a monitoring device of one sort or another and this device shows such things as breathing patterns, brain wave activity, activity of the muscles, the pulse, the function of the sweat glands, blood pressure and the temperature of the skin and this is all in relation to how a patient responds to techniques for relaxation such as meditation. Biofeedback has been shown effective at relieving stress and symptoms related to stress as well as decreasing the incidence of headaches, controlling the incidence of asthma attacks, relieving a variety of types of pain and reconditioning muscles that have been previously injured.

Biologically Based Therapies

Biologically based therapies is the name given to alternative and holistic treatments that make use of natural substances that are readily available in nature for treatment purposes or else they make use of some other form of natural therapy. Some examples of these types of therapies include the Bates method, Chinese food therapy, fasting, Herbal therapy, macrobiotic lifestyle, natural health, natural therapy which includes diet and food as well as dietary supplements and exercise, naturopathy, orthomolecular medicine and urine therapy.