Unit 23 Complementary Therapies for Health and Wellbeing

M1 Discuss complementary therapies that are available for users of health and social care services

P5 – explain the advantages and disadvantages of complementary therapies in maintaining health and wellbeing

There are many things which can affect access to complementary therapies. The ones I will be explaining are:

Compare the role of two complementary therapies with those of more orthodox treatments – M2

In this assignment I will be explaining factors that affect access to complementary therapies; I will then explain how the use of complementary therapies is regulated. Then I will explain the principles and practises of complementary therapies I will then go on to discuss complementary therapies that are available for users of Health & Social Care services.

Acupuncture – this technique is also considered to be a complimentary therapy. Acupuncture is a type of an ancient Chinese medicine that has been practiced for thousands of years by the Chinese. This technique is basically where you inject refined needles that have been sterile into the patient’s body.

There are many reasons why individuals may not be using complementary therapies, even though they may benefit from using them. I am going to highlight some of these factors and explain how each might be a barrier to accessing complementary therapies.

Around the world, nurses help care for people who are in need. There are many resources that nurses can use in order to provide this care. A few examples of these resources are medications, spirituality, and complementary therapies. A complementary therapy is a therapeutic technique that is often paired with an ongoing treatment. There are many different types of complementary therapies that can be used to help relieve pain, stress, and anxiety. Some therapies include music, pleasant smells, and even herbs. Sometimes complementary therapies are overlooked because nurses are not properly educated on how to either perform these therapies or do not know how these therapies can benefit a client. I chose this topic because I have seen how some of these therapies have helped people, and I want the world to embrace these resources rather than reject them. I once witnessed a form of music therapy bring a single person out of their shell and reduce their anxiety; this helped foster my belief that these therapies can be the difference in a client’s satisfaction level within the nursing field. Although this was the main reason why I chose this topic, my fascination with the past helped make the decision easier. I love learning how things have developed over time, and complementary therapies have been around for hundreds of years. My purpose within this paper is to inform nurses about the benefits of complementary therapies in order to help them embrace

Non-pharmacological interventions can be a substantial way that nurses can positively impact adult patients with hypertension. The first complementary and alternative therapy treatment of guided imagery was given to a group of pregnant patients with hypertension. Guided imagery is a way to focus one’s minds on a peaceful and calm place. In a life-threatening and serious situation, such as surgery or pregnancy, guided imagery could be a helpful non-pharmacological tool for a nurse to use to calm the patient. Results have shown a statistically significant decrease in blood pressure when guided imagery was used instead of just quiet rest. However, the findings show no significant effect of using guided imagery versus quiet rest on their anxiety level (Moffatt et al., 2010). Guided imagery can be beneficial as a nursing intervention for the appropriate patient. Using guided imagery along with the proper education can lead to better blood pressure reduction in hypertensive patients (Gignon et al., 2014; Moffatt et al., 2010).

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical treatment for multiple issues, and is characterized by needles being strategically inserted into pressure points on the body to relieve symptoms. This is believed to reset you qi or life force within your body. This practice is carried out by acupuncturists all over the world. In western medicine, while we don’t know the exact mechanism of action, it is thought to increase blood flow and raise natural painkiller levels in the body. This rise in natural painkillers and increased blood flow are the major benefits of acupuncture. The risks are very few, there is a very limited chance of organ damage, infection, or soreness after a treatment (Mayo Clinic 2012).

There are many different factors that affect access to complementary therapies. An example of this is a person’s disability. If they are physically disabled they may be unable to attend certain treatment or if they are in any other way disabled the person may be unable to attend treatment.

CAMS are divided into five different categories: biological, manipulative-body, mind-body, energy, and alternative medicine. For example, dance therapy would fall under the manipulative-body based interventions, while mind-body interventions encompass alternatives like poetry, art, or music, and yoga would be an example of mind-body interventions and manipulative-body. Participants in music therapy have reported improved quality of life, and yoga therapy has been shown to lead individuals towards motivation to health improvement. As well, dance therapy has been proven to improve body image, coordination, body awareness, depression, anxiety, and stress relief; as well, sexual abuse survivors have used dance therapy to reconnect with their body by coping and processing, as well as give them a sense of freedom from their trauma (Complementary and Integrative, n.d.).

Acupuncture is an ancient art of healing that dates back to at least 2,500 years. It has been widely practiced in China and many other Asian countries. Only recently has acupuncture made its way into the western world. Acupuncture accentuates on the natural healing of the body. It involves stimulating acupuncture points by the insertion of very fine, solid, metallic needles.

Acupuncture involves inserting needles into various places on the body which practitioners call “acupoints”. Typically, an initial acupuncture session will involve the acupuncturist assessing your medical history and a physical examination; if you qualify, the

First, The traditional Chinese perspective as mentioned and explained in the first book written about acupuncture about 2000 years ago, called Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor 's Classic on Internal Medicine), which is an ancient Chinese medical text that has been treated as the fundamental doctrinal source for Chinese medicine for more than two millennia. This book explained how the main function of acupuncture is to regulate the circulation of vital energy and blood. This regulation is through making holes in the body along specific