“Listen up, Julie.
Here’s how Mayo’s describes acupuncture. It’s pretty typical of the energy therapies: ‘Traditional
Chinese medicine is based on the belief that the body contains a vital life
energy called qi (chee), which runs along pathways within the body. Imbalances in the flow of qi are
thought to cause illness. These
life-energy pathways are called meridians and are accessible at approximately
400 different locations, or points, on the body. Practitioners of acupuncture attempt to rebalance your
energy flow by inserting extremely fine needles into these points in various
combinations. This allows your
body’s natural healing mechanisms to take over.’ (1)”
“Curmudge, I can almost hear your mind squeak as you
struggle to understand and fully believe these energy therapies.”
“And all along I thought it was just high-frequency
interference in my hearing aids.
But I’m willing to consider anything that might soothe the aches and
pains of old age. Here’s a study
performed at McMaster University that actually yielded scientific data: Cell
cultures were exposed to acupuncture-like and reiki-like treatments. The cultures were exposed to x-rays
before or after the treatments and were monitored for damage by the
radiation. From their findings,
the authors concluded that ‘alternative medicine techniques involving
electromagnetic perturbations may modify the response of cells to ionizing
radiation.’ (2)”
“Wow! Now I
understand…I think. But I believe
we’d both feel more comfortable with these techniques if we could learn about
some real, human examples. One
example is Doc Mack’s use of acupuncture for allergies and stress relief. Come to think of it Old Guy, I have
used the traditional Chinese medicine called acupressure. It uses pressure at specific points on
the body instead of acupuncture needles.
Putting pressure at a point three finger-widths up the inside of the
wrist from the base of the hand controls motion sickness. At the drugstore one can buy elastic
wristbands with a rubber button at the right spot for this purpose. They really work.”
“And this is my own example, Julie. It’s a hands-on therapy: Several years
ago I had constant pain down my right leg all the way to my ankle. It was even hard to stand up in the
church choir. I went to an
orthopedic doc who, after an x-ray, determined that I was in the wrong
shop. He didn’t try to solve my
problem; he just established that it wasn’t his. I subsequently saw a chiropractor who prescribed some
stretches that resolved my pain and that I now do every day. And, by the way, chiropractic is
covered by Medicare.”
“And here is another technique that appears to have been
successful. It’s called reiki
(RAY-kee), as in the study at McMaster University. ‘The practitioner delivers reiki therapy through his or her
hands with the goal of raising the amount of ki (or qi) in and around the
recipient.’ (3) A member of our
editorial board experienced reduced pain in an injured knee after a reiki treatment. I’ve also heard of reiki treatments
reducing the intense pain of terminal cancer patients in a hospice.”
“Of course, Julie, you know how it bothers me not to have a
better understanding of how these techniques function.”
“The problem is that you are a hide-bound old relic burdened
by a mid-twentieth century education.
You don’t know all that goes on inside my smart phone (neither do I),
but you accept it. Perhaps we
could tentatively accept at least some of these obscure mind-and-body aspects
of alternative medicine if we used them on a regular basis. You might try qigong; we mentioned it
last week. It’s like tai chi only
less vigorous, and it is reported to relieve depression in old people.”
“Loneliness, but probably not clinical depression, may be
endemic among widows and widowers.
But if I go bouncing around in my apartment doing tai chi or qigong, it
might disturb the people in the apartment below mine.”
“Then do it in the basement where the cars are parked.”
“If my neighbors see me, they’ll think I’m a nut.”
“Not to worry, Curmudge. They already know that.”
“Putting aside your levity and attempts at humor, Young
Lady, you might have noticed my reading a borrowed copy of Norman Doidge’s
book, The Brain That Changes Itself. We mentioned it in last week’s
posting. Doidge’s discussions of
neuroplasticity should be of interest to parents of young children, senior
citizens, and people with brain injuries and mental illnesses. We should share some of his insights in
our next postings.”
“Sounds interesting to me, Old Guy. I’ll be here.”
Kaizen Curmudgeon
(1)
Mayo Clinic Book of Alternative Medicine,
Second Edition. p. 121 (2010, Mayo Foundation for
Medical Education and Research).
(2)
Mothersill, C. et al. Alternative
Medicine Techniques Have Non-Linear Effects on Radiation Response.
Dose-Response 11 (1) p. 82-98 (2013).
(3) Mayo Clinic Book
of Alternative Medicine, p. 127.
Link to posting from blog archives: Patient-Centered Communications
6/11/09
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