Alternative Medicine
Women use acupuncture for “nonsurgical facelift”
Tired of Botox? Can’t stand the thought of another chemical peel? Perhaps acupuncture is the answer.
Facial acupuncture treatment, dubbed the “nonsurgical face-lift” has grown in popularity over the past few years.
“Ten years ago, the alternative was Botox, fillers and all that stuff. Now, 10 years after, people are looking for alternatives to Botox and fillers. This is the only treatment that would be as effective,” said Shali Rassouli, a licensed practitioner of Chinese medicine and a specialist in cosmetic acupuncture.
Acupuncture reduces pain after neck surgery
Acupuncture helped alleviate lingering pain and decreased shoulder mobility in people who had surgery for head and neck cancer, U.S. researchers said on Saturday.
The ancient Chinese therapy also resulted in significant improvements in extreme dry mouth or xerostomia, which often occurs in people who have had radiation treatment for head and neck cancer, they said at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.
Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York studied 70 patients who were at least three months past their surgery and radiation treatments.
Traditional acupuncture may ease migraines
Acupuncture, as practiced in traditional Chinese medicine, may offer some relief from migraine pain, a new study suggests.
Italian researchers found that regular treatments with “true” acupuncture helped improve symptoms in 32 patients whose migraines had been resistant to standard preventive medication.
Moreover, the therapy worked better than two forms of “sham” acupuncture used for comparison, the researchers report in the medical journal Headache.
Yoga helps older women balance, stand taller
Elderly women showed measurable improvements in their walking speed and balance after a nine-week yoga program—and they gained a centimeter in height, on average, Philadelphia researchers report.
“The only explanation may be that they are standing more upright, not so much crouching,” study chief Dr. Jinsup Song of Temple University told Reuters Health. Song presented the findings April 4 at the Gait and Clinical Movement Analysis Society’s Annual Meeting.
While past studies have investigated yoga for helping improve balance in elderly women, Song noted, they have typically used a relatively demanding form of the practice. In the current study, he and his colleague Marian Garfinkel, a certified yoga instructor, worked with B.K.S. Iyengar, the originator of Iyengar Yoga, to develop a program specifically designed for older people. “The poses were very basic—how to stand upward, how to bend forward, sideways,” said Song, who admitted he found some of the poses challenging himself.
Tai chi shows promise for managing diabetes
The ancient art of tai chi may help in controlling or lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes, two small studies suggest.
In one study, Taiwanese researchers found that tai chi helped lower long-term blood sugar levels in 30 middle-aged adults with type 2 diabetes. In the second, an Australian team found that a combination of tai chi and qigong benefited 11 adults at risk of type 2 diabetes.
Both tai chi and qigong (pronounced “chee-kung") are ancient Chinese practices designed to promote good health. Qigong combines gentle movements, meditation and breathing techniques; tai chi involves slow, fluid movements combined with mental imagery and deep breathing.
Alternative medicine fans more likely to get shots
Adults who use alternative or complementary medicines are more likely to receive recommended vaccinations than their peers who don’t use these products, according to a study by researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Among 30,617 adults participating in the 2002 National Health Interview Survey, the 36 percent who said they had used complementary or alternative medicines (CAM) recently were more likely to have received shots for preventing the flu, pneumococcal infections and hepatitis B.
Nevertheless, most people the CDC considers “priority” recipients for the flu and pneumococcal vaccines because of a high-risk condition didn’t get them, Dr. Shannon Stokley of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases in Atlanta and her colleagues found.
Yoga program benefits breast cancer survivors
In a small study of breast cancer survivors, researchers found that a tailored yoga program helped relieve severe hot flashes and other bothersome menopausal symptoms.
Women who participated in the 8-week “Yoga of Awareness” program not only had greater declines in the frequency and severity of their hot flashes than did a comparison “control” group, they also experienced less fatigue, joint pain, sleep disturbance, and symptom-related distress. They also reported increased vigor.
These improvements were still evident 3 months after the yoga sessions ended.
Ayurvedic Medicine: Ancient Approach to Balance Life, Health
Ayurvedic (i-yur-VA-dik) medicine, thought to be one of the world’s oldest systems of natural medicine, is said to be about balance in one’s life. It encompasses yoga, massage, meditation and much more.
The March issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter provides an overview of ayurvedic medicine, which originated in India more than 5,000 years ago and is still practiced there side by side with conventional Western medicine.
According to ayurvedic medicine, balance in life starts at birth. Every newborn possesses innate qualities that help to frame their physical and mental patterns. This state is called prakriti. At the other end of the spectrum is vikruti, a person’s present state.
Homeopathy ‘in crisis’ as NHS trusts drop services
NHS trusts are dropping homeopathic treatments following debate over whether they work. A study has found that only 37 per cent of 132 primary care trusts still have contracts for homeopathic services while more than a quarter have stopped or reduced funding in the past two years.
Homeopathy is based on diluting substances – that could otherwise be poisonous – in water or alcohol. Some scientists say homeopathic solutions are diluted so many times they are unlikely to contain any active ingredients at all. There has also been controversy over accreditation.
Traditional Chinese exercises may increase efficacy of flu vaccine
Move on mosquitoes. Step aside sweat bees. Before long, another unwelcome, but predictable, pest will return: the dreaded, oft-spotted flu bug.
But as this year’s sniffling-sneezing season approaches, there’s also a hint of hope present in the pre-germ-season air. In a study scheduled for publication in the August issue of the American Journal of Chinese Medicine, a team of kinesiologists at the University of Illinois suggest that older adults who adopt an exercise regimen combining Taiji and Qigong may get an extra boost from their annual flu shot.
Gentle yoga may aid migraine sufferers
A combination of yoga poses, breathing exercises and relaxation may help reduce the frequency and intensity of migraines, a new study suggests.
Researchers in India found that among 72 adults suffering from migraines, patients who were randomly assigned to take part in a yoga therapy program started having headaches less often and endured less pain with each migraine attack compared with the subjects assigned to a self-care group.
Middle-Aged Adults Most Likely to Use Complementary Medicine
Even though older adults generally have poorer health, middle-aged adults are most likely to turn to complementary and alternative medicine, a new study shows. The study also found that adults of different races or ethnic backgrounds use these self-care methods in similar proportions.
“You’d expect that older adults and ethnic minorities would be the greatest users of complementary and alternative medicine because they tend to have more illness and relatively less money and often hold different beliefs about medicine. But, in fact, they don’t,” said lead author and sociologist Joseph Grzywacz, Ph.D.
Balance Training Better than Tai Chi at Improving Mobility in Older Adults
Physicians and physical therapists in recent years have explored whether tai chi, balance programs and fitness routines can help decrease the likelihood that older adults will fall and injure themselves. Many of these programs have shown promise, but their relative value is still open to debate.
Now, a study from researchers at the University of Michigan Health System and the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System suggests that a program focusing on increasing step length and speed is more effective at improving mobility and balance than tai chi. While tai chi - a Chinese martial art form consisting of slow, rotational movements and weight-shifting - offers many benefits, the researchers say, they’re not as great as those produced by a balance-training program.
Acupuncture shows promise for fibromyalgia
Acupuncture may help relieve the symptoms of fibromyalgia, especially the fatigue and anxiety that often comes with the condition, a new study suggests.
Fibromyalgia is a syndrome marked by chronic widespread aches and pains, fatigue and sleep problems, among other symptoms; the cause is unknown, and there are no medications specifically approved for the condition. Instead, treatment usually involves a combination of approaches, such as painkillers, antidepressants and exercise therapy.
Only two well-designed clinical trials have tested acupuncture’s effects on fibromyalgia, and these studies yielded conflicting results.
Echinacea Does Not Prevent Colds, More Evidence Shows
The herbal supplement echinacea, when taken in certain forms, may help shorten the duration and severity of cold symptoms but is not effective for preventing the common cold, according to a systematic review of current evidence.
“Frankly, I would not actively recommend that consumers take echinacea preparations at the moment,” said lead study author Dr. Klaus Linde of the Center for Complementary Medicine Research, Technical University of Munich.
