Integrative care for chronic pain According to the British Pain Society, almost 10 million Britons suffer from chronic pain every day. This significantly impacts their quality of life and force many employees to have more days off work. In a survey conducted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Endometriosis, women suffering from chronic pain lose 55 days from work per year. Chronic pain doesn’t only take a toll on people’s health but also on the nation’s purse. Back pain alone costs the NHS nearly £500,000 in 1993 whilst adolescent pain costs £4 billion yearly. The current study supports the claim that integrative medicine can provide significant improvement in pain through individualised, patient-centred care. Integrative medicine is defined as the combination of practices and methods of alternative care with evidence based medicine. According to Dr Andrew Weil, the world’s leading proponent of integrative medicine, this approach involves hundreds of old and new practices ranging from acupuncture to iridology, homeopathy, massage therapy, mindfulness meditation, osteopathy and so on – therapies that have been scientifically proven to promote health and alleviate varying symptoms of illness. When combined with traditional medical care, integrative medicine could not only ease pain but may significantly improve patients’ overall well-being and quality of life.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Jul 2013 13:44:45 +0000
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