Alternative medicine & Parkinson’s
Understanding Parkinson’s disease
Throughout the years great improvements have been made in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, medications such as dopamine agonists and COMT inhibitors have greatly improved symptoms such as those associated with motor skills. Even with great advancements being made in the treatment for Parkinson’s many sufferers still suffer from symptoms and side effects that medication used in the treatment of the disease brings.
In recent years another form of treatment has become a popular option for sufferers and this is in the form of alternative or complimentary medicine. When used alongside the more traditional methods, complimentary medicine can prove beneficial to the sufferer of Parkinson’s.
Ayurvedic medicine
This is a form of medicine that has been practiced in India for thousands of years, it is a form of medicine which relies and focuses on maintaining health through the body, spirit and mind, rather than treating just one aspect of a disease. The first step taken in this form of alternative medicine is to establish the metabolic type of the patient and then go on to look at other factors such as the effect ones environment has on the person.
Diseases are often diagnosed by assessing the pulse points on the patient and determining the relationships with the patient’s internal organs. Treatment of disease will then consist of detoxification, restoring the balance to the body through palliation and finally tonification.
Yoga
Yoga has always been strongly associated with Ayurvedic medicine and compliments it; the most common form of yoga is Hatha yoga which entails performing a series of poses while paying attention to the breathing. The practice of yoga has been shown to help with symptoms of Parkinson’s disease when practiced on a regular basis, particularly symptoms associated with motor skills.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture relies on balancing the yin and yang within our body, the yin and yang principal is based on opposites, for example where there is night there is day, cold and hot. It is thought that when there is disruption to the yin and yang then this will show as illness or disease in our body. Acupuncture is thought to help bring this harmony back to our body and involves the use of insertion of fine needles into certain points on the body.
Massage therapy
Massage therapy such as reflexology and therapeutic massage can greatly help sufferers of Parkinson’s by keeping joints and muscles supple. The two most common forms of massage therapy used in the treatment to alleviate symptoms of Parkinson’s are shiatsu and acupressure, which relies on touch rather than insertion of needles along pressure points.
Tai-chi
Tai-chi is part of ancient Chinese way of healing; tai-chi relies on a series of slow movements or exercises combined into one flowing routine. It is especially beneficial to sufferers of Parkinson’s to help keep the joints and muscles supple.
