Alternative und integrative Medizin

Pain management has changed over the last 10 years. People seek medical attention that is safe, effective and yield success as documented by clinical practice and scientific studies. This article is going to review on the comprehensive pain management program which known as prolotherapy, an injection technique that has been successfully used all over the world and is gaining popularity in the United States.

The paper aims at showing that there is a physical process that has the same features as the effects of ultra-low doses of biologically active substances and low-intensity physical factors, such as ionizing radiation and non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation, on biological objects. An analysis is given of the main features of the above effects, namely: the non-monotonic dose-effect dependence, the kinetic paradox, the change in sensitivity of the biological object with respect to a subsequent exposure to ultra-low doses, the dependence of the ‘sign’ of the effect on the initial state of the target biological object.

Botox is one of the most popular medications in market attracting a lot of patients and practicing community attention. Thanks to a myriad of applications-wrinkles, perspiration, pain control and migraine treatment, Botox often seems more like a comprehensive, ‘cure-all’ approach, similar to that of using Windex by one of the characters in the movie “My Big, Fat Greek Wedding.” Furthermore, Botox is a trade name of Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) type A, that belongs to the group of neurotoxins, produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. What is so unique in this medication and why it is gaining such fierce popularity over the last several years? The answer to this is the involvement of Bacteria for its production which makes it a Biological product which is unique.

Cupping therapy is a simple, effective and economic treatment. Cupping therapy is a formal treatment in Chinese hospitals and in some European countries. Here, we review history of wet cupping therapy and its two distinct methodologies. First method is puncturing and cupping (PC) method that includes five steps: skin demarcation, sterilization, puncturing, cupping and sterilization. Second method is cupping, puncturing and cupping (CPC) method that includes six steps: skin demarcation, sterilization, first cupping, puncturing, second cupping and sterilization. CPC method predominates in the Arabic world, while PC method has a worldwide distribution. We report here that our detailed evidence-based analysis of both methods reveals many novel advantages in the CPC method over the PC method. CPC method has a better analgesic effect and benefits more from the viscoelastic nature of the skin. During the first cupping step in the CPC method (not present in the PC method), a fluid mixture containing causative pathological substances (CPS) is collected inside skin uplifting due to the effect of negative pressure of sucking cups. CPS differs from disease to disease according to disease etiology and pathogenesis. That fluid mixture contains collected interstitial fluids with CPS, filtered fluids (from blood capillaries) with CPS, hemolyzed blood cells (hemolysed RBCs, WBCs and platelets). That fluid mixture does not contain intact blood cells as their sizes are much bigger than sizes of pores of skin capillaries and cannot be filtered. The fluid mixture is totally excreted in next steps. We review here that wet cupping therapy is a highly recommended treatment in prophetic medicine, medicine related to Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him who said: “The best among what you use in therapy is Al-hijamah (CPC method of wet cupping therapy)”. In conclusion, CPC method is better than PC method in clearing blood and interstitial spaces from CPS. Standardization of methodologies of cupping therapy seems essential to gain optimal therapeutic outcomes.

Acupuncture therapy encompasses various domains of experience: from the aesthetic and atmosphere of the clinic; to the sensorial aspects of needling; to the aftereffects in terms of potential changes in health and lifestyle. In my research (conducted in Galway and Dublin Ireland) one of the prevailing reasons expressed by patients as to the appeal of acupuncture, and rationale for its continual use, was that treatments were regarded as both pleasurable and transformative. This transformation–in either an immediate-sensorial, or a long-term behavioral way–is the key focus of this paper. Interviews with patients strongly suggested that an embodied sense of transformation– experiencing unusual bodily and emotional sensation–is not only part of the appeal, but is one of the key constructs for determining the medical efficacy of acupuncture. Such embodied transformations are referred to as altered states of embodiment (ASE).