About Complimentary Medicine |
||
|---|---|---|
 Sports and Orthopedic Rehabilitation All offices can be reached at: PH 303-238-4277 FX 303-238-4977 PRIMARY OFFICE: • Golden Office SATELLITE OFFICE: • Fort Collins Office SURGICAL CENTERS: • Denver West Surgical Center • Lakewood Surgical Center Also, Get More Informtion About: • Physical Therapy • About physiatry • Complimentary Medicine • Occupational Medicine • Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (RSD) Email This Page |
Complimentary and Alternative Medicine Pharmaceutics and intervention pain procedures (injections) are clearly not always the answer for a patient in pain. When seeking other options such as chiropractic, massage or acupuncture it can be a daunting task for a patient to navigate the world of complimentary and alternative medicines. Patients come into us with a variety of interests and experience both with traditional medicine and the alternatives. It is common in the same day to have patients that are equally skeptical of each type of medicine. Yet, quality practitioners in each area share very similar qualities and attitudes regarding patient care. A well rounded treatment plan can easily ‘cross over’ including elements of both traditional biomedicine and CAM. Dr. Hemler is an experienced acupuncturist. He completed the UCLA Acupuncture course for physicians. With constraints on his time he has found that patients get better service when referred to one of the several expert acupuncturists in the west Denver area. Dr. Birenbeim has practiced proliferative therapy for a number a years. He excels at the management of ligamentous pain and laxity that can be part of musculoskeletal trauma. STAR has close working relationships with several chiropractors. Don Aspegren D.C. located in Lakewood is an assistant profession in the Rehabilitation Department at the University of Colorado Health Sciences. He is actively involved in the Exempla Lutheran Medical Center Bridges Program. David Sanders D.C., located in Wheat Ridge practices high quality chiropractic services. Calm Spirit Acupuncture in Arvada is an excellent resource. Massage is available through Whole Body Health, Standley Lake Massage, and Exempla Bridges at Lutheran Acupuncture, chiropractic, and massage are important components regarding the healing process for musculoskeletal injury. These treatments can be curative or used as pain control tools. When used an intervention for pain, they must be held to the same standard as any other treatment. Treatments should result in progressively less pain and improved function. Treatments should have goals and endpoints. Providers should diligently attempt to work themselves out of your life. STAR integrates CAM treatments into its management in a similar way that any discipline is used in the practice. An attempt is made to identify ‘the right tool for the right job.’ Combined CAM and traditional treatments is very common. For example, combining an interarticular facet injection with chiropractic manipulation can result in rapid improvement in pain. By combining ‘high tech’ with ‘low tech’ by treating the inflammation of the joint and the movement dysfunction at the same time a patient may improve very rapidly. Core stabilization with a physical therapist combined with proliferative therapy can be an excellent solution for a chronic sacroiliac joint sprain. Pain Control: In cases where pain may not be resolvable these treatments can be used overtime to reduce pain or maintain function. The cost of the treatment must be balanced against the benefit. For instance, can the treatment replace a medication such as an opioid? If so, which one is less expensive? Who is responsible for the payment? If it is the patient, it really comes down to consumer choice. The best outcome measure I know is when the patient is willing to personally pay for the treatment. Insurance companies typically set limits on the amount of CAM that is authorized. Worker’s Compensation and Auto Insurance companies (casualty medicine) expect the treatment to be curative and expect definable endpoints. Managed care companies typically set standards based on total annual visits. All carriers use some form of medical necessity. Medical progress is a complex dynamic that includes science, financing, and consumer driven choices. Our managed health care plans and the worker’s compensation insurers strongly emphasize ‘data driven’ health care seeking out a relatively high standard of proof as to whether a treatment works or not. Medicine is a work in progress and much of what physicians and other medical providers offer is based on community standards and community desires. Hard science in musculoskeletal medicine can be very difficult to achieve based on the number of variables that can influence a study. Physicians use the best science available in making decisions on medical treatment. Complimentary and Alternative medicine has a long history of evolution. Acupuncture is over 4000 years old. Even the term implies that it is outside the standards of biomedicine. CAM fields range from very well organized forms of treatment to the down right flaky. There are a number of those fields that have long traditions of training and mentorship. Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Homeopathy, and Ayruvda are examples of treatment systems with a long established tradition and well organized protocols of treatment. Many of these fields are slowly merging with biomedicine as there systems come under scientific study. Osteopathic medicine is an example of a field that has become a normal mainstream component of health care. Proliferative Medicine is a form of injection that is embraced by some professionals as an excellent tool and yet not fully accepted by the medical community. CAM systems tend to share several traits that are truly ‘Complimentary’ to western biomedicine. Wellness: The focus on engaging inner resources of the individual as an active participant in the prevention and healing of illness and the maintenance of health. The adoption of a healthy lifestyle and the avoidance of self harm. Self-healing: The body heals itself. If given the right tools and environment, much of the healing that occurs is derived internally. Bioenergy: To heal and maintain itself the body needs a balanced flow and production of energy. Facilitating the body to restore its own balance restores health. Nutrition and Natural Products: The human organism is designed to obtain nutrients from from natural food sources present in the natural environment; and the body is best suited to obtain nutrients in their natural forms. Plants: Plants produce the oxygen we breathe, are source of nutrition and medical healing. Plants and herbs can be very powerful. Many modern drugs have their origins has natural treatments. Individuality: Much of modern medicine is based on critical pathways, care paths and statistical validation. Normalization and standardization tend to diminish the individual. Alternative medicines often seek to emphasize the individual. Mind/Body Connection: Wellness includes both a body and a mind that is in balance. Many CAM disciplines and much of modern pain medicine are directed at exploring the minds role is general health and function. Risk: Not all CAM treatments are benign. Herbs can be very dangerous if not used judiciously. Manipulation and acupuncture both have risks. Other treatments such as Chelation can result in metabolic imbalances. A CAM provider must be: • Professional • Ethical • Realistic • Well Trained • Stable • Have a good Understanding of their discipline and its expected results and outcomes • Demonstrate respect for other medical disciplines The same things you expect from your physician! 1. Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Marc. S. Micozzi, MD,PhD, Churchill Livingston, 1996. |
|
Doctors | Services | Map | Office Policies & Forms | Physical Therapy | News | Education | Q&A | Newsletter | Contact | Home
Copyright © 2006, Sports and Orthopedic Rehabilitation Site Design by Swarm Interactive |