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Acupuncture and Integrative MedicinePaul Schlosser, MD I have been singing a song of praise for medical acupuncture for years now. I mean, how could I not? It is based on an ancient system whose philosophic underpinnings still ring true to this day. If the Hippocratic oath, which doctors take on completing their medical degree, still has practical relevance when it promises above all to do no harm, then one can appreciate how acupuncture is so useful in making that ideal a reality. Acupuncture provides a treatment option where one enjoys a rigorously scientific approach and current application of the latest scientific knowledge. What could be more powerful than a system that has an enormously positive safety record, touts few side effects, is holistic, not dependent on pharmaceuticals; and honors your body’s wisdom while it attempts to heal? I have seen wonderful outcomes. Happily, so have others; leading to its acceptance and use with some serious conditions. Acupuncture can be a key part of every integrational medicine approach to oncology and other medical disciplines. Its merits have allowed it to assume an almost pivotal role in battling some diseases. What is integrative medicine?It is an approach which blends many different approaches so to better obtain the desired result. Things like acupuncture, massage, chiropractic yoga, physical therapy, exercise, homeopathy, reiki and nutrition comprise the majority of these other modalities. Cancer hospitals like Memorial Sloane Kettering in New York, the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, MD Anderson in Texas and Johns Hopkins in Maryland are but a few centers leading this charge. One can get excellent care locally, without having to travel to some of those large institutions. It is the approach that is so important, not the address.
The undeniable conclusion is that this massive acceptance of the therapeutic utility of acupuncture, de facto, gives the credibility that so many individuals seem to crave. Fighting cancer is a scary, deadly serious thing. One doesn’t want to engage in this fight and feel that nothing but the best effort was put forth. My key point then regarding the usefulness of acupuncture must be self-evident and crystal clear, that is if these major institutions believe acupuncture plays an important role and appreciate its merits, then I believe it is in your best interest to consider using it also. It works. I have seen its utility in action many times. To be clear I am endorsing its use only in an adjunctive role, I am not talking about a cure, only a treatment that may help. How can it do this and attain the unattainable?Acupuncture works on the release of brain chemicals, hormones and neurotransmitters. These factors combine to achieve the desired results. This integrative approach is necessarily holistic, successfully utilizing several axioms which are and must be applied to each case; view each case as individual—expressing the complicated interplay of genetics, environment, including nutrition of the host and lastly, pathophysiology of the disease in question. Stress is noted as a pivotal play in every instance in every individual, every time. One can improve the ability of the organism to fight this cancer adversary, in an oncologic sense, by lessening the amount of stress that is being felt and driving that individual. Does it help to modulate the amount of cortisol put out by the adrenal glands in response to central nervous system releasing hormones? In some cases. It is well known that stress negatively affects the body’s immune system, cardiac system—this shows how complex the interactions are. But when acupuncture positively affects the equation, one can begin to see how and why potential gains are so massive. But how can it do this?Put simply, partly by immune modulation. By example, one can fight bone marrow depression showing up as things like anemia or platelet/clotting cascade derangements, which can be pivotal in the assault on the cancer cells; one can, in a like sense, modulate the factors in rheumatoid arthritis or change the hypothalamic environment for going out of tropin release infertility or thyrotropin release in thyroid disease. In conclusion, I have tried to demonstrate that horrible conditions like cancer and arthritis can and are being fought, in part, with acupuncture. Future success will be gained by intelligently combining and blending treatment options.
Dr. Schlosser – Two Rivers Clinic |
