'Coping with Gout' provides an excellent explanation of alternative treatments for gout...
Complementary medicine has been described as all the therapies not taught in medical school. It includes such techniques as acupuncture, homeopathy and reflexology. You may know these as `alternative therapies' -- but this term can be misleading. The word alternative suggests that the therapy can be used to replace conventional medicine. Unfortunately, in treating gout this is rarely the case.
Complementary therapies are suitable for treating disease for the following reasons:
People who use complementary therapies do report substantial benefits, although some of these may derive from simply knowing that they are doing something positive to help them-selves. Different therapies appear to suit different people.
Acupressure: Acupressure is an ancient form of oriental healing, combining acupuncture and massage. Practitioners of this technique use the thumb, fingertip or the palm of the hand to firmly massage certain pressure points located at specific sites throughout the body. These points are the same as those used in acupuncture (see below). Neither oils nor equipment are used in this type of therapy. Acupressure is believed to enhance the body's own healing mechanisms. Pain relief is sometimes rapid. However, improve¬ments can take longer in chronic conditions. At some hospitals in the UK, acupressure is available as part of the physiotherapy treatment options.
Acupuncture: Also an ancient form of oriental healing, acupuncture involves puncturing the skin with fine needles at specific points in the body. These points are located along energy channels (meridians) that are believed to correspond to certain internal organs. The energy itself is known as chi. Needles are inserted to increase, decrease or unblock the flow of chi energy so that the balance of yin and yang is restored. Yin, the female force, is calm and passive; it also represents dark, cold, swelling and moisture. On the other hand, yang, the male force, is stimulating and aggressive, representing heat, light, contraction and dryness. It is thought that an imbalance in these forces is the cause of illness and disease. For example, a person who feels the cold, and suffers fluid retention and fatigue, would be considered to have an excess of yin. A person suffering from headaches, however, will be deemed to have an excess of yang.
Emotional, physical or environmental factors are believed to disturb the chi energy balance, and can also be treated. For example, acupuncture has been used to alleviate stress, digestive disorders, insomnia, asthma and allergies. Studies have shown that treatment promotes the brain to release endorphins and encephalins (natural painkillers), boost the immune system and calm the nervous system. It can be seen, then, that acupuncture has many applications.
A qualified acupuncturist will use a set method to determine acupuncture points — it is thought that there are as many as 2,000 such points on the body. At a consultation, questions may be asked about lifestyle, sleeping patterns, fears, phobias and reactions to stress. The pulses will be felt, then the acupuncture itself carried out, fine needles being placed in the relevant sites. The first consultation will normally last an hour, and patients should feel improvements after four to six sessions.
In treating gout, this traditional Chinese medicine advocates that an overrich diet causes a build-up of damp and heat internally, causing phlegm to stagnate and bringing about disturbance of the spleen and kidneys. Treatment, therefore, involves placing fine needles in the spleen and stomach acupuncture points. Other local points are used according to the joint affected by gout.
In one important study in China,' 54 sufferers of arthritic disease were given a form of acupuncture (warm needling in this case) in which the needles are dipped in Zhuifengsu, a Chinese herb. As a consequence, every sufferer reported a decrease in their pain. In another study, in Russia, into auriculo-electropunc¬ture (AEP)' – treatment of acupuncture points on the ear -- all 16 arthritis sufferers felt better after treatment, showing `statisti¬cally significant' improvement in their blood samples. The results of these studies are believed to apply to all types of arthritis, including gout.
Acupuncture is now losing its unorthodox reputation, and has made much headway in the west. In recent years it has gained so much respect in the medical field that many doctors now perform the therapy.
Bioelectmmagnetics: Bioelectromagnetics is the study of how living organisms – all of which produce electrical currents – interact with magnetic fields. The electrical currents within our bodies are capable of creating magnetic fields that extend outside our bodies, and these fields can be influenced by external magnetic forces. In fact, specific external magnetism can actually produce physical and behav¬ioural changes. Just as drugs induce a response in their target tissues, so low magnetic fields can produce a chosen biological response – but without the chemical side effects associated with drugs.
External magnetism cannot only correct abnormalities in the energy fields of patients with disease, effectively working as a healer, it is also capable of stabilizing a chronic condition – although certainly not in every case. As a pain reliever, external magnetism is becoming ever more widely used, and much experimentation is currently under way. Electromagnetic appara¬tus is even becoming a regular fixture of NHS treatment rooms. This apparatus creates a pulsed magnetic field, which is used to aid the recovery of bone fractures, tendon and ligament tears and muscle injuries, for example. A small, light, comparatively inexpensive version can be purchased for easy-to-wear home use. External magnetism should not be used by anyone fitted with a heart pacemaker.
External magnetism in the form of a specially designed wrist appliance – worn like a wristwatch – is also believed to be effective in treating aches, pains and injuries in any region of the body. As with other types of external magnetism, this appliance is said to improve the ability of the blood to carry oxygen and nutrients around the body. It is also believed to speed the removal of toxins and other waste products. Various appliances are available for use on different parts of the body (see the Useful Addresses section for outlet details).
Other treatments include hydrotherapy, hypnotherapy, relaxation and meditation. For a more detailed list see Coping with Gout by Chris Hinton.
Natural gout cure. [Read More Here]
