Archive for the ‘Therapeutic’ category

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

February 19th, 2010

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is a procedure where a patient is placed into a module called a hyperbaric chamber and subjected to high pressure 100% oxygen, with the intention of stimulating healing for certain medical problems. Even though it’s considered for payment as a therapeutic procedure, there’s still a lot of controversy involved in its use.

Using atmospheric pressure to treat patients isn’t new. The process was actually introduced in the 1600s by a British clergyman. Oxygen didn’t become the gas of choice until the 1930s, when the military got into it. It was found that oxygen saturates the hemoglobin in the blood, and can help patients with routine wounds heal faster.

The overall issue with hyperbaric oxygen therapy is that there aren’t a lot of medical schools that actually teach physicians about it because the equipment is too expensive.  Truth be told, not many hospitals have it for the same reason, although there are some companies in major cities that have portable machines and offer them as rentals for hospitals. These reasons make it so many doctors are unfamiliar with the practice and how it works, this may be why some doctors do not trust its effectiveness all that much.

Another issue is that it’s not 100% safe. Any time a patient is put under artificial pressure, problems can occur. Some people have suffered minor injury to their lungs, their eyes, and their nasal airways; most of the time, the injuries are temporary. On rare occasions, patients suffer temporary blindness.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is not recommended to be used on patients who are suffering from things such as asthma, high fever, and seizures; pregnant women should also avoid this type of therapy. One last thing that sometimes happens is known as decompression sickness, which occurs when the pressure is being released. The symptoms seem to be similar to what someone who does underwater diving sometimes experiences after they come back to the surface.

There are also some maladies that hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been said to help with such as autism, diabetic neuropathy, inflammatory bowel disease, and multiple sclerosis. None of those have been proven by significant studies, but suffice it to say that the practitioners who use this therapy are always trying to find new things that it can help with.

What Can HBOT Treat?

  • Air or gas embolism
  • Carbon Monoxide poisoning
  • Acute traumatic ischemia
  • Exceptional blood loss
  • Cyanide poisoning
  • Decompression sickness
  • Some non-healing wounds
  • Gas gangrene
  • Necrotizing infections
  • Some cases of osteomyelitis
  • Radiation effects
  • Compromised skin flaps
  • Burns

Source: www.CincinnatiHyperbarics.com

See More:

How to Get a Hemoglobin Boost
Side Effect of Oxygen Therapy

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What is Cryotherapy?

February 5th, 2010

cryotherapy using liquid nitrogenIf you’ve ever applied an ice pack to any part of your body to try to reduce swelling, you have performed a type of cryotherapy. The basic principle behind cryotherapy is to cool down either parts of the body or the entire body to achieve some kind of therapeutic response. Sometimes the response is only to try to help alleviate pain, but it can be used for things such as removing warts and addressing other skin issues, or to help induce healing in some fashion. It’s cold therapy.

For minor procedures, using ice packs and an icing solution are safe ways to address certain issues. For instance, ice works well in removing warts because it’s a natural way of numbing that area of the body and it’s easy to go directly to a specific location. Then removing the wart is painless and quick.

It gets more complicated when a person gets into a tub and has their entire body subjected to the cooling process. For long-term physical therapy, as in 15 minutes, a lot of ice will be poured into the water that the patient is in. The body will get used to it within a couple of minutes and will heat up, the patient will be relatively comfortable as the ice melts around them. When something else is used, such as liquid nitrogen, the patient’s body has to be covered in certain areas to protect them from frostbite, but generally they will only wear a bathing suit. The temperature is lowered to -166°F, and in this case the patient can only stay in a cryogenic chamber for a few minutes. Supposedly this releases endorphins into the body which immediately relieves pain.

Cryotherapy can also be used as an anesthetic when other methods aren’t preferable. It is sometime used to help in the treatment of tumors in the body as it relates to kidneys, bones, lungs, and the breasts. In addition, it is sometimes used during certain cancer surgeries.

You always need to make sure that a qualified physician or technologist is using cryotherapy on you, because it doesn’t take much to injure the body with too much cold for too long.

See Also:
Cryotherapy, Cold Therapy – www.jointhealing.com
Cryotherapy: Dermatology - www.medscape.com

Image Credit: www.FromYourDoctor.com, which is a patient education service from Vivacare Inc.

This informational article should not be considered as advice on health, health related issues or health related procedures.

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Primal Therapy

December 10th, 2009
Dr. Arthur Janov, Primal Scream Therapy

Dr. Arthur Janov, Primal Scream Therapy

Anyone living in the 70’s remembers hearing about this therapy where patients, through a lot of testing and coaching, are taught this principle of screaming, which is supposed to release tension, bring back memories, and overall help people in mental states that they’re trying to get out of.

Primal therapy was created by a doctor named Arthur Janov. His premise was that if people could relive childhood pains and fears in some fashion that it would help them break through some of the mental anguish they were having. It supposedly came to him when one of his patients was looking back through his memories, got really emotional at one point, and screamed. Afterwards the patient supposedly felt better, as if he had released a lot of bad memories, and the good doctor felt that maybe this was the way to go for many other people.

Primal Scream Therapy

Primal Scream Therapy

In one way it seems to make a little bit of sense. Most people are known for holding in a lot of their frustrations, which creates tension. Many psychologists feel that getting those frustrations and feelings out into the open is the beginning of a person getting past those things and being ready to progress and learn how to be more positive. Some believe venting in some fashion can help people to break the bonds and move forward.

While that may be true, primal therapy gets almost no respect from most of the psychiatric community. There hasn’t been a lot of testing on the process, and those tests that have been done don’t confirm that primal therapy works as well as Dr. Janov says it does. One study in particular came back with a 50-50 ratio of success and failure, which led those doing the study to conclude that primal therapy wasn’t an effective method of treatment. Oh yeah; the ratio ended 50-50, but one person committed suicide after going through the process.

Another complaint about the therapy is that it “helps” some patients recreate things from their childhood that never happened. This is a problem with some types of regression therapy, where false memories will suddenly come into play, and it has harmed many people later on, especially those who had problems defining reality to begin with.

Even though there are still a few practitioners of primal therapy, including Dr. Janov’s clinic in California, it’s probably not a good idea to pursue this type of therapy, based on stories and the lack of any true clinical evidence.

See more:
National Alliance of Mental Illness
Rock Band Tears for Fears and Primal Scream Therapy
Dr. Arthur Janov’s Primal Therapy Center in Los Angeles, CA

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Soothing Scents

September 14th, 2009
Soothin Scents

Photo Credit: www.bathdelirium.com

Everyone has their favorite scents that make them feel good.  It’s been proven that breathing in scents that you like can bring peace into your life; they can also make you hungry.  Who hasn’t found their mouth watering after smelling apple scented candles of some type?  What about vanilla?

This isn’t the same thing as aromatherapy, although the general principles are the same.  With aromatherapy, there are specific oils that are used, some of which are rubbed into the body to stimulate both your senses of touch and smell.  Indeed, some essential oils can be powerful stimulants, while scents from candles aren’t quite as strong and aren’t meant to alter one’s brain chemistry.

Or are they?  There are over 800 different scents that have been made into candles.  Some are meant to calm people down, and they end up with names like Passion, Peace, Tranquility, etc.  Some scents are meant to bring about a sense of being at home, scents such as firewood, apple pie, or even newer scents like drying laundry or cotton sheets.

The intentions may not be the same, but the results are.  Those people who react positively to scents from candles feel like they are at peace with the world.  Their minds clear, and they just feel a sense of well being.

There are some people who are allergic or sensitive to the scents of candles, and in those cases, its best not to even have them around.  That turns out to be a small cross-section of people, as most people can easily tell you what their favorite scents are.

As far as using them for therapeutic use, many massage therapists use candles while performing their magic on their customers.  They say it helps to relax their clients, especially those who need deep muscle massages to help relieve painful areas.  Psychics also use scented candles, as well as some hypnotists.  The usage of candles in this way is known as “aroma-chology.”

A person can decide to try their own little bit of candle therapy at home.  There are two basic types of candles.  They are wax and soy.  Soy burns easier and the scents last longer, but candles will retain their smell longer because it takes longer for candles to completely melt down.  Soy candles can also hold more scent than candles can and still burn, and using tarts instead of traditional looking candles can handle even more scent.

For a relatively inexpensive home peace treatment, scented candles are the way to go.

See more:
Aromatherapy & Essential Oils
Organic Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy: Making Dollars Out of Scents

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Raindrop Massage Therapy

September 4th, 2009
Raindrop Therapy

Photo credit: www.tenthousandjoys.com

Whether you’re a man or a woman, if you’re looking to relax and improve your health at the same time, you will enjoy a raindrop therapy massage. It’s unlike anything you’ll ever experience in your life.

Raindrop therapy is a treatment where there are alternating series of essential oils, heat, and massage that alter your body chemistry to soothe your mind. Some of the oils are meant to stimulate certain nerve centers of your body, while others are meant to bring peace into your body. The heat moves things around and gets things going. When done properly, you’ll feel great at the end. If done improperly, you could feel burning sensations that can be overwhelming.

First, you’re asked a series of questions to determine if you might have any allergies that would run counter to any of the items that will be used. Then the therapist leaves the room so you can disrobe and get up on the table. Your upper body will be exposed eventually, but the fewer clothes you feel comfortable without the better the overall treatment will go.

You’ll start out with heat of some kind, just to loosen things up. Then it’s time for the oils. I don’t remember the order of the oils, but I do know that the therapist tells you when each oil is being applied and what it’s for. What I do remember is that two oils were applied first, massaged in, and then more oils were applied. I learned later that the oils applied were thyme, oregano, peppermint, wintergreen, basil, cypress, and something called V-6 mixing oil. Some therapists will use birch instead of wintergreen, but it’s not deemed safe for everybody and it’s hard to get.

After that, hot towels were applied and I was left that way for about ten minutes. However, the therapist came in every few minutes to ask how I was handling the heat. It did get pretty hot, but never to the point where I found it unbearable, though I did get to the point where it was itching. I was allowed to stay on my stomach, although some therapists will have their clients roll over so their backs are pushing into the towels.

After some time, the therapist came in and removed the towels. Now came more oils, all of which had been used before, but now it was more of a massage of different areas of my body. The oils were peppermint, basil, wintergreen and cypress. There was something else added to the mix also, called aroma siez, an oil that’s supposed to ease cramping and muscle pain. I have to admit that it felt good, and smelled wonderful.

The entire treatment took just over an hour, and I felt pampered throughout the whole thing. I can’t even verify that I might not have fallen asleep for a couple of minutes. I was able to handle the heat, and that’s the most important part because if you can endure that, the oils have a better chance of getting into your body and doing their thing. I felt wonderful for the rest of the day.

As a guy, it’s something I might never have consented to in the past, but now that I’ve had one, I can’t wait to have it done again.

See more:
Raindrop Technique – Healing Essential Oil Massage for Health, Relief of Back Pain & More
About.com Raindrop Therapy
The Hazards of Raindrop Therapy

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