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Integrative medicine combines Western medicine and ancient healing arts to arrest many of the most pervasive health problems, and the approach is catching on.
by Christine Facciolo Published April 9, 2010 at 08:59 AM
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Say the word “healthcare” and most of us think of a trip to the hospital. But a growing number of people are taking the term literally, caring for their health through a new medical paradigm known as integrative medicine.Many Delawareans have never heard of integrative medicine, but this holistic movement is making an impact on hospitals, universities and medical schools across the county.
Integrative medicine is an approach that focuses on the whole person and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic modalities, healthcare professionals, and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing.
Unlike alternative medicine, which replaces conventional treatments with nontraditional healing therapies, integrative medicine combines the best of Western medicine with proven natural therapies and traditional healing systems. These include acupuncture, yoga, meditation, biofeedback, guided imagery, herbs and supplements, chiropractic, massage, Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine.
“We’re not against medication when necessary, but when you have time, you have to try other therapies or modalities before you commit a patient to years of taking a pill,” says Dr. Seth Torregiani, an osteopathic physician and director of The Agada Center, which opened in Newark last year.
Integrative medicine is based on a model of health and wellness, not a model of disease. In fact, it draws a distinction between disease and chronic degenerative disorders, such as hypertension, which account for about 70 percent of all doctor’s office visits.
Proponents believe that the body has the capacity to heal itself if we address the lifestyle factors that cause those disorders. Whenever possible, integrative medicine favors low-tech, low-cost interventions. “Hypertension is a perfect example,” says Torregiani. “If people can lose some weight, get salt out of their diet, exercise a bit, a lot of times that will make the need for medication unnecessary or less necessary.”
Integrative medicine recognizes that patients are more than the sum of their illnesses. Physicians who practice integrative medicine consider the many interrelated physical and nonphysical factors that affect health, wellness and disease, including the psychosocial and spiritual dimension of people’s lives.
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