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Chronic or refractory breathlessness adversely affects quality of life. Current treatment strategies for managing breathlessness are often inadequate in providing complete relief. Kinesiology taping is generally used in musculoskeletal practice for preventive and rehabilitative purposes. Recently, our attention was drawn to the plausible mechanism(s) and indication for use of kinesiology taping for managing chronic breathlessness. We present a brief review of the scientific rationale and efficacy of kinesiology taping for respiratory function-related outcomes. Through this publication, we hope to catalyse discussions amongst palliative care professionals and researchers on the potential use of kinesiology taping in the management of chronic breathlessness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steven Stern’sprinciple of necessityunderscores the importance of being open to the emergence of something new, something therapeutically vital and alive to both patient and therapist, requiring a unique alertness to the unbidden, the previously not-thought-about, the on-the-edges-of-our-experience type impressions in the course of living through the otherwise familiar and the usual. This commentary addresses Stern’s principle of necessity and, equally so, the continuingnecessity of principlein analytic work—a kind of ongoing sensibility that argues for placing aside theoretical knowledge and intervention categories in favor of striving to be open to the emergence of the unusual and the unexpected, to what ultimately proves therapeutic. We strive to work at and tolerate suspending our preconceptions, our theories, and our assumptions about how things should unfold in the clinical setting—what is referred to asanalytic courage. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Acupuncture is being used in more than three hundred treatment facilities for treating substance abuse including cocaine addiction. Previous review papers could not evaluate the role of acupuncture for treating cocaine addiction because of lack of clinical trials at the time. Since then, several important studies were conducted in the field. This paper reviews existing clinical trials using acupuncture to treat cocaine addiction. The existing evidence fails to document the benefit of acupuncture in treating cocaine addiction as the sole treatment. Further efforts to document the efficacy of the NADA protocol to treat cocaine addiction as the sole treatment should be re-evaluated. There is a limited amount of evidence showing possible benefits of acupuncture when used as an adjunctive therapy to complement existing substance abuse treatment program. Future efforts should concentrate on systematic studies investigating the role of acupuncture as an adjunctive treatment for cocaine addiction. In addition, more formative research exploring the efficacy of different types and protocols of acupuncture treatments for cocaine addiction should be thoroughly investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protecting health-care provider (HCP) well-being is imperative to preserve health-care workforce capital, performance, and patient care quality. Limited evidence exists for the long-term effectiveness of HCP well-being programs, with less known about physiotherapists specifically. To review and synthesize qualitative research describing experiences of HCP, generate lessons learned from the greater population of HCP participating in workplace well-being programs, and then to inform programs and policies for optimizing psychological well-being in an understudied population of physiotherapists. This qualitative meta-synthesis included a systematic literature search conducted in September 2020; critical appraisal of results; and data reduction, re-categorizing, and thematic extraction (reciprocal translation) with interpretive triangulation. Twenty-five papers met the inclusion criteria. Participants included physicians, nurses, and allied health providers. All programs targeted the individual provider and included psychoeducational offerings, supervision groups, coaching, and complementary therapies. Four themes were constructed: 1) beneficial outcomes across a range of programs; 2) facilitators of program success; 3) barriers to program success; and 4) unmet needs driving recommendations. The findings enhance our understanding of diverse individual-level programs to address HCP well-being. Beneficial outcomes were achieved across program types with system-level support proving critical; however, HCP described barriers to program success (HCP characteristics, off-site programs, institutional culture) and remaining needs (resources, ethical dissonance) left unaddressed. Organizations should offer individual-level programs to support physiotherapists in the short term while pursuing long-term, system-level change to address drivers of well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For clinicians working in mental health services, 'aggression management' training is generally prioritised, and often mandated. Traditional 'aggression management' training has the potential to reinforce the perception that violence and aggression are inevitable, and thus defensive and coercive practices are needed. This paper outlines the principles and processes that underpinned the development of two training programs designed as recovery-oriented and trauma-informed alternatives to traditional 'aggression management' training. The focus of the paper is on exploring how 'aggression management' training can be aligned with best practice principles. The programs were developed in a metropolitan and rural mental health service and aimed to reduce the need for defensive and coercive practices by promoting therapeutic engagement. A key feature of both programs is an orientation towards safety rather than risk. By embedding the principles of recovery and trauma-informed care in their development and orienting training towards enhancing safety, clinicians are provided with a new way of conceptualising and responding to 'aggression'. Experiential methods in the delivery of the training, and the co-design and co-delivery with peer (consumer) educators were important in supporting attitudinal change. To promote safety, the language and content of training programs must reflect contemporary principles and approaches such as trauma-informed care and recovery. This paper illustrates that to be effective, these principles and approaches must not just be described, but modelled in the development, design, and delivery of the training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To conduct an integrative literature review to reveal any evidence supportive of the integration of traditional therapies for First Nations peoples in Australia within a western healthcare model, and to identify which, if any, of these therapies have been linked to better health outcomes and culturally safe and appropriate care for First Nations peoples. If so, are there indications by First Nations peoples in Australia that these have been effective in providing culturally safe care or the decolonisation of western healthcare practices. Integrative literature review of peer-reviewed literature. Online databases searched included CINAHL, Medline, Scopus, ScienceDirect InformitHealth, and ProQuest. Databases were searched for papers with full text available and published in English with no date parameter set. The PRISMA guidelines were used during the literature review and the literature was critiqued using the Critical Appraisal Skills tool. Seven articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Four articles selected were qualitative, two used a mixed method design, and one used a quantitative method. Six themes arose: (i) bush medicine, (ii) traditional healers, (iii) traditional healing practices, (iv) bush tucker, (v) spiritual healing, and (vi) therapies that connected to cultures such as yarning and storytelling. There is limited literature discussing the use of traditional therapies in Western healthcare settings. A need exists to include traditional therapies within a Western healthcare system. Creating a culturally safer and appropriate healthcare experience for First Nations people in Australia and will contribute to advancement in the decolonisation of current healthcare models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complementary medicines (CMs) that are formulated to facilitate weight loss are a popular and widely available treatment option, particularly among women. There is limited research regarding their use in the South African context. The aim of this study was to gather information on the use and perceived effectiveness of CMs for weight loss among adult women. A quantitative, descriptive survey design was used. Johannesburg, South Africa. A purposive sample of women over the age of 18 years who had used CMs for weight loss within the past five years were recruited from health stores and a university campus healthcare centre. Data were obtained through a self-administered 29-item, paper-and-pen questionnaire. Responses were descriptively analysed using cross-tabulation, multiple response analysis and frequency tables. Data from 160 questionnaires were analysed and the results demonstrated that a wide variety of CM products are used for weight loss, with branded combination products, green tea, Garcinia cambogia and conjugated linoleic acid being the most popular. Most participants also adopted lifestyle interventions such as exercise and calorie restriction during their weight loss attempt. While minor side effects were experienced by over half of the participants, the majority were satisfied with their product choice as well as the amount of weight that they lost. Most participants perceived their CM weight loss product of choice to be effective. However, other concomitant weight-loss strategies that were employed may have been responsible for these results. Despite their popularity, there is only very limited research surrounding the safety and efficacy of these weight-loss products, with most studies being conducted on single constituents rather than whole formulations as sold on the market. Healthcare providers should encourage the disclosure of the use of CM weight-loss products to ensure safe and effective patient care and mitigate the potential risks associated with their inappropriate use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary Portugal and Greece, the number of individuals who resort to alternative medicine continues to rise. From yoga, meditation and energy therapies to healing based on various religio-spiritual traditions, there is a variety of therapeutic practices one can choose from. The main objective of this paper is to show how a therapeutic and spiritual pluralism is produced through the implementation of transnational influences on spirituality and healing. It investigates the diverse ways in which the practice of spirituality through healing leads to a better understanding of how current processes of globalisation, transnationalism and multiculturalism affect, develop and negotiate one's individual, social, spiritual and medical identity. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Lisbon and Athens, the Portuguese and Greek capital equivalently, the paper explores the pluralistic and transnational character of alternative medicine and the spiritual creativity with which such therapies are practised. Taking the role of the (spiritual) holistic practitioner as healer as a point of departure, it provides an empirical account of the shifting status of both religiosity and healthcare in two southern European countries that are still followed by the stereotype of being predominantly linked to Christianity as the denominational religion, and to biomedicine as the predominant healthcare system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how Catholic women in Argentina use assisted reproduction technologies (ARTs), and particularly the way in which they resort to biomedicine and religion as complementary sources of knowledge, support and assistance during reproductive treatments. It is concerned about the role of the Catholic religion in local reproductive itineraries, seeing that Catholicism has such significant social, political and cultural influence in the country. Drawing on a qualitative and ethnographic study of Catholic spaces of worship, a maternity hospital and in-depth interviews with former users from three metropolitan areas in Argentina, we examine how reproductive itineraries involve the users' agency in building health resources from religion, with reference to biomedicine. The data reveal that women address religion as an affective, social and therapeutic recourse intertwined with biomedical power. These findings highlight the multiple and complex forms reproduction acquires in specific social, cultural and normative contexts, and contribute to discussing the complementarity between religion and biomedicine in health experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurotherapies for diagnostics and treatment—such as electroencephalography (EEG) neurofeedback, single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) imaging for neuropsychiatric evaluation, and off-label/experimental uses of brain stimulation—are continuously being offered to the public outside mainstream healthcare settings. Because these neurotherapies share many key features of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) techniques—and meet the definition of CAM as set out in Kaptchuk and Eisenberg—here we refer to them as "alternative neurotherapies." By explicitly linking these alternative neurotherapy practices under a common conceptual framework, this paper draws attention to, and critically considers, the cross-cutting ethical and legal issues related to the provision of these services. The first section of this paper provides an updated empirical overview of uses of SPECT neuropsychiatric evaluations, EEG neurofeedback, and experimental/off-label forms of brain stimulation. Next, drawing on CAM bioethics scholarship, we highlight the pertinent ethical issues in the alternative neurotherapy context, including the truthful representation of evidence base, marketing to vulnerable populations, potential harms, provider competency, and conflicts of interest. Finally, we consider the principal legal issues at stake for the provision of alternative neurotherapies in the U.S., namely those related to licensing and scope-of-practice considerations. We conclude with recommendations for future research in this domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper responds broadly to two critical issues. First, is the concept of Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) in the context of Africa's and global value system that imposes one form of health practice as a dominant (and, therefore, mainstream) healthcare system and other types as alternatives to it. Secondly, is the place of CAM in Africa's health policies. Within the context of Africa's health system, the conceptualisation of indigenous medical knowledge and its value about its history, practices, traditions, and cosmology as CAM, undermines the heritage of a people and denies the multiple realities of a polyvocal world. Any society with a healthy population before modernity demonstrates the possession of a valid medical knowledge and a responsive healthcare system. The dismal health indicators of contemporary Africa speak to the lack of political will and the challenges inherent in Africa's health policies that undermine the reservoir of indigenous medical knowledge and methods. Using examples of endogenous healing, the potential benefits and constraints associated with African medical experience and practices are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV and emotional distress often co-occur and interact in syndemic clusters with social, political, and economic factors that amplify the 'syndemic suffering' of individuals. In this paper, I describe how HIV+ women seeking antiretroviral therapy (ART) at a hospital in northern Tanzania engaged with plural methods of healing to ease suffering and address the multiple dimensions of illness. I explain the case of a famous faith healer at the time of research from 2011–12, 'Babu wa Loliondo,' from whom a third of the women interviewed – 25 of 75 – sought care in addition to their ART. These women experienced significantly fewer symptoms of emotional distress compared with those women who did not, suggesting that either those who sought his care were already healthier, or one strategy for coping – engagement with medical pluralism – played a role in buffering against syndemic HIV and emotional distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) degrees in Australian and British universities have come under attack from sceptics who argue that such courses teach only 'pseudoscience'. Moreover, CAM academics have themselves been publicly labelled 'quacks'. Comparatively little is known about this group of health professionals who span the two worlds of CAM practice and academia. How do they navigate between these domains, and how are their collective and individual professional identities constructed? Drawing on 47 semi-structured interviews, this paper explores the professional identities of academics working in three university-based CAM disciplines in Australia and the UK: osteopathy, chiropractic and Chinese medicine. By analysing these individuals' accounts, and building on prior research on health professions in the academy, the paper contributes to understanding how contests about professionalism and professional knowledge take place against the academic-practice divide. By focussing on a domain where knowledge claims are conspicuously contested, it highlights the salience of navigating 'epistemic stress' for both group and individual professional identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rather than the harmonious coexistence of different therapeutic practices and meaning systems, medical pluralism involves the contestation of norms and meanings related to legitimacy and authority. The implicit cultural norms that shape local understandings of health and legitimate healing methods become more during periods of social and cultural change. This paper demonstrates the contested nature of medical pluralism based on the case study of one significant figure, Estonian gynaecologist and spiritual teacher Luule Viilma. Well-known to the public as a trailblazer and prominent spokesperson for medical pluralism since the 1990s, Viilma's trajectory from doctor to healer reveals some implicit characteristics and mechanisms of power struggles as evidenced by the 'boundary work' carried out by biomedical specialists. By uniting and bridging biomedicine and spiritual self-help, Viilma became a figure whose presence and teachings gave responsibility and power to individuals and helped to legitimize pluralism in health practices. She had the ambition to redefine, in a fundamental way, perceived norms of legitimacy and authority, as well as the patient's position. From interviews with people who have used Viilma's teachings and material from internet discussion forums, it is apparent that the emergence of new forms of medical pluralism has brought several changes in health-related norms and understandings, including more active personal involvement in health-related information seeking and decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the challenges faced by unhoused women in accessing general and reproductive health care services in Santa Cruz, CA. Semi-structured interviews with women experiencing houselessness were conducted in Santa Cruz, CA with a focus on their narrative experiences as patients. The overwhelming majority of participants expressed appreciation for clinics that provided support through longer hours, alternative therapies, and appointment reminders. Overall, the interviews indicated that women who had access to a social worker were much more likely to report improved access to satisfactory treatment. These findings suggest that there is not a tangible lack of healthcare services for unhoused women in the local community, but rather a burden of treatment navigation caused by a dearth of information on how to access care. The interviews suggest that this burden can be reduced with social work interventions and service centers that offer health navigation support. By adapting theories of the "burden of treatment," we argue that additional attention must be paid to overcoming the "burden of treatment navigation." For related reasons, we suggest that increasing the availability of social workers would concretely improve health outcomes for unhoused women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is two-fold. First, it aims to understand some of the earliest documented perspectives voiced by Native Hawaiian communities and their appeals for the concept of culturally based treatment. Second, it presents research, practice, and policy considerations with the goal of evolving the base of evidence supporting cultural treatment. Within the context of Hawai'i and Native Hawaiian history, this paper first contextualizes the emergence and conceptual orientation of culture-based addiction treatment. In discussing substance use disorder treatment in the Hawaiian context, insights and perspectives consider cultural-political trauma a key factor in developing a beneficial framework of practice. This historical background, however, reveals that contemporary culturally based design and service delivery is not aligned with the objective of specifically improving treatment for Native Hawaiians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The objectives of this scoping review were to summarize, understand, and disseminate findings from a broad body of literature on rehabilitation interventions used with survivors of head and neck cancer. Method: Searches were conducted in six databases. Inclusion criteria were studies of adult head and neck cancer survivors with a predefined primary rehabilitation outcome as a result of an intervention. Excluded were studies not written in English, opinion papers, or studies where the intervention was not carried out by a rehabilitation healthcare service. A second level, full-text review of the studies was conducted. A thematic analysis was used to examine and combine study findings. Results: A total of 3804 results were retrieved from all sources resulting in 39 papers that were analyzed. The thematic analysis of the included papers represented interventions focusing on swallowing and nutrition, speech, physical therapy, assistive devices, complementary and alternative modalities, comprehensive interdisciplinary programs, and preventive rehabilitation programs. Conclusion: This review has provided an overview of the scope of rehabilitation interventions available for survivors of head and neck cancer and preliminary information about their efficacy. This is foundational information for the development and refinement of rehabilitation interventions and programs for head and neck cancer survivors. The existing evidence suggests that survivors of head and neck cancer can benefit from early screening of potential rehabilitation needs and being involved in preventive rehabilitation programs pre-surgery when possible. Rehabilitation programs should consider swallowing interventions for patients as evidence reports improved swallowing function, decreased pain and discomfort, and reduced duration of feeding tube use. Rehabilitation programs should consider nutritional interventions after radiotherapy: Patients benefited from stabilized weights, improved nutritional status, and an improved quality of life. Physical exercise interventions demonstrated improvements in physical function, muscular endurance, range of motion, overall quality of life, and showed reductions in pain, and fatigue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do individuals gain from multiple sources of information that are often dissonant, such as expert knowledge and lay knowledge of health interventions? What are the foundations for any gain? For these questions, this paper investigates differences in the perceived health outcomes among the users of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) who found their selection of CAM treatments on different knowledge bases. By using data from the 2012 US National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the paper shows that CAM users report better health outcomes in the treatment episodes where they use CAM treatments that experts (i.e. health care professionals) or lay people (i.e. family/friends/co-workers) recommend, compared to those episodes where they use CAM treatments that nobody recommends. More interestingly, CAM users report even better health outcomes from the treatment episodes where they use CAM treatments that both professionals and family/friends/co-workers recommend, compared to those episodes where they use CAM treatments that only professionals or only family/friends/co-workers recommend. The paper conceptualizes these gains as emerging from users' mobilization of the thick knowledge that experts and lay people produce together. It stresses the importance of health communication where expert accounts and lay accounts are both paid heed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), also referred to as Complementary and Integrative Medicine, refers to treatments outside of mainstream medicine. There are many forms of CAM, including mind-body and herbal supplements. This paper presents a variety of reliable CAM websites that may be of interest to consumers, including sites that help evaluate CAM treatments. Those providing CAM information to consumers must stress the importance of speaking with a healthcare provider to determine if the treatment is safe for the consumer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few years, medicine has upgraded its therapeutic techniques and practices, with the use of various modern methods that are due to advancement in technology and sciences. It is recognized that the physical health of the patients is significantly associated to their mental state, their motivation and engagement in overcoming the illness. This paper presents experimental comparison between virtual reality (VR) technology and conventional mode of therapy for physical rehabilitation among patients of neurological deficits. The objective was to explore the effectiveness of VR during physical interactions with different game-like virtual environment and potentially leading to increased mental health (i.e., lower depression, anxiety and stress), self-esteem, social support and intrinsic motivation (task-based competence, choice and interest). The study sample consisted of thirty-four subjects with Cerebral palsy (CP), Traumatic brain injury (TBI), Spinal cord injury, Stroke and Parkinson's disease; divided into two experimental groups virtual reality exercise group (n = 17), and conventional therapy group (n = 17); who have upper- or lower-limb impairment. The outcome measures revealed significant differences across pretest and post-test conditions of both the experimental groups. Findings emerged from the study showed noticeable effectiveness of virtual-reality based rehabilitation in TBI, stroke and CP patients. Relationships between study variables and demographic variables (age and gender) were also presented. This study opens the way for future researchers, psychologists, physiotherapist and other practitioners to do more extensive work in the domain of virtual reality with different sample, constructs and approaches. It has become increasing important to introduce new state-to-art technologies in domain of rehabilitation. People are reluctant to use all the traditional modes of treatment. As these conventional ways of treatment are least motivating and interesting to indulge the patients without force and burden. It is evident in the present study that addition of virtual reality-based exercise increases the self-motivated balance during functional task in contrast to conventional and task-dependent training participants. This study opens the way for future researchers to do more extensive work in this domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the experiences with government sanctioned Ayurvedic college education of 14 young Ayurvedic doctors working at the Integrative Health Centre in Bangalore, India. Unfamiliarity with Ayurvedic logic and Indian natural philosophies, lack of clinical training and the mixing-up of Ayurvedic and biomedical notions are their main complaints. The 14 young Ayurvedic doctors also missed a convincing perspective on how to integrate Ayurvedic logic, modern scientific knowledge and biomedical diagnostics. Ayurvedic state sanctioned education seems to be caught between Ayurveda's natural philosophy of health and the techno-science of biomedicine. The Ayurvedic doctors under scrutiny face the danger of becoming ‘half-baked products’ when they do not learn to reflect on the tension between Indian traditional knowledge and biomedical learning. The paper argues that the logic of modern science and biomedicine's claim to value-free knowledge captivates Ayurvedic education and research. This hinders Ayurveda's development as a vibrant alterity to biomedicine. What is needed is a critical social science perspective on the construction of medical knowledge and India's hierarchical medical landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative health care and holistic spiritual practices have become increasingly popular in many Western countries, especially among women, who often claim them to be deeply transformative. This paper presents an ethnographic study of women's tantric retreats in Northwest Europe that aimed to help women reconnect with their vital sexual energy, rediscover the sacredness of their female bodies, and possibly heal from damaging and even traumatic experiences regarding their femininity and sexuality. It draws on Turner's influential view on ritual as a liminal space in order to account for the transformative potential of these workshops. Specifically, it applies Hinton and Kirmayer's flexibility hypothesis, which suggests that healing rituals shift people's mode of being-in-the-world, including their cognitive, emotional, and physical state or stance, towards openness to new ways of being. First, it highlights different ontological domains where shifts took place, notably somatic state, self-image and relationality. Subsequently, it identifies the main modalities that were used for enabling transformation: the embodiment of the metaphor of the goddess/the divine as present in each woman and the use of intimate, loving touch and meditative awareness. The process of transformation and healing elucidated in this way engaged the physical, emotional and cognitive levels as interacting dimensions, relying foremost on the activation of a vital energy that both gave participants a deep sense of self and connected beyond the self. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) and New Age therapies (NAt) are increasingly widespread in the West. Although the variety of therapies they recommend is very extensive, as is the variety of beliefs and practices, there are common ideas shared across both such as the concept of holism and the notion of energy. The case studies examined in this paper, Vittorio and Sol, both suffered from severe personal problems that caused a state of general malaise. They managed to address them through the holistic world. Through their experiences, it is possible to highlight the contradictions of CAM-NAt in the West. While, on one hand, these represent a form of resistance to capitalist culture, on the other there is a risk that CAM-NAt could end up reinforcing capitalistic logic through the establishment of an 'individualistic holism'. The only solution to this situation seems to be a focus on the exercise of personal critical faculties, and an openness to different ways of conceiving the body, the health and diseases, but without, however, being drawn into the moralistic and individualist view that sometimes accompanies these. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health, social well-being, and human rights worldwide have all been impactd by the effects of anxiety and depression. The helping fields have spent over a century attempting to improve people's emotional well-being through traditional methods. However, there has been a recent explosion of holistic treatments that are growing in acceptance and evidenced-based support. This paper will provide a broad overview of several unconventional, alternative treatment interventions with growing evidence of their effectiveness as either a complementary or stand-alone treatment for anxiety and depression. Clinicians may learn about these emerging interventions in an effort to stay abreast of the most beneficial treatment models available and meet ethical guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this article is to illustrate the positive impact of diverse sleep treatment options, since >50% of the population suffers from sleep disorders at least once in their life with significant consequences. Physical therapists should apply different therapeutic techniques in order to improve their patients' sleep. Materials and methods: In this focus paper, the iatric standard therapies of insomnia and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and their limitations are presented based on literature up to 2017. Additionally, alternative physiotherapy options are explained and compared to the standard therapies. The articles were found by search in MEDLINE (Pubmed), Cochrane CENTRAL, PEDro, LILACS, and manual search using the keywords ('insomnia' OR 'obstructive sleep apnoea') AND ('physiotherapy' OR 'alternative therapies'). Results: Too many people with sleep problems are not optimally treated today. Different sleep related questionnaires, diagnostic procedures and therapeutic options (more than 'cognitive' behaviour therapy and exercises) are feasible to be applied in physiotherapy. Conclusions: The further implementation of sleep in physiotherapy extends its treatment fields. Sleep is a physiological stage influenced by many factors and influencing physiotherapy gains. With some knowledge, physical therapists are able to prevent and treat more sleep problems than they are taught so far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to provide context for the fee and its varied meanings in the ordinary workings of psychoanalytic treatment. Drawing in particular on the contributions of D.W. Winnicott, it sets out a framework for approaching the topics of fee-setting, raising and reduction, and seeks to account for the difficulties that ensue when practitioners accept fees or allow debts that are out of sync with their personal needs for monetary compensation. It argues that the integrating rituals around fee payment, indispensable as they are to the material foundations of psychoanalytic practice, are also intrinsic to the vitality of analytic relationship as a therapeutic system or "analytic third." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on Isabelle Stengers' discussion of the investigation of Mesmer and the starring role that experimentation plays in the rationality of modern medicine, this paper examines longstanding tensions between the realms of evidence based medicine and complementary and alternative medicine. While evidence based medicine often claims the ability to demarcate between pseudoscience and science, and complementary and alternative medicine often claims that evidence based medicine involves a kind of pseudo-logic that is unable to capture all forms of efficacy, I argue that both of these claims are unfounded. Unpacking the similarities between the commission that evaluated Mesmer's magnetism and the structure of evidence based medicine, a significant gap is revealed in today's system of knowledge production within medicine. In order to demonstrate the efficacy of a novel treatment within a randomized controlled trial, the treatment must be shown to improve clinical outcomes significantly more than a placebo control. However, some treatments improve clinical outcomes, but operate primarily through placebo responses, leading to effective medicines being labelled 'ineffective' within randomized controlled trials. This phenomenon is known as the efficacy paradox and appears most frequently in chronic conditions and in relation to complementary and alternative medicine, in which placebo responses are common. It is argued that the realms of evidence based medicine and complementary and alternative medicine have much to learn from each other, in that one has neglected the vast potential of producing clinical benefit through placebo responses, while the other has neglected the understanding that can be gained through experimentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sites reviewed in this article represent only a small fraction of the consumer health information sites available on the Web and are intended to be a starting point for locating authoritative, reliable health information. The first part of this article focuses on evaluation, since this is an important component of using information, particularly information located on the Internet. The second part of the paper reviews consumer-related Web sites arranged by categories: Comprehensive Sites; Directories/Portals; Government Sites; Association Sites; Drug Information; Alternative Medicine; Nutrition and Food Safety; and Other Health Issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/purpose: Plantar foot pain of neural origin is a challenging diagnosis to identify and treat. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the novel way in which cupping was utilized in conjunction with neural glides to better diagnose and manage a patient who presented with symptoms of peripheral neuropathic plantar foot pain. Case description: A 65-year-old male presented to physical therapy with the diagnosis of plantar fasciitis by an orthopedic surgeon. The presentation included a diffuse area of pain toward the medial border of the foot with a peripheral neuropathic pain description. Cupping was used to identify pain in the saphenous nerve distribution and aided in resolving symptoms with the concomitant use of lower quarter neural glides. Outcome: At discharge and 1-year follow-up, the patient had a full resolution of symptoms and a return to prior level of function. Self-report outcomes included the numeric pain rating scale and the lower extremity functional scale. Discussion: This case is the first to describe the use of cupping combined with neural glides in the diagnosis and management of peripheral neuropathic pain from the saphenous nerve that was previously diagnosed as plantar fasciitis. The proposed mechanisms behind this treatment are also reviewed. Conclusion: In patients that present with symptoms of plantar fasciitis, testing neural glides combined with cupping may be warranted to confirm or refute the presence of a peripheral neuropathic pain source. Further studies are necessary to determine the mechanisms and further utility of the combined interventions in well controlled trials. Level of Evidence: Level IV [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the WHO Western Pacific Region, traditional medicine has extensively been used by communities as part of primary health care which is critical foundation for achieving universal health coverage (UHC). This paper conceptualizes integration of traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) into national health systems and explores how such integration can contribute to pathways toward UHC. Integration has been variously conceptualized at health system, service delivery, and consumer levels. Integration can be conceptualized based on the level of institutionalization of T&CM in national health systems (i.e. regulation of T&CM, education system, monitoring and health financial scheme). According to it, countries and areas of the Region can be categorized: countries with: 'well-established integration strategies'; 'in-process of developing and implementing integration policies'; 'mixed-level of integration'; or 'indigenous traditional medicine practiced outside the national healthcare system'. Integration of T&CM may offer pathways to advance five health system attributes essential to achieve UHC, namely: quality; efficiency; equity; accountability; and sustainability and resilience. It can contribute to improving quality of healthcare services through regulation of T&CM products, practitioners and services used by communities; meeting population needs in ageing population and managing non-communicable diseases; improving equitable access to care through health insurance coverage of T&CM; improving accountability by monitoring and use of data for informed-policy decisions on T&CM; and strengthening sustainability and resilience through maximizing potentials of T&CM in managing outbreaks of infectious diseases and disasters. Depending on the level of integration, actions to move forward integration of T&CM as a pathway toward UHC will be various. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As frustration with conventional medicine deepens, people are seeking novel approaches to health care for themselves and their pets. Not only are many alternative therapies comparatively inexpensive and readily available, they offer owners an opportunity to actively contribute to their pets' health. Hope surrounding alternative veterinary medicine is understandable, but for most modalities there is little evidence to support efficacy, and some pose significant risks to both humans and companion animals. Although there is little scientific research to report, this paper aims to inform on the safety and efficacy of select alternative modalities, with a focus on feline medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing pressure on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to follow the evidence-based approach promoted in allied health and medicine, in which the randomised control trial represents the evidence gold standard. However, many CAM advocates see these methods as undermining the holism of CAM practice. This paper explores how such tensions are managed in CAM university departments – settings in which particular forms of knowledge and evidence are given 'official' imprimatur by CAM educators and researchers. By comparing two types of CAM, the paper also unpacks differences within this broad category, asking whether CAM academic disciplines comprise different 'epistemic cultures' (Knorr-Cetina, K. (1999). Epistemic cultures: How the sciences make knowledge. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press). Interviews were conducted with 20 lecturers in Chinese medicine and osteopathy, across five Australian universities, and augmented with observation in two degree programs. Findings reveal contrasting ontological and epistemological perspectives between the two academic fields. Chinese medicine lecturers had largely adopted bioscientific models of research, typically conducting laboratory work and trials, although teaching included traditional theories. Osteopathy academics were more critical of dominant approaches and were focused on reframing notions of evidence to account for experiences, with some advocating qualitative research. The study illustrates CAM's 'epistemic disunity' while also highlighting the particular challenges facing academic CAM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blood transfusions belong to standard and commonly utilised biomedical procedures. Jehovah's Witnesses' transfusion refusals are often referred to in bioethical and medical textbooks. Members of this globally active religious organisation do not, however, challenge biomedical diagnosis and treatment as such. A result of both their trust in and their interpretation of the Bible, they question only this medical treatment. In spite of the global presence of this religious community and its uniformly practised teachings, including those pertaining to blood, experiences and choices of Jehovah's Witness patients have been understudied. Drawing on a nine-month fieldwork with Jehovah's Witnesses and physicians in Germany (mainly in Berlin) between 2010 and 2012, the paper addresses treatment choices made by Witness patients and their relationship with physicians. In light of the long tradition of 'medical heterodoxy' established in German culture and society, Germany constitutes an ideal point of departure for such a study. By utilising the concept of 'medical landscape' it is argued that Jehovah's Witnesses in my field site find themselves at the intersection of different medical landscapes: in the 'immediate' surroundings of the German healthcare system that is open to different 'treatment modalities', and that of the United States, which favours biomedicine. The paper also argues that Jehovah's Witnesses' position towards blood transfusions can further be used as a lens to shed light on the German (bio)medical landscape itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive psychotherapy (PPT) is a therapeutic approach broadly based on the principles of positive psychology. Rooted in Chris Peterson’s groundbreaking work on character strengths, PPT integrates symptoms with strengths, resources with risks, weaknesses with values, and hopes with regrets in order to understand the inherent complexities of human experiences in a way that is more balanced than the traditional deficit-oriented approach to psychotherapy. This paper makes the case of an alternative approach to psychotherapy that pays equal attention and effort to negatives and positives. It discusses PPT’s assumptions and describes in detail how PPT exercises work in clinical settings. The paper summarizes results of pilot studies using this approach, discusses caveats in conducting PPT, and suggests potential directions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is widespread despite the controversy over its effectiveness. Although previous reviews have examined the demographics and attitudes of CAM users, there is no existing review on the traits or cognitions which characterise either CAM users or those who believe in CAM effectiveness. The current systematic review set out to address these gaps in the literature by applying a narrative synthesis. A bibliographic search and manual searches were undertaken and key authors were contacted. Twenty-three papers were selected. The trait openness to experience was positively associated with CAM use but not CAM belief. Absorption and various types of coping were also positively associated with CAM use and belief. No other trait was reliably associated with CAM use or belief. Intuitive thinking and ontological confusions were positively associated with belief in CAM effectiveness; intuitive thinking was also positively associated with CAM use. Studies researching cognitions in CAM use/belief were mostly on non-clinical samples, whilst studies on traits and CAM use/belief were mostly on patients. The quality of studies varied but unrepresentative samples, untested outcome measures and simplistic statistical analyses were the most common flaws. Traits and cognition might be important correlates of CAM use and also of faith in CAM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Randomised controlled trials are the gold standard in medical research and are challenging to conduct successfully since high numbers of participants are needed to produce robust results. Therefore, it is important to understand what motivates patients to participate in one, particularly in Reproductive Medicine where the conduct of RCTs is rare. Just as it is important to evaluate medical interventions, it is equally important that adjuvant therapies are properly assessed. There has been an increased interest in adding acupuncture to in vitro fertilisation (IVF) in the hope of increasing the chance of pregnancy and a live birth. However, evidence that acupuncture assists IVF outcomes is conflicted and insight into the experiences and motivations of infertile women is important. This paper describes how an invitation to participate in an RCT of acupuncture as an adjuvant to IVF was received by infertile women and how they processed their decision to participate.Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 50 infertile women recruited from the RCT sample cohort. Recruitment aimed for maximum variation in social demographics. The data were saturated. Data pertaining to the theme of motivations to participate in an RCT were subjected to semantic thematic analysis.Results: Two subthemes contained categories related to (a) the reasons women put forward for participation in an RCT, and (b) the rationale that underpinned and surrounded their decision. Women described themselves as active agents searching for a better outcome for their infertility or improved outcomes for women in the future. Their decision to participate in an RCT was motivated by factors such as opportunity, novelty and a value of science and was made after weighing various risks and benefits.Conclusions: The decision to participate in an RCT was an informed one. Infertile women in a stressful treatment situation participated in an RCT in the hope of finding a therapy to improve IVF outcomes for themselves and for other infertile women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper provides a review of the current knowledge relating to the health benefits of probiotics, specially focused on the effects they may have together with physical exercise on mood disorders and related chronic medical conditions.With both these conditions being a substantial contributor to the global disease burden, any alternative therapy must be considered. Probiotics influence the gut microbiota through a complex network of events which can influence mechanisms leading to development of mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. Similarly, through a complex interaction between psychological and neurobiological mechanisms, exercise has been found to play a key role in mood enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines a cultural politics of nationalism and alternative medicine in India. It investigates the rhetoric of a popular guru, Ramdev, who criticises ‘the West’ and promotes ‘homegrown’ yoga and Ayurveda for strengthening individual bodies and the body of the nation. I argue that the expansion of the Ayurvedic market in India and Ramdev's personal success are both based on discourses that interweave a neo-liberal quest for health with nationalist sentiments and consumerist desires. I show how yoga and Ayurveda—situated within narratives of citizens’ duty to consume the homegrown—have become political tokens of national belonging and biomoral consumerism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with a classical anthropological issue, the working mechanisms of rituals and the relation between healing rituals and the placebo effect. The point of departure of the paper is MUS (medically unexplained symptoms) patients’ experiences of Danish healing rituals. The aim of the paper is to develop an understanding of how bodily experienced images of body and self work to transform the patient during a healing ritual. It is argued that a bodily founded symbolic re‐editing of body‐ and self‐image is an essential skill in healing rituals. In conclusion, it is argued that the placebo is nothing but the effectiveness of bodily experienced symbols. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The concept of placebo has had a long history in medicine, and has evolved over time with the introduction of randomised controlled trials for testing health treatment, the increasing research done around the psychotherapies, the development of complementary and alternative medicine approaches to health, as well as the conceptual contributions from academic disciplines like psychology and anthropology. In recent years, discourses about placebo have pursued a number of key directions, and the current review paper explores these developments. For example, psychology has looked at placebo in terms of classical conditioning and the role of anxiety. Anthropology on the other hand has focused on the role of meaning and ritual in the placebo effect and psychotherapy research has encouraged an examination of the effects of the therapeutic relationship. Our review paper concludes by outlining directions ahead for future scholarship and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A phytochemical investigation of the EtOH extract from the aerial parts ofViburnum betulifoliumBatal. afforded four new tetrahydrofuran lignans, betulifolium A-D (1,2,4, and5), together with two known compounds vibsanol-9′-al (3) and sarcomeginal (6). This paper deals with the isolation and structure elucidation of the new compounds on the basis of spectroscopic methods, including 1D NMR, 2D NMR analyses and HR-ESI-MS data. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a strategy for the use of the labyrinth as an adjunctive feature of reality therapy (RT). The introduction of the paper overviews complementary and alternative practices and positions labyrinth work within this context. A literature review that includes brief descriptions of RT and the person-in-environment perspective, history of the labyrinth, and uses of the labyrinth for various purposes will be explained. A discussion of the walking and finger types of labyrinths that are useful for therapy will be presented. The stages of labyrinth work in the context of RT will be described. Implications for the use of the labyrinth as an adjunctive method will be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct moxibustion is an important and widely used treatment method in traditional medical science. The use of a mathematical method to analyse direct moxibustion treatment is necessary and helpful in exploring the new direct moxibustion instruments and their standardisation. Thus, this paper aims to use a mathematical method to study direct moxibustion in skin to demonstrate a direct relationship between direct moxibustion and skin stimuli. In this paper, the transient thermal response of skin layers is analysed to study direct moxibustion using the data got from standardised method to measure the temperature of a burning moxa cone. Numerical simulations based on an appropriate finite element model are developed to predict the heat transfer, thermal damage and thermal stress distribution of barley moxa cones and jujube moxa cones in the skin tissue. The results are verified by the ancient literatures of traditional Chinese medicine and clinical application, and showed that mathematical method can be a good interface between moxa cone and skin tissue providing the numerical value basis for moxibustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the differential incorporation of acupuncture and homeopathy into the medical establishment in Portugal. While the former has been incorporated into the medical establishment, the latter is still banned by the Medical Council, yet remains in practice by medical doctors in the country. Drawing on the insider viewpoints of medical doctors committed to these two therapies, the findings of this paper suggest that the rhetoric of insufficient scientific evidence of homeopathy still prevails within the medical establishment. However, two other factors were emphasised: the medical prejudice or 'resistance to innovation' of the Portuguese Medical Council and the idiosyncrasies of acupuncture and homeopathy, which have made them amendable to biomedicine (or not). This paper argues that the differential responses of the Portuguese medical establishment to acupuncture and homeopathy are due to reasons beyond that given of the medical rhetoric of insufficient scientific evidence for homeopathy, and which extend to issues of professional status and power. This paper suggests that the emerging commercial interest of the pharmaceutical industry in homeopathy's pharmacopeia worldwide could enhance homeopathy's status in the country and could therefore pressurise the medical orthodoxy to redress its position towards this therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychotherapeutic practices in India observes a paradigm shift with the current focus on the indigenous movement which has hit the discipline of Psychology like any other stream in Social Sciences and Humanities. The professional challenges and issues faced by the mental health professionals in this country has always revolved around on the 'uncanny' realm of myths, beliefs and religions as far as mental illness is concerned (Prasadarao & Sudhir, 2001). Efforts have been initiated in exploring the cultural and social roots of the health-illness constructs as well as debating on the possibility of 'integration' of these different philosophies. This paper is designed to understand the various therapeutic forms and processes in indigenous healing practices and to analyse the negotiation between indigenous healing practices and psychotherapy with special reference to Karnataka, one of the States situated in the Southern part of India. The study approaches the cultural landscape of Karnataka state based on a qualitative research design wherein in-depth unstructured interview of healers and mental health practitioners and systematic observation of some indigenous healing forms are adopted as methods of data collection. The paper concludes by looking at the challenges of constructing ethnospecific interventions in psychotherapy and the need to develop more cultural-specific theories taking into account the cultural history of the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a brief introduction to the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) sponsored research on the role of African, Caribbean, and South Asian traditional healers and their healing practices in Toronto. Ethnic minority groups, especially in the large metropolitan cities in North America, have been accessing and practicing traditional healing since the days of slavery using healing practices such as Animism, Voodoo, Orisha, Santeria and Espiritismo to support their health and wellbeing. However, the healers and their practices have been excluded from mainstream culture, and are forced underground as a result of the hegemony of Western medical models. This paper discusses the background, rationale and the context of the Toronto traditional healers project. The results and analysis of the Caribbean and the South Asian traditional healers are presented in this special issue following this introductory paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a comparative ethnography of the therapeutic practices at two different spa locations: Caldas da Imperatriz, SC, Brazil, and Termas da Sulfurea in Cabeco de Vide, Portugal. The comparison reveals the existence of contrasting 'explanatory models' held by the spa-goers as well as by the official medical systems. In the Portuguese context this model is highly medicalized; in the Brazilian case, spa treatments are viewed as 'alternative' or 'complementary' therapy and are also related to religious philosophies. Each model corresponds to a different idiom expressing certain experiences and world views, one focusing on 'pains' (dores) and the other on 'energy' (energia), the former leading to the rationale of 'curing', the latter to the notion of 'energizing'. In this paper the author intends to analyze and contrast the categories found in these models, which originate from different conceptions of health, illness and healing for Brazilian and Portuguese spa-goers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acupuncture and other forms of so-called alternative treatments, originating outside the West, have increasingly become an integrated part of the repertoire of medical practices widely used in health care remote from their places of origin. The main aim of this paper is to elucidate the cultural translation of Chinese medical concepts in a Western, acupuncture setting located far from China. Drawing on material from ethnographic fieldwork in acupuncture schools in Norway, this study discusses how concepts used in Chinese acupuncture are taught and interpreted for biomedically oriented students. The paper concentrates on the concept of jingluo ('circulation tracts', 'meridians') which the schools considered to be vital in order to conduct acupuncture. Similar to several other Chinese medical concepts, jingluo presents claims about the body that significantly differ from biomedical assumptions. The paper adds novel resources and insights to the research concerning medical conceptions, in that it applies the perspective of 'finitism' as developed in the field of sociology of knowledge by Barnes, Bloor and Henry (1996) in its analysis. It presents an analysis of five empirical examples demonstrating how a variety of interpretations of jingluo - many of them from different fields and some of them contradictory - were involved in establishing jingluo. Finally, by examining examples of Chinese concepts of the body, the paper seeks to contribute to the wider field of the anthropology of the body as well as to add to our understanding of the ways in which medical pluralism and globalisation of acupuncture unfolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The study is an exploratory study of a media event in Australia based on the publication of two separate systematic analyses of complementary medicine (CM) therapies. The objective of the study was to measure the scientific quality of Australian newspaper media reports about two international peer-reviewed research papers reporting results on complementary medicines published in biomedical journals during Feb/March 2007. For purposes of clarity, we refer to the papers as the ‘Antioxidant Study’ (Bjelakovic et al 2007) and the ‘Prenatal Multivitamin Study’ (Goh et al 2007). Methods: We sourced articles that were published about the two research papers in mainstream metropolitan and national Australian newspapers during February and March 2007. We then applied a model of analysis called the Index of Scientific Quality (ISQ) to measure the scientific quality of the news reports. Results: We identified 14 newspaper articles and one newswire article about the Antioxidant Study and two newspaper articles about the Prenatal Multivitamin Study. Of the seven ISQ criteria, ‘validity’ and ‘precision’ were rated the least adequate, ‘important consequences’ of the research were reported partially in the Antioxidant Study and wholly in the Prenatal Multivitamin Study, and ‘opinion from fact’ was adequate in the majority of articles. Conclusion: This exploratory study conveyed an overall inadequacy in the scientific quality of the newspaper reporting about the two CM studies in major metropolitan and national Australian newspapers. Whilst we found that journalists were careful to attribute opinions to their sources, their reports conveyed a very limited understanding of biomedical research methodologies and a subsequent incapacity to scrutinise these methodologies with rigour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the economic evaluation literature on pharmacotherapy for migraine and identifies important trends and gaps in the literature. Given the tremendous economic burden of migraine and the availability of various therapies for migraine treatment, economic evaluation of alternative therapies plays a critical role in identifying the most cost-effective therapy to optimize health care resource allocation and clinical decisions. Particularly, physicians and clinical administrators are expected to take an active role in resource allocation decisions at the clinical level. Thus, it is important for them to be familiar with the economic evaluation in migraine pain management, and most importantly, methodologies of economic analyses and the associated shortcomings of published estimates. In this paper, the methodological characteristics of these studies are examined and their results are compared and interpreted. Alternative treatment and health outcome measures are defined and data sources described while methods for assessing the direct and indirect costs are explored. Directions for future research are identified and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]