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Investigating the potential benefits of complementary therapies in maintaining healthand well-being
Meditation is a form of complementary therapy and is the focusing of your mind for a
duration of time, recognising but not engaging in thoughts (EverydayHealth.com, n.d.). It is
practised in silence or alongside chanting and is done for different reasons such as religious
or spiritual purposes to create relaxation (EverydayHealth.com, n.d.). Meditation may be
self-taught or led by another person; and includes different types including focused
meditation, open awareness, compassion, loving-kindness and mindfulness meditation
(Cancer.Net, 2015).
Meditation can help with different disorders. One disorder it can help with is anxiety.
Meditation can improve anxiety by getting into a deep state of relaxation to help reduce
nerves (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2020). This is because during meditation you focus all your
attention and eliminate the jumbled thoughts that are crowding a person's mind causing
stress and helps increase physical and emotional well-being (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2020).
Meditation is known to bring a sense of calm, balance and peace (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2020).
A study included 276 patients and lasted 2 months long diagnosed individuals with anxiety
where ½ were given a common antidepressant and the other half participated in a
mindfulness-based stress reduction program(NBC News, n.d.). All groups reported
improvements with 20% reduction in symptoms of anxiety when the study concluded (NBC
News, n.d.). This study shows alternative options to medicine are as effective; However, side
effects were more reoccuring in the half with antidepressants and around 80% of individuals
experienced at least 1 side effect such as headaches and nausea (NBC News, n.d.). On the
other hand, 15% of people in the mindfulness group reported a side effect that was
increased anxiety (NBC News, n.d.). This shows that meditation is more reliable with not
creating more issues with side effects compared to orthodox treatments.
Another complementary therapy is acupuncture which is a treatment from ancient Chinese
medicine where fine/thin needles are injected at certain sites of the body for therapeutic or
preventive needs (NHS, 2019). In addition, the therapy involves stimulating sensory nerves
under the skin and in the muscles (NHS, 2019). Acupuncture is practised in NHS GP
practices and also in pain clinics and hospices in the UK (NHS, 2019). An average
acupuncture session usually lasts 20 minutes or up to 1 hour and involves an assessment of
your health, medical history and a physical examination followed by insertion of acupuncture
needles (NHS, 2019).
Acupuncture can also help with migraines. Migraines is a moderate to severe headache felt
as a increased pain on 1 side of the head (NHS Choices, 2019). Migraines can be triggered
by different factors such as caffeine,stress and insomnia; acupuncture has shown to be
effective in decreasing migraine symptoms and creating balance in the body by reducing
pain (Morningside Acupuncture NYC, n.d.). Acupuncture is effective in treating migraines
because it stimulates nerves and pressure points to decrease symptoms (Morningside
Acupuncture NYC, n.d.).
A study with randomised trials including 1484 patients compared acupuncture with orthodox
treatments to reduce suffering from migraines. Results showed at the end of interventions
there was a small reduction in favour of acupuncture for the number of days with migraines a
, month. Moderate effects of pain reduction favoured acupuncture. In conclusion,it was found
acupuncture is more effective and much safer than medication for a migraine.
How complementary therapies can maintain health and well-being.
The Alexander Technique (ALT) teaches how to help with posture and movement. This is
believed to help people reduce problems caused by unhelpful habits (NHS Choices, 2020).
Teachers of the ALT believe it helps to reduce tension in the body and relieve problems such
as sore shoulders and back pain and other musculoskeletal problems (NHS Choices, 2020).
However, there is minimal evidence to suggest the technique can help relieve asthma,
headaches, insomnia and osteoarthritis.
A study involving 579 patients suffering from chronic lower back pain where 144 were
randomised into normal care, 147 to massage and 144 into 6 Alexander technique lessons
and 144 ro 24 Alexander technique lessons (Little et al., 2008). A Roland Morris disability
score was used to track the number of days people are in pain for. Results showed that
exercise and lessons in the ALT remained effective at one year. Exercise after 6 lessons
achieved 72% effectiveness of 24 lessons alone (Little et al., 2008). Number of days
individuals were in pain was lowered after lessons and quality of life improved significantly
(Little et al., 2008). In conclusion, one to one lessons in the ALT from registered teachers
have long term benefits for patients with chronic back pain. However, only six lessons were
nearly as effective as 24 lessons(Little et al., 2008).
Hypnotherapy is an intervention of the mind and the body where hypnosis is used creating a
field of focus and increased suggestibility in treatments of medical or psychological disorders
(Wikipedia Contributors, 2019). After hypnotherapy you may feel different sensations such
as a deeply relaxed state of mind feeling refreshed and relaxed, after gradually bringing the
individual out of a trance-like state most people feel relaxed. However, hypnosis will not work
if you don't want to be hypnotised (NHS Choices, 2019).
Researchers had to locate different people from who could and couldn't be hypnotised as
only 10% of the population categorise as highly hypnotizable whilst others enter a trance-like
state (Williams, 2016). Spiegel and colleagues screened 545 participants and found 36 who
scored high on hypnotizability tests along with 21 controlled subjects who scored low
(Williams, 2016). Observing 57 participants using magnetic resonance which measures brain
activity by detecting blood flow changes with each person being scanned under 4 conditions
whilst recalling a memory during 2 hypnosis sessions (Williams, 2016). They discovered 3
hallmarks of the brain under hypnosis:
● First they saw decreases in activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate (Williams, 2016).
● Second, they saw increases in connections between the dorsolateral prefrontal
cortex and the insula, which he described as a brain-body connection that helps the
brain process and control what's going on (Williams, 2016).
● Third, they observed reduced links between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and
deflated mode network. This decrease in activity represents a disconnect between
someone's actions and awareness (Williams, 2016).
As a result, the findings on how hypnosis affects the brain shows a way of developing
treatment and how it can help with chronic pain- such as childbirth- and mental disorders -
such as anxiety.
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