What is Naturopathic Treatment?
Naturopathic treatment includes some or all of the following:-
- Dietary Analysis to identify Nutritional Deficiencies or Imbalances
- Manual Therapy e.g. Osteopathy, Massage Techniques
- Hydrotherapy, Hot and Cold Packs, Wraps, Poultices
- Acupunture
- Exercise Prescription
- Detoxification & Supervised Fasting protocols
- Complementary Therapies e.g. Aromatherapy, Reflexology
- Encourage Healthy Bowel Function and Elimination
- Herbal Medicine (where qualified)
- Electrotherapy (where qualified)
- Meditation and Stress Management programmes
- Lifestyle Advice (smoking, alcohol, drugs, work/life balance)
- Promotion of adequate sunlight, fresh air, sleep
- Breathing Techniques
- Postural Advice
- Hair, Nails Analysis
- Iridology & Tongue Diagnostics
- Orthodox Clinical Tests e.g Heart & Blood Pressure, Neurological exam, Urinalysis, Cholesterol checks etc
Naturopaths also recognise that:
- Health is more than the absence of disease. It is dependent upon a multitude of factors and is a reflection of a harmonious interaction with our environment.
- Acute disease processes are different from chronic processes. The acute response is the body’s attempt to restore health often through enhanced processes of elimination such as diarrhoea or skin eruptions. Suppression of such healing processes contributes to the potential for chronic breakdown.
- Disease processes involve activation of the body’s homeostatic mechanisms. Health is homeostasis - a dynamic equilibrium.
- The individual requires suitable foods for nourishment, clean water, fresh air and sunlight, as well as appropriate exercise, rest and relaxation
- Prevention is preferable to cure.
The defining elements of Naturopathic practise are that Naturopaths:
- Work with the body’s own self-correcting mechanisms or efforts to maintain homeostasis;
- Endeavour to address all aspects of the 'Triad of Health'.
- Regard education and co-operation of the patient as highly as treatment of the patient
- Address lifestyle factors which are contributing to the problem and re-educate the patient into a lifestyle more conducive to health
- Aim to establish health on a cellular level by improving circulation and enervation alongside nutrition, detoxification and elimination.