I’ve been learning about energy medicine as of late. It has been quite interesting and in the beginning I was quite skeptical. I’m still reserved about it–mostly because it hasn’t been pounded through the scientific method or through clinical trials, but I think that’s it’s important to understand. Although there are many different energy medicine therapies I will only touch on some of the main ones.
There are two main types of energy medicine, veritable and putative. Veritable uses mechanical vibrations (like sound) and electromagnetic forces, which includes light, magnetism, monochromatic radiation (such as laser beams), and rays from other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Putative involves therapies that concentrate on the concept that human beings have an energy. This energy is believed to flow through the body, but there hasn’t really been scientific backing meaning the energy hasn’t been able to be measured by conventional means. Many that use this practice believe that when people become sick, diseased, have health complications, or have pain, it’s because their energy has been disturbed or blocked. Thus Putative uses therapies to help the energy to continue flowing.
Veritable Energy
Magnetic Therapy is used to help open up the microvessels of skeletal muscles. It is claimed that magnetic therapy treats edema (when parts of the body swell, specifically organs) and ischemic conditions (a restriction in blood supply–constriction of blood vessels); but the evidence for this is only anecdotal.
Millimeter Wave Therapy (MWT) uses electromagnetic waves on areas where there’s pain, disease, and wounds. There have been claims that MWT has decreased pain, treated some disease, and helped some wounds to heal quicker. There has been some evidence that MWT augments T-cells, but how T-cells are enhanced is unknown.
Light Therapy is the use of natural or artificial light to treat many different ailments–lasers, colors and monochromatic lights are also used. There has been anecdotal evidence as well that light therapy can help with seasonal affective disorder–which makes sense to me, who wouldn’t be affected by only having light for two hours a day and then being blasted by light for an hour or so.
Putative Energy
Acupuncture is a treatment that we’ve probably all heard of. Acupuncture consists of using needles or like instruments to puncture areas where vital energy may be slow or blocked. This therapy seems to be centered upon the neurotransmitters, but is also focused in other areas and it doesn’t necessarily validate that there is an energy.
Qi Gong is widely used in China. Qi Gong is based on body movements and regulated breathing. Every once and a while on my morning runs I’ll see somebody practicing Qi Gong, it seems very relaxing as they swing their arms and legs into different stances this probably helps their blood to flow much easier. The deep regulated breathing seems to also be very relaxing.
Therapeutic Touch is another putative therapy. Therapeutic touch is also know as the healing touch, Reiki, Johrei, vortex healing, and polarity therapy. All of these modalities involve the practitioner’s hands over the patient’s body, it’s believed that the practitioner can move and strengthen the vital energy appropriately. There have been claims that therapeutic touch therapy is able to help some overcome wounds quicker, migraines, and anxiety.
As mentioned there are not many clinical studies of these practices, thus much of what has been claimed above is through anecdotal evidence. Through my years of learning and experience I always prefer deep scientific study before practices or medicines are distributed, but I can see some benefits of some of these practices. This may be a no duh kind of a thought, but the light therapy makes complete sense to me. There are times when I’ve been in a dark room when somebody will turn on a light and I can actually feel my mood lighten, it’s amazing. I’m amazed that Alaskans or Norwegians can live where they live (not because of the place, but because of the amount of light in the winter). Maybe somebody can make light cafes up there where people can be blasted with light for a few bucks.
I also think that the touch therapy has some great value. There have been mounds of studies where infants were touch-neglected and because of such treatment it was proven that they had weaker immune systems and died at a earlier age then those that were touched (hugged, cuddled, kissed, breast-fed and so forth).
Although there may not be strong clinical studies behind these practices there is still some benefit for some of these practices and even if you do not use them, at the least it’s good to be educated about them… especially if you’re visiting Alaska in the middle of winter and you see a long line of Alaskans waiting to be blasted by light from the local light cafe.
Information gathered from: National Institutes of Health
Tags: Parkinson's, Putative, Therapies, Veritable
