What is energy Medicine???

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Heidi

What is " Energy Medicine " ?

By Dr. Don | January 6th, 2009

Energy medicine also referred to as energy healing, is a growing

alternative treatment that derives from the belief that the bodies

own energy can be used to improve and even cure disease.

What is fascinating about energy medicine is that it can be viewed as

the coming together of both spiritual and scientific traditions and

beliefs.

All cultures have had healers, medicine men (and women), and specific

beliefs about the cause of disease and how to treat it. The modern

day Western physician is just the most recent practitioner of

the " healing arts " .

A starting point in the understanding of energy medicine is to

understand that the body does indeed have " energy " . We are all aware

of the electrocardiogram (EKG) which monitors the electrical activity

of the heart. Electrodes are placed over the chest and the electrical

changes and cycles of the heart are recorded on a screen or paper

graph.

The heart is an electrical pump-it creates an electrical stimulus

that starts in a focal area of the heart and spreads out to the rest

of the heart in a very specific way.

The brain also produces electrical currents and these are measured in

the electroencephalogram (EEG).

Electricity is used in traditional medical treatments. We are all

familiar with the defibrillator and the electrical paddles that are

placed on the chest and charged to send a sudden burst of electricity

into the heart in an effort to " jumpstart " it. Electricity is used in

physical therapy in TENS units wherein electricity is pulsed into

muscle or nerve tissue in an effort to relieve pain.

Yet electricity is just one type of energy that the body possesses

and responds to. Other types of energy exist in both Western and

Eastern medicine.

One treatment based on Eastern beliefs about the body's energy is

acupuncture. Many Eastern cultures believe that the human body has

its own energy that is critical in health and disease. In Chinese

medicine this energy is known as Qi (or chi) and is best translated

as " subtle energy " .

This energy flows throughout the body via pathways known as

meridians. When the normally balanced flow of Chi is disrupted the

result is disease. In acupuncture very thin needles are inserted at

specific points along the meridians in an attempt to restore the

energy balance.

Acupuncture and other treatments based on " subtle energies " have been

found to be highly effective for various disorders.

Western medicine can't explain why or how " energy medicine " works but

that is a huge topic that we will address in future articles