What the Hell is Integrative Medicine?
This is a question that has dogged me ever since I heard about this term from Dr. Andrew Weil in his tapes and lectures.
What is integrative medicine?
First of all, it is a term that defines itself in terms of something else. "Integrative medicine" is meant to "integrate" with Western medicine. I think so, anyway.
I hate terms that define themselves in terms of other terms. Especially when it has to do with holistic health practices, because we're supposed to be providing something that is truly different here, not just something that fits in like a puzzle piece to what exists now. That seems like a weak compromise we are making just so we don't make the Western medical establishment upset. Screw it! Say what you really mean.
That aside, the term is still troubling to me. Integrative medicine. In-te-gra-tive med-i-cine. Hmmm. To integrate is:
"To make into a whole by bringing all parts together; unify."
How does this apply to medicine? Well, here's how I see it anyway. Dr. Weil and others are saying, I think, that we need to integrate the "alternative" practices with the Western practices.
That sounds pretty good. So you go to a Western MD, and he says "Well, I think this drug is the best thing for your heart condition, but you should really see a massage therapist about that leg problem." Right?
But here's where I run into a problem. I think integrative medicine means much more than just a cute referral system. First of all, holistic practices do not base themselves on symptom=therapy. It's more complex than that. The holistic therapist wants to know what the cause is. And the cause is going to be coming back to the patient in terms of the therapy that the therapist practices.
For instance, if you go to a chiropractor, the underlying cause to that headache is going to be a subluxation (misalignment) in your spine.
If you go to an energy worker, the underlying cause of that headache will be a chakra (energy system) that is out of balance.
If you go to a...well, you get the idea.
So, my question is...How do we integrate these systems?? How do we integrate the Chinese meridian system with the Indian chakra system? How do we integrate the chiropractic manipulation system with the osteopathic manipulation system? How do we integrate the Western system which says the cure always comes from the outside to the holistic system which says the cure always comes from the inside?
I do not know the answer. I just ask the question.
If you've read this far, thank you. Thank you very much. You're a good person.
8:36:09 PM 
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