Bodywork Boston Massage

This is a glossary for terms and concepts being used in Alternative Medicine , an umbrella term for a large number of practices that fall outside the scope of conventional medicine.

A

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is the practice of inserting very thin needles in specific acupuncture points or combinations of points on the body.

Alternative medical systems

Alternative medical systems is the name of a NCCAM classification for those forms of alternative medicine that are built upon a complete system of ideas and practice.

  • Ayurveda
  • Chiropractic
  • Homeopathy
  • Naturopathic medicine
  • Osteopathy
  • Traditional Chinese medicine

Anthroposophical medicine

Anthroposophical medicine is a holistic and salutogenic approach to healing developed in the early twentieth century by Rudolf Steiner and Ita Wegman. Practitioners supplement the uniquely anthroposophical approach with conventional and homeopathic therapies and remedies. Anthroposophical doctors must have a recognized medical degree (M.D. or equivalent).

Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils and other aromatic compounds from plants to affect someone's mood or health.

Attachment therapy

Attachment therapy is a form of therapy aimed at children with alleged 'attachment disorders', usually fostered or adopted children. It is substantially based on outdated notions of suppressed rage due to early adverse experiences. Traditionally it uses a variety of confrontational and physically coercive techniques of which the most common form is holding therapy, accompanied by parenting methods which emphasize obedience. Following implication in a number of child death and maltreatment cases in the USA there has been a recent move away from coercion by some leading theorists and practitioners. It is largely unvalidated.

B

Bates method

The Bates method is an alternative approach to eyesight improvement and maintenance. It is based on the belief that errors in visual accommodation are due to mental strain, and that vision may be improved by appropriate relaxation techniques.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback is a form of alternative medicine that involves measuring a subject's quantifiable bodily functions such as blood pressure, heart rate, skin temperature, sweat gland activity, and muscle tension, conveying the information to the patient in real-time. The intention then being that the subject can control their own physiological functions.

Biologically based therapies

Biologically based therapies , is the precise name of a NCCAM] classification, for alternative treatments that use substances found in nature and/or some other natural therapy.

  • Chinese food therapy
  • Fasting
  • Herbal therapy
  • Macrobiotic lifestyle
  • Natural health
  • Natural therapy
    • Diet and Food
    • Dietary supplements
    • Exercise
  • Naturopathy
  • Orthomolecular medicine
  • Urine therapy

Biomedical model

The Biomedical model of health is a conceptual model of illness that excludes psychological and social factors and includes only biological factors in an attempt to understand a person's illness. According to this model, health constitutes the freedom from disease, pain, or defect, thus making the normal human condition health. The model's focus on the physical processes, such as the pathology, the biochemistry and the physiology of a disease, does not take into account the role of social factors or individual subjectivity. The model also overlooks the fact that the diagnosis (that will effect treatment of the patient) is a result of negotiation between doctor and patient.

Body work

Body work is a term used to describe any therapeutic, healing or personal development work which involves some form of touching, energetic work or the physical manipulation of a practically oriented physical and somatic understanding of the body.

C

CAM

CAM is an acronym for complementary and alternative medicine, an umbrella term for a large range of treatments and of theories on the nature of health and illness, many of them unrelated, which have in common that they are not commonly employed by the conventional medical establishment.

While some scientific evidence exists for or against some CAM therapies, for most there are key questions that are yet to be answered through well-designed studies, including whether these therapies are safe, whether they work for the diseases or medical conditions for which they are used, and whether the explanations proponents offer for them are correct.

The list of therapies included under CAM changes gradually. If and when CAM therapies that are proven to be safe and effective become adopted into conventional health care, they gradually cease to be considered CAM.

See also: List of branches of alternative medicine, List of famous people in alternative medicine, and History of alternative medicine

Chelation therapy

Chelation therapy is the use of chelating agents such as EDTA to remove heavy metals from the body. While in conventional medicine, chelation therapy is used only to treat heavy metal poisoning, some alternative practitioners advocate the use of chelation therapy to treat coronary artery disease.

Chinese medicine

The group of philosophies embodied by Chinese medicine are, more accurately, referred to as Oriental Medicine with roots in many different Asian countries. This millennia-old Asian medical tradition works to bring balance to the body through acupuncture, massage, Eastern herbalism, diet; and lifestyle changes such as martial arts and meditation.

Christian Science

Christian Science is a small denomination that teaches that Christian healing as practiced by Jesus of Nazareth and his followers for several centuries after him, was in fact not a short-term dispensation to induce faith but had an underlying principle (specifically God) and method. While its practice is regarded within the denomination as incompatible with medical care, it also respects the philanthropy of the medical faculty and is uncondemningly non-compulsory. Resort to Christian Science may be private or involve the care of a Christian Science practitioner.

Colorpuncture

Colorpuncture is an alternative medicine practice asserting that light can be used to stimulate acupuncture points for the purpose of balancing energy in the body and promoting healing and better health. It is also called color light acupuncture in North America. It is a form of color therapy. It uses light with pure color on acupuncture points and other gateways on the skin for healing and relaxation purposes.

Complementary medicine

Complementary medicine refers to treatments that are used alongside ("complementary to") conventional medicine.

D

Diet-based therapy

Diet-based therapy uses a variety of diets in order to improve health and longevity, to control weight, as well as to treat specific health conditions like high cholesterol.

  • Breatharian
  • Fruitarianism
  • List of diets
  • Living foods diet
  • Macrobiotic lifestyle
  • Okinawa diet
  • Ovo-lacto vegetarian
  • Raw foodist
  • Vegan
  • Vegetarianism
  • Low-fat diet
  • Low-carb diet (Zone diet, Atkins diet)

A survey released in May 2004 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine focused on who used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), what was used, and why it was used in the United States by adults age 18 years and over during 2002. According to this recent survey, Diet-based therapy as a form of CAM was to treat 3.5% of the adult population in the United States during 2002.

Doctrine of signatures

The Doctrine of signatures was developed around 1500 and claims that a plant's physical appearance reveals its medical value. The Doctrine of Signatures is often associated with Western herbalism.

E

Eclectic medicine

Eclectic medicine was a nineteenth-century system of medicine used in North America that treated diseases by the application of single herbal remedies to effect specific cures of certain signs and symptoms.

Energy medicine

Energy medicine is the name of a NCCAM classification, for alternative treatments that involve the use of veritable (i.e., that which can be measured) and putative (ie, that which have yet to be measured) energy fields.

  • Jin Shin Jyutsu
  • Magnet therapy
  • Medical Qigong
  • Reiki
  • Shiatsu
  • Therapeutic Touch
  • The WISE Method (Holistic Integrated Spiritual Energy)
  • Eden Energy Medicine - approach developed by Donna Eden

Exercise-based therapy

Exercise-based therapy uses a variety of traditional forms of physical movement, in order to improve health and longevity, to increase, lengthen & tone muscle mass, gain flexibility, as well as to treat specific health conditions and to relieve stress.

    <

    Boston Massage and Bodywork - Massage Therapy ...

    David Cobb, licensed massage therapist in Boston MA, specializes in deep tissue massage, structural integration / rolfing, sports massage, therapeutic massage.

    ...

    Massage Therapy: Find Massage: Profile for Restorative ...

    Massage Therapy: Restorative Bodywork Boston Massage Therapy - Capture the feeling of a day at the beach in only 60 minutes!

    ...

    boston therapeutic services classifieds - craigslist

    WONDERFUL THAI BODYWORK BY PAM, SASIKARN, MANDY, AND TEAM. - (boston) Asian Massage and Bodywork - (125 Main ST Stoneham) ****THE BEST THAI BODYWORK IN BRIGHTON,MA**** - (Boston,MA) pic

    ...

    BOSTON MASSAGE , FIND Licensed BOSTON Massage ...

    Massage Boston and professional massage. Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Seattle, San Francisco - Find Massage Therapists you can trust!

    ...

    Massage Therapy: Find Massage

    I am a recent graduate of The Cortiva Institute in Boston and recently licensed. I have extensive experience in bodywork and bring a variety of styles of massage to the table.

    ...

    Boston Massage and Bodywork - Massage Therapy in Boston ...

    David Cobb, licensed massage therapist in Boston, MA. ... David Cobb, LMT . Certified in Massage Therapy in 1996 (Bancroft School of Massage Therapy)

    ...

    CDF Therapeutic Bodywork - Boston, MA, 02116 ...

    CDF Therapeutic Bodywork Owner. CDF THERAPEUTIC BODYWORK was created by licensed massage therapist Craig Faucher in 2003 to help his clients heal from injury and reduce everyday pain.

    ...

    Restorative Bodywork - Boston Deep Tissue Massage ...

    Dorea D'Agostino's Restorative Bodywork is a blend of healing modalities - deep tissue massage/Muscular Therapy ... Placing in the top 3 in Channel 4's Best of Boston A-List for ...

    ...

    Boston Swedish Massage | Swedish Massage Boston ...

    Balanced Body Work provides massage and muscle therapy services in the Boston, Massachusetts area.

    ...

    CDF Therapeutic Bodywork/Craig Faucher Massage ...

    Welcome to the official Facebook Page of CDF Therapeutic Bodywork/Craig Faucher Massage. Get exclusive content and interact with CDF Therapeutic Bodywork/Craig Faucher Massage ...

    ...