Exploring Integrative Medicine - Wellness Warehouse
Many qualified medical doctors are opting to use traditional, holistic and complementary healing arts in their practices. They’re referred to as Integrative Medicine Practitioners and adopt an approach to healing that recognises the holistic and unique nature of human beings.
Integrative Medicine also focuses on the orientation of medicine from one of disease to one of healing. We ask Dr Sedicka Laskerywhy she’s so passionate about Integrative Medicine.
DID YOU KNOW? Integrative Medicine encompasses principles from Traditional Medicine where doctors practice an organic and intuitive medicine, where biochemistry leads to bio-energy, experiment to experience, parts to whole’s and individual organs to complex dynamic systems.
In Integrative Medicine practice, the practitioner and individual work together to find a management protocol that’s best suited to the person. It’s a protocol that investigates the cause of disease in a holistic way and supports health using the least invasive and most natural approach. Whichever healing system it uses, the important thing is that it focuses on the cause of the imbalance or disease. When assessing an individual it considers the mind, spirit, (higher consciousness - subconscious and super-conscious) and community as well as the body. Disease prevention measures and wellness initiatives are encouraged, and so are practices that stimulate the body’s natural healing mechanisms. Where possible, we use natural, less invasive interventions before costly, invasive ones. Integrative doctors are expected to follow their own healing advice and be open to self-exploration. Integrative Medicine acknowledges the art of medicine and looks at the body systemically, observing patterns, relationships, complexity, intuition and experience.
“lntegration is, in essence, about integrating many different healing disciplines to address health using a much more comprehensive model. Integration means supporting lifestyle cultivating balance and preventing disease,” explains Dr Laskery.
“I see humans as intensely complex with a host of causative factors that contribute to their unique set of circumstances. Everything about life, history, thoughts, the psyche, cultural observances, genetics, relationship factors, lifestyle, habits, inclinations, limitations and worldview can contribute to a frame of mind and body that emanate wellness or display disease symptoms. Integrative medicine is able to interpret patterns according to all these factors and give a much deeper understanding of a path to healing, says Dr Laskery. “It’s also highly satisfying to delve deeply into the intricate workings of each individual to find the best route to health that works with a specific lifestyle.”
Dr Laskery refers to Unani-Tibb, a natural system of medicine that looks at specific individual temperament that matches the best advice for individual tendencies. Some people are more suited to rigorous exercise, some to more gentler forms, certain people need more sleep than others, some might thrive on a certain diet whereas the same diet might be detrimental to another. Lifestyle is incredibly important; someone who is entirely sedentary might be getting sluggish and feeling ill simply from lack of exercise. Without exploring the length and breadth of a person’s lifestyle it’s impossible to find the best treatment plan to lead them to wellness.
Integrative medicine uses 3 main pillars when assessing a treatment plan.
The first looks at lifestyle and encourages managing things like: Healthy food choices; appropriate and sufficient exercise; keeping an appropriate weight-to-height ratio; the ability to process and remove toxins from the body; managing stress; finding a psycho-spiritual balance.
The second involves managing any underlying dysfunctions. Ailments and imbalances in the body can be indicators of impending disease. Dysfunctions always show up before disease. They might look like imbalances in the form of insulin resistance, nutrient deficiencies, under- or over-functioning glands, sympathetic or parasympathetic imbalance, too much or too little stomach acid, immune system imbalance, hormonal imbalance, pH abnormalities, metabolic disturbances and so on. Integrative Medical doctors look for tell tale symptoms before they manifest as disease and recommend interventions that work with the body’s own systems, to correct the imbalances.
The third pillar looks at treating disease. If preventative practices are followed, body’s own innate healing processes will correct the body’s deficiencies and imbalances and disease won’t manifest. Herbal, nutritional supplementation or homeopathic medicines are often used synergistically to initiate healing or drugs and surgery, might also be used to relieve symptoms. In the case of surgery or stronger interventions, natural remedies are also used to support the body’s own ability to heal.
“Lifestyle choices especially, have a number of acute and chronic diseases to answer to. I feel it’s highly important to help individuals understand wellness, what it means and take the initiative to be pro-active about their health. My aim is to encourage people towards a healthier balanced lifestyle and away from disease through preventative and holistic healing. So despite how fit we may consider ourselves or ‘nutritionally balanced’ we are all continuously exposed to toxins in both our inner and outer environment. Homeostatic mechanisms in the body, moderated through our biorhythms and natural cycles, make sure that healing is always present and functioning. Toxic interference, genetics and many more complex factors play a role in the patterns and levels of dysfunctions. That’s why we should all strive to overcome dysfunctions and work towards sustainable health.
Each individual needs their own structured and holistic approach”, says Dr Laskery. “Integrative Medicine supports our innate intelligence and works in unison to cultivate balance. The spectrum of disciplines and healing innovations is enormous but the greater power at work is bigger than we will ever understand or grasp.”
Healing disciplines used by Integrative Medicine:
African Traditional; Anthroposophical; Anti-ageing; Ayurvedic; Functional; Traditional Chinese; Unani Tibb.
Therapies used:
Acupunture; BEMER, BEST, Bio-puncture, Chelation, Energy, Flower Essence, Homotoxicology, Hypnotherapy, Intramuscular Stimulation, Intravenous, Kinesiology, Laser, Lifestyle changes, Live Blood Analysis, Meditation & Visualisation, Mindfulness, Nutrition, Ozone, Prolotherapy, Psycho-neuro-immunology, Psychophonetics, Quantec, Reiki, Rife, SCIO, Trauma Release, VoiceBio.
