Health & Fitness
5 Integrative Medical Treatments That Can Improve Your Health
In addition to traditional medicine, Banner Health offers a variety of holistic treatments to help people heal.
Integrative therapy is a holistic approach to healthcare that treats the whole person — their mind, body and spirit, using practices that complement traditional medicine to help people heal and recover from illness.
As one of the largest, nonprofit health care systems, Banner Health offers integrative medical treatments that go beyond conventional medicine. Many people respond well to these integrative, complementary treatments because they help induce a sense of well-being while often relieving symptoms of the medical condition itself.
Banner Health facilities provide integrative medical treatments including:
Pet Therapy
Studies have shown that petting a dog can improve a person's blood pressure and heart rate. Therapy dogs can relax patients and help to calm a person who is frightened, upset, depressed or angry.
Dog therapists, as they're called, come in all shapes, sizes and breeds. They must be at least one year in age and certified through a national dog therapy organization before being admitted to Banner Hospital's Pet Therapy program.
Spending time with therapy dogs can have many benefits, including:
- Encouraging patient socialization
- Adding some excitement to the day
- Helping to reduce loneliness and depression
- Providing laughter and amusement
Many Banner Health facilities offer dog therapy. The programs are run entirely by facility volunteers and their well-trained dogs. Banner Health currently has about 100 dogs in their Pet Therapy programs.
Find a Dog Therapy Program Near You
Music Therapy
Music therapy sessions can help improve the quality of life for children and adults with disabilities or illnesses and are designed for individuals and groups based on specific needs. They may include music performances, music improvisation, receptive music listening, songwriting, lyric discussion and other types of learning through music.
Music therapy can have many benefits, including:
- Alleviating pain
- Decreasing anxiety
- Increasing relaxation
- Enhancing memory
- Helping patients improve communication and express their feelings
With Banner Health's Music Therapy program, a board-certified music therapist will assess a patient's emotional well-being, physical health, social functioning, communication abilities and cognitive skills. They will develop a music therapy plan based on those assessments.
Find a Music Therapy Program Near You
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is the practice of using the natural oils extracted from flowers, bark, leaves, roots or other parts of a plant to enhance psychological and physical well-being.
Some of the most common benefits of aromatherapy include:
- Relaxation
- Relief of Stress and anxiety
- Relief of minor discomforts
- Promoting sleep
Banner Health provides aromatherapy to patients to help with a wide variety of issues related to hospitalization and treatment. This integrative therapy does not cure major illnesses, but it can help to relieve many of the side effects associated with them such as anxiety, nausea and pain.
Find an Aromatherapy Program Near You
Massage Therapy
Massage Therapy is used to increase blood flow, relax muscles, relieve stress and revitalize the body. It can help in relieving physical aches and pains and also reducing stress, tension, pain, nausea and anxiety.
Banner Health Massage Therapy programs utilize a wide range of techniques. These include:
- Swedish massage — A type of massage using long strokes, kneading, deep circular movements, vibration and tapping to help soothe the nervous system and stimulate natural endorphins.
- Deep tissue manipulation and neuromuscular techniques — These techniques release long-held patterns of tension, correct posture and promote the healing of injuries and overused muscles.
- Trigger point therapy — A massage technique that focuses on relieving specific areas of tension and pain.
- Reflexology — A foot massage supporting the reflex areas of organs in the body.
Find a Massage Therapy Program Near You
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a means of adjusting the body's life energy by inserting fine needles into carefully selected acupuncture points. It works by increasing blood flow to speed healing and increase natural endorphins in the body.
Studies have shown that acupuncture — alone or in combination with conventional therapies — can be effective to treat:
- Addiction
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Digestive conditions such as gastritis, irritable bowel syndrome and hemorrhoids
- Emotional conditions such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, nervousness and neurosis
- Fatigue
- Fibromyalgia
- Gynecologic conditions such as menstrual pain and infertility
- Headaches
- Nausea and vomiting
- Osteoarthritis
- Pain
- Parkinson's disease
- Stress
- Stroke
Find an Acupuncture Program Near You
Learn More About Banner Health's Integrative Therapy Programs
More from Banner Health:
- How Pet Therapy Helps Patients Manage Stress And Anxiety
- 5 Ways To Be More Proactive With Your Healthcare
- How To Stress Less When It Comes To Keeping Your Family Healthy
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