Naturopathy takes a holistic approach to health and wellness. It encourages people to live a healthy lifestyle and stresses the importance of a healthy diet, exercise, and stress management. It also advocates for people to look after their own health, supporting the body’s natural capacity to heal, and balancing the body to lessen the likelihood of illness returning in the future.
If you’re interested in learning more about naturopathic medicine and how it can improve your health, the College of Naturopathic Medicine in Percy Circus offers in-class and online diploma courses. Here are some treatments used in the field that you can expect to learn more about.
Clinical nutrition and dietary advice
An imbalanced diet undermines the body’s natural ability to function well. This leads to a build-up of toxins from within which can then cause a range of illnesses. Naturopathy suggests eating only whole, fresh, and unprocessed food. Treatment of this type includes doing a full dietary analysis, allergy and sensitivity identification, and biochemical imbalance identification. This will then be addressed through dietary changes and nutritional supplements.
Herbal medicine
Naturopathy can treat a range of illnesses using botanical and herbal remedies that support the body’s natural functions. Teas, tinctures, and capsules of herbs are used to treat symptoms thanks to their multiple protective and supportive therapeutic benefits.
Homeopathic remedies
Homeopathic treatments are small amounts of natural substances used to stimulate the body. They are prepared according to a specific protocol which includes particular dilutions and mixtures. They are used to motivate the body’s self-healing process, for both short-term and long-term illnesses. It is also used for strengthening your immune system.
Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy or water therapy uses water as a means of relieving discomfort and promoting physical well-being. Hot water can stimulate the body to sweat and relaxes the muscles. It is a very effective treatment for poor blood circulation, arthritis, rheumatism, and sore muscles. It is often combined with aromatherapy which makes use of natural plant extracts. Cold water hydrotherapy stimulates the underlying muscles and improves the flow of blood.
Physical therapy
Physical therapy is a branch of rehabilitative health that utilizes exercises and equipment to improve patients physical well-being. There are different kinds of physical therapy as well. To name a few: massage, acupressure, bio-puncture, and mechanotherapy.
Acupressure is a method of sending signals to the body to invigorate its own self-healing mechanisms. This is done by applying pressure on the body’s acupuncture points. Bio-puncture is the injection of tiny amounts of homeopathic formulas beneath the tissue to relieve the body of acute pain. Lastly, mechanotherapy prescribes exercises as a way to promote the healing and rehabilitation of tissue through the physiological process of mechanotransduction.
Counselling
Naturopathy also deals with emotional problems and excessive stress which can interfere with the body’s healing process. Counselling techniques such as stress management strategies, talk therapy, and life coaching are utilized to help with this. Patients can expect to be counseled on healthier food to eat, as well as exercise and relaxation techniques.
The list of treatments used within the naturopathic field isn’t limited to just the ones on this list. The medical practice is wide and varied, and you would benefit from studying it in-depth.