What Is Integrative Health Care?

Have you ever wondered what integrative health care is? If so, this article will introduce you to what integrative health care professionals do and how clinics like Advanced Integrative Health Care Center in Dallas, TX, treat their patients in ways that are different from conventional health care practices.

What Is It?

This health providers is essentially the practice of treating a patient's mind, body, and soul with conventional and alternative medicine combined. Expert providing health care practitioners believe in channeling the body's innate healing response with vitamins, supplements, meditation, and herbal remedies, as well as using conventional medicine such as antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals when appropriate.

The basic idea of medical industry is that when both alternative and conventional therapies are used together, patients get the best of both worlds. Medical Industry doctors also focus on all factors that may influence health, including overall wellness of the mind, spirit, and body. This type of medical practice is often confused with naturopathic and alternative medicine. While health professional practitioners utilize many of the treatments and resources that alternative medicine practitioners use, they go by a philosophy that neither rejects conventional medicine nor accepts alternative therapies as the only option.

Alternative medicine practitioners, in general, do not believe conventional medicine to be a healthy or effective way to eliminate disease and illness. Many medical doctors also discourage patients from using alternative treatments and methods to cure illness. Integrative health practitioners fit snuggly in the middle of both practices.

How Disease Is Treated with Integrative Health Care

So how is a patient that has a serious illness such as cancer treated by an health providers? Again, these practitioners will utilize the appropriate conventional therapies in conjunction with alternative therapies. Most this health care practitioners encourage surgical procedures to remove cancerous tumors, as well as radiation, chemotherapy, and other conventional cancer treatments.

Because these treatments are known to cause a significant amount of damage to the body, integrative practitioners will likely suggest an immune-boosting diet, vitamins that are known to fight cancer, antioxidants that will help the body repair some of the damage done by radiation, and a realm of therapies for the mind and soul.

Cancer is a stressful and scary process. These medical practitioners believe that if a patient is overly stressed and isn't also focusing on the psychological symptoms of having cancer, their treatment may be less effective. This is why so many integrative health practitioners provide or suggest therapies like meditation, relaxation techniques, low-impact exercise, and counseling.

Integrative Medicine for General Health Care

Many patients prefer seeing an health practitioner for minor illnesses like coughs, fevers, and ear infections if they want to try and avoid antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals. An integrative health care practitioner will likely attempt to cure a minor illness with alternative therapies first, and if the illness persists, prescribe an appropriate medication.