Cymatics A type of sound therapy developed by the British physician and osteopath Peter Manners in the 1960s. Dr. (Sir) Manners continues to work in the field of cymatics and biomagnetics for med­ical diagnosis and treatment. He holds the Dag Hammerskjold Merit of Excellence Award for Ben­efits to Humanity, and he has lectured at the World Health Organization in Europe. The theory of cymatics, derived from the Greek word kyma, or “a great wave,” is based on specific sound frequencies that emanate from the millions of body cells. A healthy body’s sound frequency is stable, but in the case of illness, the frequency is increased or upset in some way. Practitioners of cymatics use machines that operate on frequencies that reflect a normal state to stimulate cells whose frequency reflects an abnormality or distress. A cymatics prac­titioner holds a pencil-sized or larger applicator that is connected to an electromagnetic device about the size of an attache case. Through elec-troids attached to the body, similar to electrocar­diogram leads, the practitioner then directs the sound frequencies to the distressed area of the body. To treat a painful muscle, for example, the frequency is supposed to correct the impaired fre­quency causing the pain. Certain practitioners also use “aquasonics,” which refers to sound frequen­cies transmitted through water, or other techniques in combination with cymatics to treat asthma, arthritis, a stubborn virus, and various muscu­loskeletal injuries and to relieve tension. Treat­ments are painless and seem to lack any adverse effects. Cymatic clinics are located in the United States, Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia, and other parts of the world.

Curanderismo A form of southwestern folk heal­ing performed by a curandero, or most revered healer, considered to have a gift from God. Curan­deros, males or curanderas, females, may be con­sulted for medical, emotional, social, supernatural, and spiritual problems. The curandero or curandera uses herbs, rituals, water, candles, countermagic, prayer, potions, hexing agents, Tarot cards, and other methods and symbols of healing, depending upon an individual’s problem. Curanderismo has evolved throughout history—a practice particularly popular among Hispanics and Mexicans in the Southwest—derived from the ages during which medicine, the church, and belie! in the supernat­ural were virtually interchangeable. Curanderos as private consultants offer help to people with prob­lems ranging from love relationships and financial difficulties to illness and the effects of “black magic” or “spells” cast by brujos (witches).

Crystal and gemstone therapy is derived from the Greek word krystallos and the Latin crystallum, meaning a lucid substance that has solidified, crys­tals and gemstones, which are precious and semi­precious stones, were thought by the ancients to be powerful, healing manifestations of electromag­netic energies of the Earth. During a crystal therapy session, crystals or gemstones may be held by the client or practitioner or placed in the room or on the client’s chakras, the energy circles along the midline of the body. Some claim they have been relieved of symptoms of wounds, back pain, and arthritis. There are at least 3000 crystal and gem-stone substances that have been identified as hav­ing specific properties and characteristics. For example, amethyst may be worn or held during meditation by a person who wishes to develop psy­chic ability or become more spiritual. To relieve stress caused by being unable to speak up about a problem, one may hold a piece of turquoise or aquamarine against his or her throat and concen­trate on relaxing and freeing the mind of resent­ment. Several crystals and stones have been associated with certain glands in the body. Clear quartz, for instance, may be placed on the fore­head, chest, and solar plexus; in the palm of each hand; and on the pubic bone during breathing exercises or meditation to help clear energy block­ages from the corresponding organs. Clear tourma­line has been used for benefit to the immune system, for general detoxification, and for eye and nervous system disorders. Silver is said to balance hormone levels, reduce lung and throat irritation, and help resolve sexual dysfunction. Wearing peri­dot is said to benefit the stomach and digestive tract. As folklore, crystal and gemstone therapy functions daily as part of the customs of our cul­ture; for example, an engagement ring harks back to the days when the ancients believed that wear­ing or carrying talismans put one in tune with uni­versal forces. Healers through the ages have used substances from the Earth to connect with healing power in conjunction with other relaxation and visualization techniques.

Crystal and gemstone therapy

Craniosacral therapy A system of therapy based on the idea that there is a rhythmic pressure and flow of cerebrospinal fluid between the cranium (skull) and sacrum (the base of the spine) that governs the way the craniosacral structures, including the brain, pituitary and pineal glands, spinal cord, and meninges, or membranes, func­tion and maintain the body’s well-being. In craniosacral therapy, Gentle hands-on “manipulation” of the skull’s sutures, that is, the delineations between the sections of cranial bone, and of the spinal column, rib cage, and limbs is reported to restore the flow and alle­viate disorders including headache, sinusitis, brain trauma, transient ischemic attack (called TIA, akin to a ministroke), strabismus (cross-eyes), trigemi­nal neuralgia (sharp pain in the jaw), asthma, colic,’ Bell’s palsy, posttraumatic stress disorder, rheuma­toid arthritis, dizziness, hyperactivity, visual distur­bances, seizures, postpartum depression, learning disabilities, ear infections, cerebral palsy, autism, and injury to the head, torso, arms, and legs.

The American osteopathic physician John E. Upledger developed Craniosacral Therapy (CST) alter conducting a team of researchers—physiolo­gists, biophysicists, bioengineers, anatomists, and others—at the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in the 1970s. Upledger decided that his main approach would involve manipulation of the meninges of the craniosacral system. In craniosacral therapy he theorized that cells and structures of the body have the capacity to “remember” physical or emotional shock, which manifests in certain areas he called “energy cysts.” In order for the body to function normally again, these energy cysts repre­senting suppressed painful experiences needed to be dislodged, released, or broken up both physi­cally and mentally; Upledger described the process as the technique of SomatoEmotional Release (SER). Upledger’s disciples often combine CST with SER, depending upon their patients’ individual needs. Craniosacral therapy is considered a type of energy medicine that targets the memory of past traumas the body subconsciously harbors.

In addition to Upledger’s meningeal approach, the sutural approach—manipulation at the cranial sutures—was developed by Dr. William Garner Sutherland, an early 20th-century osteopathic physician. There is still controversy concerning the ability of the cranial bones, which conventional medicine claims are fused together, to move at all, and also concerning the existence of a craniosacral rhythmic impulse. However, there is some scien­tific and clinical evidence that supports Suther­land’s treatment, originally known as cranial osteopathy. Another type of craniosacral therapy, called the reflex approach, combines the tech­niques of applied kinesiology with the stimulation of nerve endings located within the cranial sutures and in the scalp. A combination of all three approaches is the Sacro-Occipital Technique (S.O.T.), which was developed by Dr. Major B. DeJarnette, a chiropractor and in the 1920s a stu­dent oi Sutherland’s.

Because craniosacral treatments consist of light palpations, as opposed to chiropractic adjustments or more vigorous forms of bodywork, critics claim it cannot be effective. However effective or harm­less the therapy may be, it may not be recom­mended for young children or anyone with a dysfunction that affects intracranial pressure, such as a brain tumor or an aneurysm.

Combination remedies – In homeopathy, a mixture of remedies, often at low potency levels, for the treatment of an ailment, akin to the concept of broad-spectrum antibiotics when a particular micro­organism is not identified or readily identifiable.  Combination remedies

Color therapy A therapeutic method that origi­nated in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Babylonia, and China after the recognition that sunlight ther­apy relieved skin disorders. Therapy evolved into the use of colored light (red and infrared) for lesions caused by smallpox and German measles. Dr. Peter Mandel, a German naturopathic physi­cian, developed Colorpuncture, which combines the use of acupoints and meridians of acupuncture with wavelengths of colored light, according to an individual’s needs. For example, he believes in color therapy reds, oranges, and yellows strengthen or stimulate acu­points, and greens, blues, and violets subdue them. Mandel also theorizes that the flow of qi (ch’i) throughout the body along the meridians, or chan­nels, works with color and light in/ the same way a fiberoptic network operates.

In Ayurvedic medicine, each chakra, or energy circle, of the body along the vertical midline has attributed to it a specific color, a concept that embraces the link between the body’s electromag­netic vibrations and wavelengths of color. In the practice of feng shui, or the Chinese art of place­ment, color plays a major role in the way an envi­ronment and the people in it are affected by colors. There are various techniques involving the use of color as therapy for both physical and emotional problems.

Because color emanates from daylight, a combi­nation of the eight colors of the spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, turquoise, and magenta) and the radiation inherent in sunlight, many color therapists believe that certain colors correspond with mental, emotional, and physical problems, such as insomnia, depression, behavioral problems, pain, anxiety, asthma, and stress-related ailments. Each color also has its own vibrational fre­quency and therefore can affect the body’s sense of well-being and balance. A therapist for color therapy may administer light treatments, during which a patient is given a white robe to wear under a light machine with stained-glass filters for about 20 minutes. This may also include the therapist’s use of draping colored materials around the patient or using a quartz crys­tal torch through which light filters. The colors of one’s clothing, foods, and personal environments play important roles in color therapy, and the ther­apist may suggest variations from current choices. Excessive use of one color in color therapy is said to affect one’s health adversely. Red, for example, is reported to lower resistance to pain, raise blood pressure, and affect embryonic cell structure during pregnancy. When blue light, on the other hand, was focused on the hands of 60 middle-aged women at the San Diego State University School of Nursing in 1982, the women experienced a certain amount of pain relief from their rheumatoid arthritis. Other studies, such as one concerning sufferers of migraines, have also been conducted using colored light in color therapy.

Colonic irrigation The process of injecting enough water (to which herbs or enzymes may be added) through a tube into the colon to fill and cleanse it, also known as an enema, rectal, or clysis. In certain alternative and complementary medicine practices, colonics are used to detoxify the intestinal tract and treat a wide variety of dis­orders, including hypertension, heart disease, arthritis, depression, and infections. The method evolved from the days before antibiotics had been developed to fight infection, when emptying the bowels was considered therapeutic for a number of ailments. In ancient Greece and Egypt, as well as in Ayurvedic medicine originating in India, colonic irrigation were regarded as rejuvenating. During the 1920s and 1930s, inducing bowel movements became a fad treatment called “high colonics.” One of the most prominent colonic therapists was John Harvey Kellogg, who treated thousands of patients with gastrointestinal disorders at the Kel­logg Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan. Kel­logg later founded the Kellogg cereal company in Battle Creek.

The basic concept of colonic irrigation as therapy is to exacerbate the natural process of eliminating toxins and digestive waste materials from the colon and rectum. Colonic irrigation enthusiasts believe a buildup of waste materials impedes normal elimination and therefore impedes the immune system and blood­stream. Irrigation may, however, damage the colon by perforating it or injecting amounts of fluid great enough to stretch the bowel out of normal propor­tion and thus impair its ability to function. In addi­tion, colonics may deplete the body of enzymes and normal colonic flora that keep the intestines func­tioning normally, particularly in their ability to fight microbial invasion. Contaminated irrigation equipment may also cause potentially life-threat­ening infections such as amebic dysentery. Colonic irrigation is not recommended for individuals who have Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, rectal or colon tumors, or ulcerative colitis. Also, undiagnosed intestinal disorders that require con­ventional treatment may be aggravated by irriga­tion procedures. More information is available by contacting the International Association for Colon Hydrotherapy, P.O. Box 461285, San Antonio, TX 78246-1286, or(210) 366-2888.

Chiropractic is a widely acclaimed mainstream alternative discipline, dating back to ancient Egypt and other early civilizations, which is based on hands-on manipulations, or “adjustments,” of the spinal cord. Modern chiropractic took root in the theory expressed in 1895 by Daniel David Palmer, of Davenport, Iowa, who advocated the teachings of Hippocrates and believed that all illnesses had their sources in the spine and the nervous system. According to chiropractic, a term derived from the Greek words cheir and praktikos, meaning “done by hand,” when vertebrae are subluxated, or dislocated or misaligned, the person experiences any number of ailments, including allergy, headaches, skin con­ditions, back pain, sciatica, vision and hearing prob­lems, muscle spasms, asthma and other respiratory disorders, peripheral joint injuries, osteoarthritis, herniated disk, and various other musculoskeletal disorders, bursitis, morning sickness related to pregnancy, menstrual problems, sinusitis, whiplash, otitis media, insomnia, colic, bladder infections, carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive stress disorders, scoliosis, depression, addiction, and other dysfunctions.

Chiropractors also work with the concept of the body’s innate intelligence and ability to heal. Palmer suggested that innate intelligence flowed throughout the nervous system—which corre­sponds and communicates with every other part of the body—and could be blocked by a subluxation. When the subluxation is relieved, the body has the opportunity to heal itself. This form of chiropractic, now referred to as “straight,” adheres to Palmer’s original idea of performing only spinal manipula­tion. “Mixed” chiropractic refers to spinal manipu­lation and other forms of treatment, including nutritional and exercise counseling, traction, orthotics, ultrasound, diathermy, cryotherapy, massage, and physiotherapy.

The Canadian-born Dr. Palmer, who eventually founded the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Iowa, first reported that after he had performed spinal manipulation on a patient who had been deaf for 17 years, the man’s hearing was restored. Apparently the man had a subluxated vertebra that corresponded to an injury he had suffered to his upper spine just before he lost his hearing. Palmer adjusted that specific area, thereby correcting the blockage in the nerves that caused the deafness. The college’s first graduates were medical doctors who were convinced of Palmer’s philosophy, and case after case seemed to support chiropractic’s suc­cess despite the fact that there has long been a dearth of scientific study to prove its fundamental principles to the conventional medical community. The New Zealand Royal Commission of Inquiry into chiropractic in 1979 noted, among many, the case of “Duncan C.” Duncan, an active, easygoing boy of 11, from February 1977 complained of stiff knees. The stiffness progressed rapidly to his hips and all joints. His doctor saw no active disease in

Duncan’s system or joints and recommended 300 milligrams of aspirin four times daily for sympto­matic relief. But the pain progressed until the child cried, was unable to dress himself, and was stooped over as if he was an elderly man.

Further hospital test findings proved negative. Emotional trauma was suggested as the cause of Duncan’s pain, but no explanation was found there, either. The boy’s desperate parents finally took him to a chiropractor. After the first adjustment, Duncan felt sick. Three hours later, however, Duncan was walking “without my knees flapping together,” he said. By the next day, his hands were pain-free. After each adjustment, Duncan made considerable progress until he was totally back to normal. He described as a “numb” feeling the absence of the pain to which he had grown accustomed.

Since chiropractors are trained to advise patients when to seek conventional medical care and because there is overwhelming anecdotal evidence of success of chiropractic as an alternative or com­plementary modality, the spring 1982 issue of the International Review of Chiropractic stated: “The Supreme Court has upheld the right of medical doctors to form partnerships or engage in group practice with alternative health care providers, such as chiropractors.” An estimated 30 million people in the United States seek and receive chiro­practic treatment, and many leading insurance providers include visits to a chiropractor in their coverage plans. A commonsense and holistic approach with an emphasis on prevention and wellness, chiropractic is considered the second-largest primary-health-care field in the world.

Chiropractic adjustments are given during office visits and are considered safe, painless, and nonin­vasive. Patients may be lying supine or prone or sit­ting up, depending upon which type of adjustment is appropriate. One’s first visit to a chiropractor often requires acute care (the first level of chiropractic), that is, relief of aggravating symptoms or pain. The second level is the restorative phase, which involves maintenance of the realigned spinal column through individualized, repeated adjustments. The wellness phase, or third level of chiropractic care, entails peri­odic visits to prevent occurrence of new subluxa­tions. More information is available by contacting the  American  Chiropractic Association

Chinese herbalism is a segment of ancient Chinese medicine that focuses on plants and natural sub­stances as sources of relief for medical and psycho­logical problems. Because the whole plant contains the active ingredients, and because various herbs and other substances may be blended, side effects are minimized or eliminated and results are often enhanced. Chinese herbs—which include plant, mineral, and animal substances—are also meant to treat the root of one’s condition rather than just target symptoms or potentially create additional problems by using one specific drug. Since the mythic sage Shen Nung experimented with and codified medicinal herbs 300 years ago, herbalism has become a highly sophisticated, intricate, and systematized practice that involves more than 6000 substances prescribed by practitioners. Each sub­stance in Chinese herbalism has certain qualities and properties that address the body constituents (qi [ch'i], moisture, and blood), organ networks, and what are known as “adverse climates”: wind, heat, cold, dryness, and dampness. Herbs are categorized according to their nature (warm, cool, or neutral), taste (sour, bitter, sweet, salty, spicy, or bland), configuration (shape, texture, moisture), color, and properties, that is, their ability to relieve a particular ailment. An herbal substance may tonify, or strengthen; consolidate, or condense, astringe, or help concen­trate energy, and so on; disperse, or help circulate; or purge, or eliminate, depending upon the diag­nosis. For example, in Chinese herbalism, since ginseng is a “broad-spec­trum” tonic for any deficiency of qi, codonopsis augments the qi very specifically in the spleen and lungs to treat ailments such as anemia, dehydra­tion, and fatigue. Another herb, Scutellaria, which purges heat from the lungs and liver, is used for the treatment of jaundice and infections.

Chinese herbalism, which now has entered mainstream American alternative and complemen­tary medicine, is often used in conjunction with conventional Western drugs and treatments. Indi­viduals with asthma, for example, may be on a reg­imen of theophylline and other bronchodilators; rather than extend the intake to steroids when the bronchodilators are not effective enough to relieve symptoms, certain Chinese herbs can help reduce mucus production and strengthen the body’s qi so the need for other medications may be reduced. A person with an ulcer who takes traditional antacids may be further relieved by Chinese herbs and Chinese herbalism that fight heat and dampness in the stomach, help the liver to relax, and decongest impaired flow of qi. In gen­eral, Chinese herbalism recognizes remedies for ill­ness but interprets illness as an imbalance of body constituents that may show up as patterns consist­ing of both physical and emotional symptoms. An important aspect of Chinese herbalism is correct diagnosis of a patient’s problem; customized herbal treatment of the problem can conquer an entire spectrum of dysfunction. Common Chinese herbs are astragulus, lotus seed, nutmeg, walnut, ginger, cinnamon, radish seed, angelica root, schizandra, poria cocos, licorice, peony, chrysanthemum, ligus-ticum, honeysuckle, mulberry, raspberry, mustard seed, dianthus, plantain, motherwort, turmeric, myrrh resin, hawthorn, red and black dates, ephedra root, artemisia leaf, agrimony, magnolia, corn silk, corydalis root, peach seed, salvia root, fennel seed, coptis root, dandelion, sargassum, mil-lettia stem, cordyceps, peppermint leaf, sileris root, gardenia, clove, cardamom seed, and unicaria stem. Chinese herbal substances also have Chinese and botanical names.

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Chelation therapy

Derived from the Greek word chele, which means “to bind” or “to claw,” (ubkywjgscn) a method of detoxifying the body, particularly of unwanted metals such as lead, iron, copper, zinc, aluminum, and manganese. Through a process that includes the removal of calcium in plaque that occludes arteries, chelation therapy is reported to restore blood circulation and therefore counteract gan­grene, leg cramps, and other vascular disorders; treat Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, muscu­lar dystrophy, asthma, macular degeneration, chronic fatigue syndrome, ulcerative colitis, emphy­sema, thyroid problems, scleroderma, viruses, lupus, and Parkinson’s and other diseases; and reduce the adverse effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy and the need for bypass surgery. The three- to four-hour procedure involves an intravenous (IV) injection of ethylenediaminete-traacetic acid (EDTA) into the hand or a finger. As a treatment for occluded arteries, chelation therapymay be necessary 20 to 50 times, to as many as 100 infu­sions of EDTA; as a preventive measure, the typical number of infusions is 10, administered one to three times a week. The IV solution may also con­tain supplements such as vitamins and minerals, as well as gingko biloba and phosphatidylserine, both of which act as chelators one may take orally as well.

So far, although it is considered safer than aspirin, EDTA has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration only for lead and other heavy metal poisoning and the treatment of hypercal­cemia (an excessive amount of calcium in the blood). Chelation therapy remains controversial as an alternative treatment of other disorders, although some physicians prescribe it for individu­als with cardiovascular problems and claim that it does in fact improve circulation and relieve the symptoms of arteriosclerosis that can lead to more serious problems. Other physicians argue that EDTA is incapable of permeating the arteries’ cell membranes and consequently cannot reach a cal­cium accumulation effectively enough to clear it out. Furthermore, some say the chelation of iron increases the body’s production of free radicals, compound substances that cause oxidation and damage bodily tissues.

A substance originally familiar to plumbers for removing calcium deposits from pipes, EDTA was first used therapeutically by the United States Navy to treat lead poisoning in 1948. Somewhat less effective than intravenous administration, oral chelation involves combining EDTA with other chelators, including garlic, vitamin C, carrageenan, rutin, bromelain, and certain enzymes. The enzyme cysteine, for example, may be prescribed for nickel poisoning and presence of excessive free radicals. Also, the action of the drug penicillamine, used as a conventional treatment of several ail­ments, including metal poisoning and rheumatoid arthritis, is similar to that of EDTA.

A study on chelation therapy was conducted in 1958 in Switzerland to determine the effectiveness of EDTA chelation therapy as a preventive measure against cancer. The 231 adults in the study lived near a heavy-traffic highway that may have been exposing them to lead from vehicle exhaust, to which exposure was attributed high rates of cancer mortality and symptoms including headaches, drug and alcohol abuse, digestive problems, depression, fatigue, and anxiety.

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