Complementary Medicine

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• Webinar - Complementary Therapies for Pain Management
• Chat Transcript - Acupuncture: Not Just Needles
• Chat Transcript - Complementary/Alternative Medicine

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Acupuncture

 

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Yoga

 

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Yoga for Chronic Pain:  New Professional Curriculum Guide and Poster

APF has been addressing the chronic pain needs of older, disabled, underserved Baltimore residents through an innovative project using yoga for pain relief and fall prevention. Thanks to a grant from the Baltimore Community Foundation, medical staff at two Baltimore rehabilitation facilities were trained in basic pain assessment and treatment and the use of yoga as a tool to manage pain and increase self awareness. As a result of this project, a curriculum guide (notebook format and booklet format) was developed to allow health professionals, therapeutic recreation staff and other practitioners to replicate the program in healthcare settings. Additionally, a poster was created showing yoga poses that can be done while sitting. This has been an exciting project, reminding us again that complementary methods of treatment that teach mindfulness and awareness, and model caring and compassion, can be profoundly effective.

“When you’re sick or incapacitated, you lose a lot. I think you lose the respect and the quality of life. My disability is the [wheel]chair...but the mind has to exercise. Yoga and meditation stimulate the brain. Think about it, you are trying to regulate your breathing and that helps everything—the brain, the heart. After the stroke and before yoga, my lungs were weak. Breathing deeply helps my lungs. It helps the body and the mind in so many ways.”  Michael, a veteran living at a 292-licensed bed Geriatric Center and Hospital.

 

Last Updated: 08/11/09