Naturopathic Medicine
Holistically Oriented, Scientifically Based
Per the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, Naturopathic medicine is defined as “a distinct primary health care profession, emphasizing prevention, treatment, and optimal
health through the use of therapeutic methods and substances that encourage individuals’ inherent self-healing process. The practice of naturopathic medicine includes modern and traditional, scientific, and empirical methods.
Naturopathic doctors are educated and trained in accredited naturopathic medical colleges. They diagnose, prevent, and treat acute and chronic illness to restore and establish optimal health by supporting the person's inherent self-healing process. Rather than just suppressing symptoms, naturopathic doctors work to identify underlying causes of illness, and develop personalized treatment plans to address them.”
Naturopathic Principles
-
Primum non nocere - First do no harm, provide care with compassion and therapeutic alliance.
-
Docere - Educate patients to live harmoniously and empower the self-healing process.
-
Vis medicatrix naturae - Stimulate the healing force within.
-
Tolle totum - Treat the whole person, as an individual, including their symptoms.
-
Tolle causum - Treat the causes of illness as much as possible.
-
Preventir - Prevent progression of illness, as well as potential future diseases.
Therapeutic Order
1. Establish conditions for health - Create the lifestyle essential for health, including diet, exercise, social support, and spirituality suited for each individual patient.
2. Remove obstacles to cure - Identify and address environmental, physical, psychological, social, and spiritual obstacles to the cure of illness.
3. Stimulate the vital force - Evoke the self-healing force within. This can be done with exercise, hydrotherapy, homeopathy, and a variety of other modalities (eg. infrared sauna, phototherapy, prolotherapy, ozone therapy, etc.).
4. Tonify weakened systems - Strengthen weakened body systems and organs by supporting the metabolic and energetic pathways with diet, nutrient, energetic, oxygen, and botanical medicines.
5. Correct structural integrity - Support the physical and energetic structures that are essential parts of energetic and biochemical health.
6. Address pathology with low-risk natural and synthetic medicines - Directly address pathology with safe natural or synthetic substances, eg. turmeric, cramp-bark, thyroid hormone, etc.
7. Address pathology with higher-risk natural and synthetic medicines - Directly address pathology with higher-risk natural or synthetic substances, according to a risk-benefit analysis, eg. antibiotics, prednisone, belladonna, etc.
8. Surgically remove pathology - Surgery is generally reserved for advanced illness, due to the inherent risk of such a procedure, but is sometimes the best and quickest way to restore health (eg. abscess drainage, cancer excision, etc.). Although major surgery is not performed by Naturopathic doctors, many minor office procedures are performed in some states, such as cleaning and suturing a wound, draining an abscess, removing warts and moles, and other minor cosmetic procedures.
Treatment
We are able to provide a holistic assessment and treatment unique to the individual. Types of treatments include:
-
Education and counseling
-
Sleep and exercise counseling
-
Nutrition and detoxification
-
Herbal medicine and homeopathy
-
Physical medicine and hydrotherapy
-
Injections such as trigger point & perineural
-
Intravenous nutrient therapies and nutrient injections
-
Hormones and other pharmaceutical medications