Alternative Medicine and Spinal Cord Injury - Beyond the Banks of the Mainstream

226 Pages·2005·2.15 MB·English

by  Laurance Johnston

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Alternative Medicine
and Spinal Cord Injury
Cristian 00 7/6/05 9:40 AM Page ii
Alternative Medicine
and Spinal Cord Injury
Laurance Johnston, Ph.D.
New York
Demos Medical Publishing, LLC, 386 Park Avenue South,
New York, New York 10016
Visit our website at www.demosmedpub.com
©2006byDemosMedicalPublishing,Inc.Allrightsreserved.This
book is protected by copyright. No part of it may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other-
wise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
With permission from the publisher, much of the information in
this book was adapted from an ongoing series of articles published
in PN/Paraplegia News magazine.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Johnston, Laurance.
Alternativemedicineandspinalcordinjury/LauranceJohnston.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-932603-50-6 (alk. paper)
1. Spinal cord—Wounds and injuries—Alternative treatment.
2.Spinalcord—Woundsandinjuries—Patients—Rehabilitation.
3. Alternative medicine. I. Title.
RD594.3.J646 2005
617.4'82044—dc22 2005006521
Printed in Canada.
The purpose of this bookis to provide information to readers
so that they can make more informed decisions about their
own healthcare. It should not be construed as medical advice
and readers should always consult with their doctors.
Contents
Foreword ix
Acknowledgments xi
Preface xiii
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. EASTERN HEALING 13
Acupuncture 13
Acupuncture and SCI 18
Scalp Acupuncture 20
Qigong 25
Ayurveda 31
3. LASER-BASED THERAPIES 39
Laser and Laserpuncture Therapy 39
Laser Acupuncture for Carpal Tunnel 43
Syndrome and Hand Spasticity
4. NATURAL HEALTH AND VIBRATIONAL 51
HEALING
Homeopathy 51
Herbal Medicine 60
Aromatherapy and Essential Oils 67
Flower Essences 75
Edgar Cayce’s Vision: The Golden Touch 81
vii
viii CONTENTS
5. BODYWORK 89
Chiropractic Healing 89
Craniosacral Therapy 96
Chronologically Controlled Developmental 101
Therapy
6. DOLPHIN-ASSISTED THERAPY 105
Is There a Dolphin in the House? 105
7. ELECTROMAGNETIC HEALING 113
Magnetic Healing: Overview 113
Pulsed Electromagnetic Therapy: Diapulse 119
Ferrite-Ring Magnets 124
8. INDIGENOUS HEALING 129
Native-American Healing: Part 1—Philosophy 129
Native-AmericanHealing:Part2—HealingModalities 134
9. PRAYER, CONSCIOUSNESS, ENERGY, AND 143
SPIRITUAL HEALING
Part 1: Spirituality and Health 143
Part 2: How Spirituality Can Promote Physical 149
Healing
Mind Instruction: Consciousness-Based Healing 155
10. SCI HEALTH PROBLEMS 165
Natural Urinary Tract Health 165
Natural Prostate Health 171
Nutritional and Botanical Approaches to Diabetes 175
Creating Strength Through Creatine 182
11. THE PARADIGM EXPANDING 191
Inert-GasTherapy:ANewHealingEnergyforSpinal 191
Cord Injury?
Index 201
Dedication
ThisbookisdedicatedtotheParalyzedVeteransofAmerica(PVA),
whose assistance and association over the years have been greatly
appreciated.AlthoughI haveworkedforsomeof thenation’sfore-
most public-health agencies, none have had more heart and soul
than PVA.
Edmund Burke, the 18th-century English philosopher, stated:
“Society is a contract....It is a partnership in all science, a partnership
in all art, a partnership in every virtue and in all perfection. As the ends
of such a partnership cannot be obtained in many generations, it becomes
a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those
who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born.”
Bybuildingonthecontributionsofthosewhohavegonebefore
with a commitment to future generations, PVA has always demon-
strated a commitment to this social contract.
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