A look at Western medicine’s alternatives
By Jacqueline Tabas
Feb. 2, 2010 10:56 p.m.
UCLA doctors and medical researchers will explain and demonstrate today why integrative medicine is becoming a popular alternative to treating patients.
Dr. Ka-Kit Hui, director of the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine and one of the coordinators of the event, said that other countries, such as China, began developing integrative medicine and alternative treatments 50 years ago. Even though the United States only started to use these methods 16 years ago, Hui has noticed that it has become a more rapid trend.
Integrative medicine treatments take into account the whole person when trying to prevent illness and facilitate recovery. Some treatments include mind and body therapies such as tai chi, acupuncture, meditation and yoga.
Patients like how integrative medicine focuses on not just healing the body, but the mind and spirit as well, Hui said.
“Not everything works, but we’re going to show that there is a science behind this (integrative medicine), and the science is showing that some things do work as well as standard treatments,”said Dr. Michael Irwin, director of the UCLA Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology and one of the speakers at the conference.
Showing the science behind integrative medicine is the prime goal of the conference. In the morning, doctors and researchers will present information on how integrative medicine can treat health concerns such as diabetes, aging, sinus problems and depression.
The afternoon will also give attendees the chance to learn about integrative medicine in a more hands-on way, with actual demonstrations of integrative medicine practices such as tai chi, yoga, meditation and acupuncture.
The speakers and coordinators of the conference will also stress why integrative medicine is a potential solution for patients living in this economic recession.
“Western medicine medical model is under a lot of tension because it’s not solving problems and its treatments are costly,” Hui said. “It’s our thinking that this integrative medicine model will keep them healthier but also do it in a more cost effective way.”
Ann Wagner, a UCLA alumna and a patient of Hui, had suffered from severe migraines and neurological problems from a car accident and at one point was looking into a dangerous brain surgery. Wagner said it wasn’t until she came to Hui and tried acupuncture and acupressure that she started feeling healthier.
“I grew up thinking Western medicine was the way to go ““ you feel sick, you take a pill,” Wagner said. “I think it’s important that we find ways where we don’t always have to have surgery or take medicine because sometimes there’s a better and less-invasive way.”
Speakers at the event also aim to educate people on the numerous resources UCLA can offer in terms of learning about integrative medicine, which they said would be worthwhile for UCLA pre-med students as well as any students.
“It’s a good opportunity for undergraduates to learn about what options are out there for their well-being,” said Dr. Lonnie Zeltzer, UCLA professor of pediatrics and speaker at the event. “There are a lot of negative effects chronic stress has on brain and body, and if you can buffer that by practices that make you more stress-resilient, that can have major consequences in a positive way.”
