The journal of alternative and complementary medicine : research on paradigm, practice, and policy
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J Altern Complement Med · Feb 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialThe analgesic effect of thermal therapy after total knee arthroplasty.
Pain induced by surgery is a dynamic symptom, which may be quite variable even in the same surgical procedures. The purpose of this study was to investigate the analgesic effect of far infrared rays on the patients during the postoperative period of total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The selection and application of analgesic methods after the orthopedic surgery are therefore valuable for advanced studies. ⋯ This study demonstrated that the FIR can lower the NRS of pain and thus reduce the discomfort experienced by the patient. Findings indicated that effective application of FIR decreased the serum level of IL-6 and ET-1, which represent the subjective indicator of pain.
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J Altern Complement Med · Feb 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialHegu acupuncture for chronic low-back pain: a randomized controlled trial.
Acupuncture has long been employed for the treatment of chronic low back pain (CLBP). However, very few studies have characterized the effectiveness of the different acupuncture modes for CLBP. ⋯ Both acupuncture modes have beneficial and persistent effectiveness against CLBP compared with the usual care group; Hegu acupuncture is significantly more effective than standardized acupuncture, especially in the long term.
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J Altern Complement Med · Feb 2012
Utilizing mobile networks for the detection of clinically relevant interactions between chemotherapy regimens and complementary and alternative medicines.
Patients with cancer who use complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) in conjunction with chemotherapy treatment are at risk of manifesting anticancer drug-CAM interactions (DCIs), which may lead to negative therapeutic outcomes. This article describes a novel iPhone application developed for the Mobile Internet, called OncoRx-MI, which identifies DCIs of single-agent and multiple-agent chemotherapy regimen (CReg) prescriptions. ⋯ OncoRx-MI is the first mobile application of its kind that allows searching of DCIs for CRegs through 3G networks, and is intended to improve pharmaceutical care of patients with cancer by assisting health care practitioners in managing CReg interactions in their clinical practices.
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J Altern Complement Med · Feb 2012
Toward a topological description of the therapeutic process: part 2. Practitioner and patient perspectives of the "journey to cure".
The discourse of quantum theory has been used to describe (1) the homeopathic therapeutic process (in terms of three-way macro-entanglement between patient, practitioner, and remedy, called PPR entanglement), and (2) the homeopathic concept of the vital force. ⋯ The semiotic geometries representing practitioner and patient experiences of the therapeutic process ultimately converge. Where they differ is that in elaborating the patient's journey to cure, the practitioner's perspective may be seen as from the outside of a whole process. As it is the patient who ultimately is traveling this journey, the patient's perspective is necessarily from the inside, of stages or cross-sections of the whole process.