Acupuncture is the process where thin needles are inserted into strategic, energy balancing points of the body. This ancient art, originally practiced by the Chinese has now gained a significant foothold in the US . The Mayo Clinic, a leader in alternative medicine techniques, says that acupuncture can “can prevent and treat nausea and vomiting and help relieve many types of pain, including that from osteoarthritis, low back pain, neck pain, headaches and post-surgical pain.”
Guided imagery, or visualization, is an integrative medicine treatment that involves imagining a soothing environment in hopes to reduce anxiety in patients who become claustrophobic during magnetic resonance imaging scans, who are having outpatient surgery without general anesthesia or who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, such as cancer. A study at the University of Akron found that women receiving radiation therapy who listened to guided imagery tapes once a day were more comfortable and less anxious compared to those who did not. During hypnosis patients are put into a state of deep relaxation while verbal suggestions are made to relieve anxiety, pain, tension headaches and insomnia. Studies at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City looked at 20 studies. In 80 percent of the cases, patients who used this form of complimentary medicine had less pain, used less pain medication and recovered faster.