Optimal Health with Multiple Sclerosis: A Guide to Integrating Lifestyle, Alternative, and Conventional Medicine

by Allen C. Bowling MD, PhD

Overview

The only source for reliable, evidence-based information on the relevance, safety, and effectiveness of alternative and lifestyle medicine approaches to MS treatment and the best ways to safely integrate them with conventional medicine.

In addition to conventional medicine, many people with MS also use some form of alternative medicine, and there is growing evidence and interest in the effects of lifestyle factors, such as diet and exercise, on MS. Yet, until now, it has been difficult to obtain unbiased information about the MS-relevant aspects of these nonmedication approaches. Optimal Health with Multiple Sclerosis provides the accurate and unbiased information people with MS, their friends and family, health care professionals, and educators need to make responsible decisions and achieve the very best outcome.

• Find other options that may provide symptomatic relief when conventional therapies are limited
• Learn about potentially dangerous interactions between alternative therapies and medical treatments used in the management of MS
• Identify alternative and lifestyle therapies that are effective, low risk, and inexpensive
• Recognize ineffective, dangerous, or costly alternative therapies

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617052088
Publisher:	Springer Publishing Company
Publication date:	10/20/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	600
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Allen C. Bowling, MD, PhD, is Medical Director of the Rocky Mountain MS Center. He is also the Director of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Program based at the center and a Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

Table of Contents

Contents

Foreword by Rosalind C. Kalb, PhD

Preface

How to Use This Book

Acknowledgments

Part 1: Introduction

      Alternative Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine

      Placebos and Nocebos

      Important Precautions About Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Lifestyle Medicine, and Multiple Sclerosis

Part 2: Optimal Health With Multiple Sclerosis: A Seven-Step Guide to Integrating Lifestyle, Alternative, and Conventional Medicine

      Introduction

      General Concepts

      Helpful Strategies

      Step 1: Disease-Modifying Medications

      Step 2: Diet, Dietary Supplements, and Weight Management

      Step 3: Tobacco and Alcohol Use

      Step 4: Physical Activity

      Step 5: Personal and Social Well-Being

      Step 6: Prevention and Management of Other Medical Conditions

      Step 7: Symptom Management

                   •    Lifestyle and Unconventional Therapies That May Improve Many Different Symptoms

                   •    Symptoms That May Be Relieved With Specific Lifestyle and Unconventional Therapies

                             Anxiety and Stress

                             Bladder Problems

                             Bowel Problems

                             Colds and Flu—Prevention or Decreasing Duration

                             Coordination Problems

                             Depression

                             Fatigue

                             Pain

                             Sexual Problems

                             Sleep Problems

                             Spasticity (Muscle Stiffness)

                             Thinking (Cognitive) Problems

                             Walking Problems

                             Weakness

Part 3: Types of Lifestyle and Unconventional Medicine

      Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine

      Alcohol

      Aromatherapy

      Aspartame

      Ayurveda

      Bee Venom Therapy and Other Forms of Apitherapy

      Biofeedback

      Candida Treatment

      Chelation Therapy

      Chiropractic Medicine

      Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency

      Colon Therapy, Detoxification, and Enemas

      Cooling Therapy

      Craniosacral Therapy

      Dental Amalgam Removal

      Enzyme Therapy

      Exercise

      Fats: Fish Oil and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids

      Feldenkrais

      Fiber

      Gluten Sensitivity and Celiac Disease

      Guided Imagery

      Herbs

      Hippotherapy and Therapeutic Horseback Riding

      Homeopathy

      Hyperbaric Oxygen

      Hypnosis

      Low-Dose Naltrexone

      Magnets and Electromagnetic Therapy

      Marijuana

      Massage

      Meditation

      Mindfulness

      Music Therapy

      Obesity and Weight Management

      Paleolithic Diets

      Pets

      The Pilates Method and PhysicalMind Method

      Prayer and Spirituality

      Probiotics and the Gut Microbiome

      Prokarin

      Reflexology

      Salt

      Tai Chi and Qigong

      Therapeutic Touch

      Tobacco and Smoking Cessation

      Toxins

      Tragerwork

      Vitamins, Minerals, and Other Nonherbal Supplements

      Yoga

Appendix 1: Ratings of Lifestyle and Unconventional Therapies

Appendix 2: Dietary Supplements and Herbs That Have MS-Relevant Side Effects or Drug Interactions

References

Index