What alternative therapies have people tried?

[flowergirl]

Following a very interesting thread in the cafe area about Bach flower remedies I thought I would start a new thread to discuss the various therapies out there, what people have tried and what they thought of the results.

Hopefully it will highlight some options for those who would like to try different things etc...

So has anyone had experiance of the Bowen technique? shiatsu? reiki? faith healing? Crainel osteopathy? Aromatherapy? Accupunture? magnetic therapy? Homeopathy? Herbs? Alexander techique? etc etc..

 

[amylou_84]

Well my mum practices reflexology, indian head massage and is also into reiki. She likes all those type of things. her main goal is to set up her own practice and do those treatments. After she retires though. She is a nurse.
My mum has practiced all three on me but im not a very good subject as i like my own personal space and find the head massage and reiki a little intrusive! the reflexology was also a waste of time as i have very sensitive feet! However i did enjoy the shoulder massage part of the indian head massge
I have also been hypnotised. i have a slight stammer and it was quite bad when i was a kid and my mum being into alternative medicine brought me to a hypnosis (if thats what you call them) and i was hypnotised. It didnt really work to cure me of my stammer, not that there really is a cure for it, but it did release some very pent up emotions about it that i didnt know i had.
I think i was just very very relaxed, rather than hypnotised. It felt really wierd though!

Amy

 

[chapsi]

I am a convert to alternative medicines (as they are addressed in the country). I DO NOT trust conventional medicine, much less our doctors.

I use an american chiropractor for my back problems. They were a God send when I had a fall 2 years ago and twisted a vertebrae.
I've used homeopathy and aromatheraphy in the past. I got on well with homeopathy, although the results weren't as good as I expected.
As regards aromatheraphy, my husband uses it for almost everything. My father-in-law, who was 82 and suffered from cancer in the prostate was helped by aromatheraphy, his tumour stopped growing, he started to sleep better and eventually when he was operated it was a success much to the doctors surprise. In his final year, his hands used to swell due to a lymphatic malfunction. Whenever I did on him reflexology foot massage, his hands reduced almost back to normal.
BFR are also know to me. I've used them to overcome my fear of riding. They helped, but did not cure it. But I am going to have another go soon.

Currently I undertake a treatment that combines acupuncture and chinese phytotheraphy with excellent results. My nervous system and emotional balance have improved a lot. For both my husband and I it is a relief. No more bad temper or mood swings.

Finally, as regards my horses, quite a few times I've used animal communicators. My views about this is not straight forward, I have second thoughts about it.

 

[Grace O'Malley]

I'm a scientist by training, and so quite the skeptic

But I do believe that the stresses of modern life are harmful over the long term, and anything that promotes deep and regular relaxation is a good thing.

I have osteoarthritis in both hips, which took an age to diagnose, as I was having pain but not really losing mobility. After a very frustrating year of not knowing what going on, many doctor's visits, much physiotherapy, many antiinflammatories, and not much riding as advised to take it easy (docs thought there was a soft tissue injury that wasn't healing)...a riding instructor suggested acupuncture, and I thought I'd give it a go. Well, it's no miracle, but I have found it a very helpful part of an arthritis management strategy that keeps me mostly pain free and able to do what I want. I don't believe all the stuff she tells me about "Chi energy"--but I don't care. If it stimulates natural endorphins, or it's all in my head...really doesn't matter. I enjoy going and I feel better. I won't take the Chinese herbs though--too many documented problems with heavy metal contamination, etc....

I'd never heard of the flower remedies until reading about them here. Would I try them? I don't know. Maybe, if they're not too expensive. I don't believe in homeopathy either, but when we lived in the UK and I had my children, kamilisan ointment was recommended for breastfeeding soreness, and I found it helpful. Whenever we visit the UK now I usually pick up a couple of tubes--it's great for soothing minor cuts or abrasions of any kind.


So that's my story. Oh, I like a lot of aromatherapy products too--they smell nice and that makes me feel happy and relaxed.


Grace

 

[KarinUS]

Santorium's thread on Bach Flowers has got me interested in this as well.
A few months ago when we started ot work on our pasture I learned about the benefits of variety in pastures and from there I decided to pursue a horsey herb garden (unfortunately the Texas summer has gotten to it though).
Back home my family always used herbs in moderation (chamomille for tea and compresses, etc.) so I am pretty receptive to the herb thing.
I really liked the book "Modern Horse Herbal" by Ms. Self. After reading the Bach Flower Stuff I wanted to find out more and got "Emotional Healing for Horses and Ponies" today and I really like the book. The jury is still out on the effectiveness of the remedies as I haven't tried them yet, but I liked that the book addressed issues that have concerned me before but you never really see them discussed in horse books.

 

[FreedomStar]

I use rescue remedy but not very often. I used to give horses massages with lavendar oil, but I'm all out, it spilled out in my backpack so everything was oily

 

[IrisSilverMoon]

I talked my mom into seeing a health psychologist, she still goes too, so I"m really glad it worked out. It basically focuses on positive living when you have an illness, the psychologist works with you to change your mindset and get you into a better living situation, healthy food, exercise, stress reduction.

The mother of one of my friends at the stable was also talking about doing some sports psychology to help us get ready for big shows, sounds really interesting so I said I'd give it a try. It worked for Pippa Funnel!

I wouldnt' be opposed to acupuncture either if I decided to do that. And there is nothing wrong with healing through a massage!

 

[Evol_or_revert]

This is an area that intrests me alot. Doctors seem very closed minded, those in the alternative therapies area are far more helpful and open minded to everything and anything.

I use to use rescue remedy alot before my dressage tests hehe , not sure if it worked or not but nice to know it was there.

To help me get better we will be looking in to many alternative therapies. So far I am using a Magnetic therapy type in the form of a necklace that I wear day and night, I like it alot the feeling of lots of engery within it. Iv had bowen technique done and will look in to it again, it is very relaxing and made me sleepy afterwards, very costly :s and as I had alot of problems we stopped treatments (I only got it because charlie got it lol). We are also using a lot of herbs in tablet form, Iv been taking them for 6 days now and im feeling much better so that plus everything else helps.

For Charlie along with all the normal things to fix a horse problem we did... Bowen Technique, he became very relaxed after each session, there was a slight body shape change after many many sessions, but they became very costly and once his body and mind problems were fix, it didn't help his behaviour any further. Tryed the calming herb mixes, worked slightly the first time, but after that had no effect whatsoever. Accupunture he disliked it alot and just started bucking, Homeopathy one of the last things we tryed, 6 drops in his mouth three times a day, a huge hassle! didn't see any difference in him, but we had reached the end and had given up hope. Faith healing was also tryed, but I wasn't involved in any of this and found no change.

It's a very intresting area!

 

[Rosanna]

My horses have had shiatsu. Ernie absolutely loved it, I have never seen him so relaxed. Some other horses at the yard were done, including Robin, but it did not appear to have much affect on some of them.

 

[casey]

My horses have had the Bowen technique, and it worked very well on my now retired gelding. Though it hasn't worked on my current horse!
Oh and as you know i am in the process of using Bach.

 

[Jane.A]

Both myself and my horses have regular chiropractic therapy. It helps as my hips are always out due to my peculiar way of 'walking' which trows everything out. This also affects my riding to a degree as I tend to collapse one hip which puts pressure on my girl. She also tends to hold a lot of tension in her poll area particularly when we are doing a lot of collected work. The tension then makes her hold herself differently and she appears sore behind the saddle area, but actually its all coming from her poll and when corrected she heaves a big sigh. When we are working and competing regularly she is manipulated every month followed by a sports massage a couple of days later and it keeps her soft, supple and sweet.
I have used the tens machine to help stimulate the muscles that she has ahd problems with too. She loves it!
Homeopathy I have had great results with. Molly had a real problem with fly bites when she moved here. They ate her and the weales wee as big as saucers. I use a homeopathic nosode and tho' she still gets the odd bite she no longer has a bad reaction to them. The Quantum xroid machine diagnosed Polly's soya allergy when all else had failed and a specially prescribed homeopathic remedy put her on the road to recovery and she never looked back.
I too have had excellent results with myself. The surgery I had in March was pretty major. My concerns were healing quickly to prevent infection and getting the swelling and bruising out. I took two remedies prescribed for me by Ainsworths and the bruising and swelling came out very quickly and subsided rapidly much to my surgeon's amazement. I think the thing is you need to read extensively and consult an expert, not try one remedy and dismiss it, it doesn't work like that. If you don't have the knowledge then consult one of the homeopathic vets and be prepared to pay for it. It can sometimes be a combination of remedies. I used pulsatilla and apis mel alternately for windgalls and had success. You have to know your animal. You also in chronic cases have to be prepared to wait for a result. Your body takes time to develop a reaction to some of the very small doses used in homeopathy.
On the herbal front my friend had great success with an aruyvedic approach to cushings caught early in her mare as a result of consulting Steven Ashdown. The subject is really too complex to discuss at the length I feel it deserves here, but to sum up I feel that there is definitely a place for a holistic approach and I personally use it on my horses with great results. I don't however use it as a quick fix and a cheap alternative, and am prepared pay for advice from the professinals such as Chris Day and Steven Ashdown and the pharmacists at Ainsworths and Crossgates.

 

[anuvb]

I too have a scientific back ground so am a little more than sceptical about most things. However, if there is a reasoned argument behind the therapies then I'm more than willing to accept them or even try them myself.

My mother is really into trying alternatives, and as a result I've tried a fair few things. Pre-scientific days my Mum used to try all sorts of homepathic remedies on me. It didn't work and now knowing what I do, I can't get my head round the fact the "active" ingredients aren't even present in the treatments. I've tried aromatherapy, and regularly have aromatherapy massages. Although I personally believe that it's the actual massage that is the stimulating and relaxing part rather than the aromas. I do believe quite strongly that massage is a wonderful tool for releasing tension, but I wont' be sold on the various types of "beneficial" massage.

BFRs I've tried, although not through a practioner, and had little success.

I do yoga, not for the spiritual side of it, but because I find that there is little in the way of other alternatives for improving suppleness. I have also tried the Alexander technique, particularly in relationship to riding (see I'm keeping this post on topic here girls ) , which again I found useful and at some point will go back to.

Accunpuncture I would be prepared to try if I needed it, as my Grandmother has found this a wonderful way of managing her back pain... and she has to be the most sceptical person I have ever met.

I've also had reflexology carried out on me. To be honest...what a load of waffle! Sorry, don't mean to offend but I went to it with an open mind and came out wishing I hadn't been persuaded to waste my money on it.

Riekie, shiatsu etc. I steer clear of. And I have mixed feelings about Chinese medicine. Nothing specific mind you, as I know very little about it, and would want to know know more. But I can't agree with some of the sources of the medicines that is practised in China, and therefore I won't support the "trade" in this country either.

I think what bugs me the most about alternative treatments, is the way they're sold - as cure alls for everything. The waffle that accompanies most therapies and so on puts me way off before I even get there. All I want to know is solid facts, will it or won't it help me. Whether or not you trust modern medicine or not, a doctor won't claim a beta-blocker will cure an ingrowing toe-nail, and at least the tests are carried out objectively and are not based on anecdotal evidence.

Edited to add - my horse seems to need very little in the way of alternative therapies. Living a healthy lifestyle and having a relatively stress free life seems to suit him!