10/07/2018 / By Zoey Sky
Anxiety disorders are an “invisible” illness that affects people from all over the globe. However, according to a study, integrative medicine can help treat these conditions.
The study, which was published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, aimed to gauge how effective integrative medicine (IM) can be when used to manage anxiety disorders. The research team also set out to determine the sociodemographic characteristics of patients from the Integrative Medicine Institute (IMI).
The researchers involved in the study spearheaded a documental analysis of clinical reports from the IMI’s database. Before the analysis began, the Ethics Committee of the Health Sciences Research Unit approved the project while all the patients whose data was being studied signed informed consents.
From January to August 2017, the IMI treated 259 patients. Out of the 259 patients, 30.5 percent were diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
Patients with an anxiety disorder had 10 sessions of IM where acupuncture techniques were combined with therapeutic massage. Every session involved an initial treatment of acupuncture for 30?minutes that was followed by a therapeutic massage which also lasted for 30?minutes.
Before the patients started all 10 treatments, their anxiety levels were measured through a self-perception five-point scale. The researchers assessed the anxiety levels of the participants at the end of the 5th and the 10th treatment.
Data from the study revealed that a whopping 75.29 percent of the patients looking for IM were female and that 34 percent were professionals working in intellectual and scientific activities. The individuals who were taking anxiolytic medication had higher levels of anxiety compared to the non-medicated patients.
After receiving a maximum of 10 treatments, which involved both acupuncture and massage, the patients’ anxiety levels went down by as much as 98.39 percent after only five sessions. It is interesting to note that women who received a tenth treatment session have lower anxiety levels compared to the men. (Related: Strong scientific evidence points to acupuncture as an effective treatment for anxiety disorders.)
The researchers involved in the study concluded that the therapies used were indeed effective. They added that both acupuncture and therapeutic massage can be used to help treat and relieve the symptoms of different anxiety disorders.
Data from this study will be used to design a “future randomized control trial study of acupuncture efficiency in the treatment of anxiety disorders.”
Acupuncture can be used to treat more than aches and pains.
Read more articles about effective traditional cures for anxiety, like acupuncture and therapeutic massage, at AlternativeMedicine.news.
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Tagged Under: acupuncture, alternative medicine, Anxiety, anxiety disorders, anxiety relief, Complementary and alternative medicine, disease prevention, disease treatments, healing, integrative medicine, massage, mental health, natural health, natural medicine, Naturopathy, remedies, therapeutic massage