Alternative medicine treatments take on new pain management and recovery approaches before and after patients’ surgeries. Likewise, improvements in orthopedics have also taken new courses with the use of improved and advanced equipment during the surgery, such as robotics. Robotics in orthopedic surgeries can ensure more accurate procedures for high levels of success.
 
Many health centers have adapted utilizing integrative wellness treatments with their orthopedic equipment because they feel it elevates the level of care patients receive and experience. But how does this work, exactly? Can integrative medicine help treat the way that orthopedic devices can?
 
The experience for the patient spans the full scope of treatments, from pre-operative programs to pain management and recovery after procedures. With many Americans using some form of complementary or alternative medicine, it is no longer viewed as an “alternative” to Western medicine. Still, integrative medicine combines both conventional and alternative medicine and works in tandem with orthopedic equipment.
 
How does the use of orthopedic technology with integrative wellness work? While it may seem odd to put the two separate forms of treatments together, utilizing them together appears to be preferred and most helpful to patients for their overall health improvement.
 

Integrative Rehabilitation
 

When administering orthopedic products like implants, various devices are utilized, such as back braces, cervical collars, and other supports for joints in the hips, knees, feet, and elbows. In addition, equipment may include plastic shears, surgical chisels, bone clamps, pins, or rasps. Unfortunately, when any of these are inserted within the body, your body’s instinct is to view the object as foreign, making recovery challenging.
 
There can be some time before your body can heal, and this is where integrative wellness fits in and works with the orthopedics. Although these techniques are methods used without invasive procedures, they can work with orthopedic devices as a partner for healing and rehabilitation to promote faster healing and a pleasant recovery experience.
 
Many forms of rehabilitation can include these alternative and integrative treatments. Some of these treatments include the use of acupuncture, reiki, energy therapies, and chiropractic, so they are non-invasive. Movement with supports and braces helps rehabilitate patients more effectively by giving them alternative treatments to work with the equipment. In addition, detecting and correcting imbalances from the orthopedic equipment can be done by utilizing integrative wellness to help manage pain and recover with more ease. 
 

Kinesiology with Orthopedics
 

Advances in orthopedics have allowed implants to take advantage of 3D printing, which goes a long way to improving the device when being used since it fits more precisely. In addition, more of the joints are preserved, and there is a more natural adaptiveness to orthopedic devices. While this provides a better surgical outcome, the question still stands—how do you manage the pain afterward?
 
Patients can work with a kinesiology specialist who uses their knowledge of movement to improve mobility with exercise. This medical practice also focuses on the patient’s nutritional habits to help with recovery and health. In addition, care is personalized more directly for each individual so more than just symptoms are being treated.
 
When utilized in pre-operative situations, you and your practitioner can address the cause of your pain or illness, which incorporates more than the physical aspects. Integrative medicine can help address some biological, environmental, or behavioral factors associated with your health problems. Then, when working with orthopedic equipment, you can more efficiently treat the causes and solidify your long-term health and well-being.
 

Orthopedic Surgical Centers Adapting Integrative Medicines
 

Integrative medicine seems to do wonders for aftercare when it comes to surgery. In a study performed by Beth Israel Medical Center, they partnered with the Department of Integrative Medicine to determine whether certain surgeries benefited from integrative wellness treatments post-op. 
 
Amazingly, the patients gave highly positive feedback when they embraced the programs. And, while no science backs up the use of integrative wellness as means for healing, it doesn’t seem to matter. Instead, the patient satisfaction ratings have led to the department hiring full-time staff for both music therapy and Reiki therapy so that their effectiveness can be further evaluated. 
 

Future of Integrative Medicine with Orthopedics
 

The overall goal of the future is the same with pain management and recovery, which is to minimize injury and rely less on medications for patients. With the rising opioid crisis and side effects of medicines that can cause more harm to people, so many have turned to safe orthopedic surgery solutions. The integrative medicine approach helps speed up recovery and not rely on medicine for your healing.
 
Massage and meditative exercise, such as yoga, are excellent integrative healing methods many orthopedic surgeons adopt. In addition, mind-body techniques through these types of rehabilitation and movement methods effectively strengthen how your body heals using orthopedic supports, splints, and braces, further demonstrating how orthopedic equipment and integrative medicine can be utilized simultaneously.
 
Even though it does not seem to work together, using orthopedics alongside forms of integrative healing methods performs a complete treatment for patients. Covering from pre-op to surgery to post-op care, orthopedic equipment, and integrative medicine together provide patients with a more positive outcome for their overall health.

---

Melissa Waltz has always been recognized for her health and wellness knowledge and gained her knack for sharing this knowledge when first asked to ghostwrite for a friend’s nutrition blog. That’s when she realized her love for writing and she began to create articles on holistic nutrition utilizing her educational background in Nutritional Science. While working in the health industry for over a decade, she has grown into an experienced writer who likes to simplify any science-based jargon into reader-friendly language.