Integrative Therapies in Rehabilitation

For more than 20 years, Integrative Therapies in Rehabilitation has been the most researched resource on complementary and alternative therapies in rehabilitation. This renowned text, now in its fourth edition, relates the updated scientific evidence and the clinical efficacy of integrating what have now become well known complementary and alternative therapies in rehabilitation to successfully improve patient outcomes. It has been developed to accompany university courses in complementary and alternative therapies, as a reference manual for clinical practices, and as a resource for those interested in the science behind holistic therapies.Holistic therapies are those therapies not commonly found in allopathic medicine that are intended to stimulate a therapeutic response from both the body - neuromusculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary systems - and the mind. This book is particularly designed for those health professionals who want to understand the scientific foundation and peer reviewed research supporting complementary and alternative therapies.The fourth edition is divided into two parts. The beginning chapters describe the latest cellular biology science and explain the theories put forth on the overall mechanisms of action of the effect of these various therapies on the soft tissue, fascia and nervous systems. The first part also chronicles the advancement of scientific research in the various therapies since the 1980's to explain, in cellular physiology terms, the outcomes observed by using a number of holistic therapies.The second part presents various therapies commonly integrated with allopathic therapies in rehabilitation - body work therapies, mind/body therapies, and energy work therapies. The text describes each therapy with a history, cellular mechanism of action, and an up-dated reference section of the evidence of efficacy for the therapy as reported in the literature, often concluding with a case example.This fully-updated fourth edition will be the go-to resource for health professionals to understand the scientific evidence and efficacy of complementary and alternative therapies for rehabilitation and improving patient outcomes.