Integrative Rheumatology

Integrative Rheumatology offers a new and much-needed perspective in disease and symptom management, blending conventional medicine with alternative approaches not typically included in a Western medical practice. While conventional treatments can provide considerable symptomatic relief and can even slow the progression of many rheumatologic conditions, integrative treatment incorporating lifestyle interventions, mind-body approaches, and practices such as acupuncture and meditation into conventional medical therapies can improve quality of life, reduce medication dosages, and are generally better tolerated. In this book, researchers and clinicians highlight specific gaps in conventional rheumatologic care and examine how alternative approaches may be ideally suited to address these missed opportunities. Here, the authors introduce topics not typically addressed in conventional rheumatology texts, including nutritional therapies, exercise, herbal medicine, mind/body approaches, Ayurveda, and energy medicine. The contributors, all of whom have a background in academic medicine, share the approaches that they have found most effective in their own practices, basing their work on the best scientific evidence available. Ultimately, an understanding of complementary and alternative approaches to healing can help clinicians care for their patients using the best proven therapies to modify disease progress and relieve pain and disability.

UPDATE: This book has been replaced by Version 3.5 published as Naturopathic Rheumatology (900 pages in full color; ISBN:978-0990620426) with a shorter excerpt published as Functional Medicine Rheumatology (288 pages in color; ISBN: 978-1502481368). Integrative Rheumatology is a clinically-oriented textbook that extends beyond Integrative Orthopedics to outline treatment plans for autoimmune and systemic inflammatory disorders. Since approximately 1 of every 7 (14% of total) visits to a primary healthcare provider is for the treatment of musculoskeletal pain or dysfunction, every physician needs to have 1) knowledge of important concepts related to musculoskeletal medicine, 2) awareness of urgent and emergency conditions, 3) skills to competently perform orthopedic examination procedures and clinical assessments, 4) ability to interpret common laboratory tests, and 5) the knowledge and ability to design and implement effective treatment plans. Integrative Rheumatology empowers students and doctors with the insight necessary for the design and implementation of truly integrative treatment plans for conditions such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Diagnostic, therapeutic, risk reduction and patient management strategies are emphasized throughout. Students in chiropractic and naturopathic medical colleges will find Integrative Rheumatology to provide a needed blend of concepts as well as the practical how to information on patient management that is often neglected in other textbooks or which can only be obtained after years of clinical experience. This book will help you synthesize your courses in physical examination, manipulation, physiotherapy, nutrition, botanical medicine, neurology and therapeutic exercise into a cohesive set of skills that enables you to effectively help your patients overcome their musculoskeletal problems while you simultaneously promote wellness by looking at the bigger picture of their overall health rather than simply focusing on the problem. Integrative Rheumatology provides the information and citations to the research literature that you need in order to feel confident about your skills and the responsibilities that you will face as a healthcare provider. Clinicians of all disciplines whether ND, DC, DO, Lac, MD, PA, or NP will find the blend of research and clinical pearls helpful in their integrative management of patients with systemic autoimmune and rheumatic disorders. The text is abundantly referenced to textbooks and peer-reviewed biomedical journals. Integrative Rheumatology will give you a clinical advantage and the research justification to help treat your patients in the most natural, safe, and holistic means possible. Accessing the website provides links to updates and recently published articles by Dr. Vasquez. Update 2014: This book has been replaced by "Integrative Rheumatology and Inflammation Mastery: Third Edition."

Naturopathic Rheumatology and Integrative Inflammology-Edition 3.5 combines the recently updated Functional Inflammology and Dr Vasquez's previous Integrative Rheumatology into a new colorized updated textbook of 900 pages. NOW REPLACED BY EXPANDED 4TH EDITION IN 2016 -- please see "Inflammation Mastery, 4th Edition" ISBN 0990620484 / 978099062048

As a field, men's health is far behind women's health in terms of the availability of reliable, scientifically based information that men, their partners, and health care providers can rely on when seeking information and treatment. Moreover, integrative approaches are becoming more popular with men whose healthcare providers understand that most of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in men, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, urologic disease, and sexual dysfunction, can be ameliorated using an integrative approach, with more emphasis on the patient-provider relationship, lifestyle change, and the use of proven complementary modalities. Integrative Men's Health provides an evidence-based perspective on the health problems that affect men and the ways in which such problems may be prevented or treated utilizing a broad armamentarium of approaches - from conventional tools to complementary modalities. All chapters take into consideration of all the factors that influence men's health including body, mind, and spirit in a way that neither rejects alternative approaches nor accepts any of them uncritically.

Functional Medicine Rheumatology, Edition 3.5 is designed to accompany the recently updated Functional Inflammology, Volume 1 as the most recent version of Dr Vasquez's previous Integrative Rheumatology, Edition 3. This volume is not meant to be used as a stand-alone reference because it does not contain the full details of the patient assessments, concepts, and clinical interventions that are detailed and contextualized in Functional Inflammology, Volume 1; this book-clearly an extension of the first volume-is being made available so that recent purchasers of Functional Inflammology, Volume 1 or Integrative Rheumatology, Edition 3 will be able to append or update, respectively, their recent purchases and thereby to access the most complete and up-to-date versions of the clinical applications. The full and complete update to DrV's rheumatology protocol is now available as a single volume of 900 pages: Naturopathic Rheumatology v3.5 (ISBN: 978-0990620426 / 0990620425). This work-which originated from Dr Vasquez's teaching notes in the Rheumatology course at Bastyr University in 2001-is the culmination of several thousand research publications combined with Dr Vasquez's many years of clinical experience and teaching graduate-level students and doctorate-level clinicians worldwide. In the complete work, using radiographs, photos, acronyms, illustrations, flowcharts, and detailed-yet-simplifying explanations, Dr Vasquez makes it easier than ever for clinicians to grasp important concepts in integrative care and functional medicine and then to translate the basic science research and molecular biology into treatment plans that can be explained and used in "the real world" of clinical practice with patients. The associated video tutorials and recorded live conference presentations further help students and clinicians "get it" via Dr Vasquez's effective teaching style which embraces complexity while always emphasizing clinical applicability and psychosocial context. The Inflammation Mastery & Functional Inflammology series of books and videos translates important concepts and nutritional/biomedical science into easy and practical clinical applications for the prevention and treatment of disorders of sustained inflammation, which Dr Vasquez describes as "patterns of metabolic disturbance and inflammatory dysfunction" existing in three sequential and overlapping categories: 1) metabolic inflammation, 2) allergic inflammation, 3) autoimmune inflammation. This book includes access to video presentations which introduce the origin and components of the Functional Inflammology Protocol and FINDSEX(r) acronym. Post-publication updates to this information and important social and clinical contextualization are made available in videos and online repositories (access provided in the book), and the e-newsletter available from InflammationMastery and FunctionalInflammology.com. This textbook also provides access, via reprints or hyperlinks, to Dr Vasquez's published articles-an example of which is his recent paradigm-shifting editorial published in the journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine (2014 Jan). In the complete work, the updated section on pain management allows students and clinicians to understand and apply manual, pharmacologic, nutritional and botanical medicine treatments for musculoskeletal pain, thereby providing better relief for patients and avoiding the hazards of NSAIDs, coxibs, steroids, opioids, immunosuppressants/immunoparalytics and biologics.

UPDATE: This book has been replaced by Version 3.5 published as Naturopathic Rheumatology (900 pages in full color; ISBN:978-0990620426) with a shorter excerpt published as Functional Medicine Rheumatology (288 pages in color; ISBN: 978-1502481368). Integrative Rheumatology & Inflammation Mastery translates important concepts and nutritional/biomedical science into easy and practical clinical applications for the prevention and treatment of disorders of sustained inflammation, which Dr Vasquez describes as "patterns of metabolic disturbance and inflammatory dysfunction" existing in three sequential and overlapping categories: metabolic, allergic, autoimmune. This updated and abbreviated version replaces Integrative Rheumatology (published in 2006 and 2007) and likewise focuses on autoimmune inflammation and related patterns of inflammation which manifest clinically as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, vasculitis, scleroderma and systemic sclerosis. The commonly encountered disorders fibromyalgia and Raynaud's phenomenon are also reviewed. This textbook Integrative Rheumatology & Inflammation Mastery introduces, reviews, substantiates the intellectual and empirical construct of a sufficiently/practically complete approach to the prevention and treatment disorders of *sustained inflammation*, previously termed "chronic inflammation."

This book is written primarily for occupational therapists and occupational therapy students but will be of relevance to anyone working with clients with rheumatoid disease. It is hoped that the text will communicate the challenge faced by therapists to establish management programmes appropriate to the identified needs and priorities of the individuals with whom they work, the potential to utilize a wide range of skills and the opportunity to contribute to the understanding of the many unanswered questions which remain in relation to rheumatic diseases. The aim of this book is to present an holistic approach to the management of rheumatoid disease, considering first, the ways in which rheumatoid disease can affect a person's life and then looking at the approaches and techniques used by therapists to minimize these effects. This approach has been chosen as it is fundamental to both the philosophical basis of occupational therapy and the manage ment of a chronic progressive disease. An holistic approach considers the physical, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of a person and the ways in which these have been effected by an underlying disease process. Each of the components are interrelated, illustrating the complexity of establishing appropriate management programmes and evaluating their effectiveness. The first two chapters consider the effects of rheumatoid disease on clients and their families. An holistic approach identifies the need for a diversity of skills to be available to both the therapist and client.

Too many Americans are taking too many drugs -- and it's costing us our health, happiness, and lives. Prescription drug use in America has increased tenfold in the past 50 years, and over-the-counter drug use has risen just as dramatically. In addition to the dozens of medications we take to treat serious illnesses, we take drugs to help us sleep, to keep us awake, to keep our noses from running, our backs from aching, and our minds from racing. Name a symptom, there's a pill to suppress it. Modern drugs can be miraculously life-saving, and many illnesses demand their use. But what happens when our reliance on powerful pharmaceuticals blinds us to their risks? Painful side effects and dependency are common, and adverse drug reactions are America's fourth leading cause of death. In Mind over Meds, bestselling author Dr. Andrew Weil alerts readers to the problem of overmedication, and outlines when medicine is necessary, and when it is not. Dr. Weil examines how we came to be so drastically overmedicated, presents science that proves drugs aren't always the best option, and provides reliable integrative medicine approaches to treating common ailments like high blood pressure, allergies, depression, and even the common cold. With case histories, healthy alternative treatments, and input from other leading physicians, Mind over Meds is the go-to resource for anyone who is sick and tired of being sick and tired.