PRACTITIONER PROFILE effective alternative or an adjunctive option to chronic pain management . In other words , most readers of this book have a central part to play in this critical area of public health .
However , resolving chronic pain is notoriously challenging . Practitioners in this field are often frustrated not only by their inability to successfully treat it but also by their sensitivity to the physical and emotional suffering of their patients and their patients ’ families , friends and work circles . Chronic pain is a very common presentation in manual therapists ’ clinics everywhere , and recent scientific evidence from biological , social and psychological studies has shed much light on the mechanisms underlying it . This comprehensive book provides an excellent critical review of the scientific literature from the last quarter of a century that will guide manual therapists to the best current understandings of how chronic pain manifests and persists , and of how to break the daunting pain cycle . The author shows how manual therapy can be a sole treatment approach or can be combined with exercise , education , medications and behavioural therapy . It presents clinical outcomes data from a variety of therapeutic approaches to chronic pain management . This information will help the manual therapist to select the most effective ways to treat the large numbers of their patients experiencing this ubiquitous condition .
The text is divided into three sections that cover the basic peripheral , spinal , and brain pain mechanisms ; the epidemiology , psychology , and evaluation of chronic pain and the efficacy of manual therapy for chronic pain conditions ; and the clinical presentations of chronic pain . It is written so that readers can easily cross-reference between chapters , first to understand associations between factors involved in the onset and maintenance of chronic pain , and then to apply this understanding to the effective management of people with chronic pain . This book is a clear and complete compilation of the evidence underlying the manual therapist ’ s techniques and its integration into comprehensive treatment plans . Other valuable features are text boxes that summarise essential points , excellent illustrations and an exhaustive glossary of terms .
ATMS Member Interview Salma Yassien
Which modalities do you practise ? Western Herbal Medicine .
How long have you been in practice ? 3 years .
What have been the major influences on your career ? I had the opportunity to travel from an early age to many different countries in Europe and the Mediterranean . My family had a genuine love of history so we frequented museums and the old sections of cities in each country we visited . I was especially captivated by people living in old cities surrounded by fortress walls . I was surprised because time hadn ’ t tarnished their vibrancy . These places were rich , colourful and fragrant where alchemists still existed . In fact , herbalists in old cities still inherited their craft from generation to generation . Of course , I later found out they were also influenced by the Pharaohs , Romans , Greeks and Muslims - the evidence is in every remedy they concocted .
What do you like about being a natural medicine practitioner ? I love being able to include tradition within a modern setting . If you know what to look for you will see how the alchemists used science . Science has progressed and provides evidence and confidence to consumers of natural medicine . Natural medicine can empower individuals and families with tools to help them improve
their health and wellbeing .
What advice would you give to a new practitioner starting out ? Keep going , keep growing .
What are your future ambitions ? The Herbistry becomes a household name .
What are your reflections on the present state of the natural medicine profession and their direction for the future ? The nature of our industry positions its practitioners to also be advocates for Australians to freely make choices about how they approach their health . We have seen this with our strong predecessors like Rosemary Gladstar , Dorothy Hall , and Denis Stewart . Natural therapists have already been taken off the private health fund schedule and natural therapies have been labelled in such a way as to discredit our knowledge and capabilities . In fact , all medicine began as natural medicine . Natural disasters globally have contributed to poor crop yields , and international shipping delays , which means stock shortages and fewer resources for Australian nutraceutical companies to manufacture products . We can ’ t deny the obstacles and limitations ahead in our future , so we will have to be creative and resourceful . Our natural medicine will need to re-utilise the traditional techniques that will continue to be the foundation of our industry .
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