This week we've been taking a closer look at chronic pain. As many as 9 million Canadians say they suffer from some form of lasting pain and there is no cure. The focus is on managing pain and there are a number of traditional and alternative approaches.
In the third part of the series naturopathic doctor Aubrey Rickford discussed some alternative options to address chronic pain.
- In Canada, naturopathic medicine is regulated in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, with legislation pending in Alberta and Nova Scotia
- There are more than 850 naturopathic doctors in Ontario
- Naturopathic doctors provide a broad range of natural therapies
- They are trained with three years of pre-med university education, four years of fulltime study at an accredited college of naturopathic medicine and continuing education to maintain their registration
- Naturopathic doctors practice a unique, comprehensive and evidence-based approach to improving health and treating illness
- The principle is to support and stimulate the body's ability to heal itself, focusing on prevention and using natural substances and treatments
- The primary goal of naturopathic treatment is to address the cause of illness, rather than simply treating or suppressing symptoms
- Nearly one-fifth (18 per cent) of Ontarians say they have visited an ND for treatment of an illness or for illness prevention counselling
- Naturopathic practice may include practices such as chiropracty, manual therapy, hydrotherapy, herbalism, acupuncture, counseling, environmental medicine, aromatherapy, nutritional counseling, homeopathy and lifestyle counselling.
