Tucson Healing Arts
Tucson has long had a strong, vibrant healing arts community. Now Tucson has a central on-line source to locate local healing therapy practitioners including massage, acupuncture, chiropractic, Chinese medicine, naturopathic medicine, alternative medicine, and energy healing.
This site is actually a collection of “mini-websites” that serves as a directory of independent practitioners, sorted by discipline
Overview
The goal is to bring together in one central place on-line information on providers of complementary services in the healing arts field.
Each member of Tucson Healing Arts has his or her own web page, which for many, is their only presence on the Internet. For others, their listing here provides a summary of their practice with a link to their own website.
Each “mini-website” is designed to give an summary of each service/business.
Also to be found on the Tucson Healing Arts website are useful articles/information relevant to health and healing in blog format. Material is submitted by the listed practitioners.
The introductions below are excerpted from the National Institutes of Health website section for NCCAM. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is the Federal Government’s lead agency for scientific research on the diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is among the oldest healing practices in the world. In the United States, where practitioners incorporate healing traditions from China, Japan, Korea, and other countries. The term "acupuncture" describes a family of procedures involving the stimulation of anatomical points on the body using a variety of techniques. The acupuncture technique that has been most often studied scientifically involves penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles that are manipulated by the hands or by electrical stimulation.
The report from a Consensus Development Conference on Acupuncture held at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1997 stated that acupuncture is being "widely" practiced—by thousands of physicians, dentists, acupuncturists, and other practitioners—for relief or prevention of pain and for various other health conditions.
Massage Therapy
Massage therapy dates back thousands of years. References to massage appear in writings from ancient China, Japan, India, Arabic nations, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
Massage therapy encompasses many different techniques. In general, therapists press, rub, and otherwise manipulate the muscles and other soft tissues of the body. They most often use their hands and fingers, but may use their forearms, elbows, or feet.
In Swedish massage, the therapist uses long strokes, kneading, deep circular movements, vibration, and tapping. Sports massage is similar to Swedish massage, adapted specifically to the needs of athletes. Among the many other examples are deep tissue massage and trigger point massage, which focuses on myofascial trigger points—muscle “knots” that are painful when pressed and can cause symptoms elsewhere in the body.
Chiropractic
The term “chiropractic” combines the Greek words cheir (hand) and praxis (practice) to describe a treatment done by hand. Hands-on therapy—especially adjustment of the spine—is central to chiropractic care.
Chiropractic focuses on the relationship between the body's structure—mainly the spine—and its functioning. Although practitioners may use a variety of treatment approaches, they primarily perform adjustments (manipulations) to the spine or other parts of the body with the goal of correcting alignment problems, alleviating pain, improving function, and supporting the body's natural ability to heal itself.
An analysis of the use of complementary health practices for back pain, based on data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey, found that chiropractic was by far the most commonly used therapy.
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) originated in ancient China and has evolved over thousands of years. TCM practitioners use herbs, acupuncture, and other methods to treat a wide range of conditions. In the US, Traditional Chinese medicine is considered part of complementary and alternative medicine.
Chinese herbal medicine. The Chinese materia medica (a pharmacological reference book used by TCM practitioners) contains hundreds of medicinal substances—primarily plants, but also some minerals and animal products. Different parts of plants such as the leaves, roots, stems, flowers, and seeds are used. Usually, herbs are combined in formulas and given as teas, capsules, tinctures, or powders.
Naturopathic Medicine
Naturopathy—also called naturopathic medicine—is a medical system that has evolved from a combination of traditional practices and health care approaches popular in Europe during the 19th century.
Guided by a philosophy that emphasizes the healing power of nature, naturopathic practitioners now use a variety of traditional and modern therapies. Practitioners view their role as supporting the body’s inherent ability to maintain and restore health, and prefer to use treatment approaches they consider to be the most natural and least invasive.
Energy Healing
Energy healing is a holistic practice that activates the body's energy systems to remove blocks. By breaking through these energetic blocks, the body's inherent ability to heal itself is stimulated.
There are many different forms of energy healing - it refers to any practice that works on the flow of energy throughout the body, to help restore health and a sense of well-being.
A major tenet of energy healing is that prevention is preferrable to medicinal treatments.