With the increasing interest in naturopathic medicine and healing, more people are looking for ways to relieve their pain besides over-the-counter medications. As a provider, you can help people find holistic and lasting solutions to their pain management.
Looking to nature can help patients find healing and answers for their pain management, and there has never been a better time to invest in a career in naturopathic medicine. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the overall employment for physicians and surgeons is expected to grow by 4 percent in the next decade. Experts estimate that as many as 13,300 ND roles will be filled by 2029, proving the relevance of naturopathic medicine.
Naturopathic Medicine vs. Functional Medicine
What is Naturopathic Medicine?
Naturopathic medicine is a holistic system of primary care that uses natural therapies to promote health and wellness by examining people's holistic needs. This perspective comes from the idea that the body can heal itself and that nature has the answers to assisting this healing. Naturopathic medicine encourages a healthy lifestyle customized to each individual’s health needs and actively promotes ways to improve their health. Its personalized approach fosters an engaged look at healthcare, where clients have a central voice in their healing.
Disease prevention is a core tenant of naturopathic medicine, with doctors focusing on the body, mind, and spirit to help their clients determine how to avoid circumstances that lead to a higher chance for diseases.
What is Functional Medicine?
Functional medicine often treats symptoms and diseases after they appear. Treatments popular in functional medicine usually involve looking to a patient’s environment and nutrition to help manage chronic illnesses. Functional medicine and naturopathic medicine intertwine to reduce the reliance on prescription treatments for problems nature can solve.
Conventional medicine relies heavily on prescriptions to solve health concerns. There are inherent risks that come from applying synthetic drugs to problems, especially when those drugs can be highly addictive and harmful, as is the case with many prescriptions given for pain management. Naturopathic medicine attempts to treat pain and other ailments before they become worse, prevent illnesses, and offer natural pain management solutions that eliminate the need for prescription drugs.
Holistic Pain Relief: How Natural Pain Management Works
Physical Medicine
Physical medicine refers to the methods naturopathic doctors use to diagnose and treat pain in their clients. These methods may include clinical and laboratory diagnostic testing, providing nutritional resources, and prescribing nature-based medicines. Treatment options can also include using naturopathic manipulative therapies like water, heat, cold, homeopathy, and more. Physical medicine also includes hands-on therapies like naturopathic manipulation or soft tissue mobilization. Therapeutic exercise, the application of heat and cold, homeopathic medicines, and more are all part of a complete physical medicine plan.
Herbal Pain Remedies
Herbal medicine looks to nature and its inherent healing resources. Using natural solutions, herbal medicine helps relieve pain in clients with topical and oral treatments. Herbal medicines often use natural anti-inflammatory agents, which can target inflamed parts of the body and reduce the pain at the source, much like synthetic medicines do, without the harmful side effects.
Individuals can see a naturopathic doctor for herbal pain remedies. The physicians explain the properties and purposes of each treatment option, helping the client become more involved in the healing process and giving them an active role in their treatment plan. Naturopathic doctors also learn about Eastern herbs used for centuries, helping people manage their pain naturally.
Mind-Body Connection
The mind-body connection is the intrinsic relationship between a person’s thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and physical health. A person’s mental state can significantly affect their physical well-being, and a person’s physical wellness can impact their mental health.
Naturopathic doctors understand this connection between the mind and body, and they keep both a person’s physical and mental well-being in mind as they suggest treatments. This may lead them to recommend a client see a mental health counselor and follow a plan for their physical healing.
Healing Pain Naturally: Get Started in Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr
At Bastyr University, we understand the need to address the whole person when approaching physical and mental wellness. Our Naturopathic medicine program teaches students to utilize many traditional and unconventional treatments to help their clients. Areas of focus include physical therapies, herbal remedies, mind-body techniques, and nutrition and lifestyle medicine. These tactics help patients holistically manage chronic and acute pain, giving them more of their lives back and allowing them to return to doing what they love.
Students at Bastyr prioritize natural treatments, citing the healing power of the natural world and the human body's ability to adapt and overcome illnesses. This approach allows them to provide their clients with treatment plans that avoid harmful side effects and enable them to participate actively in their healing journey.
Throughout the first year of the program, students learn from human cadavers. This allows a deep understanding of the structure and function of the human body in both health and dysfunction. Bastyr students hold a special ceremony to honor the cadavers used in their medicine studies, thanking them for their sacrifice to further natural medicine. This ceremony reflects Bastyr students' respect for the value of the human body, a conviction that exists throughout every course on campus.
Earning a degree in naturopathic medicine prepares students to become ND practitioners who can help clients reach their health goals and live without being defined by their pain.
Learn more about our Naturopathic Doctor program in our resource, How to Become a Naturopathic Doctor. You can also request more information to learn more about the Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine program at Bastyr University. If you feel ready to start your journey of creating a healthier world through holistic pain management, apply for our naturopathic medicine program!
