General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Naturopaths and the creep of pseudo-science [View all]Lydia Leftcoast
(48,217 posts)He has found (through reading and experience) that a lot of his chronic pain patients, who have been to every neurologist and orthopedist in town, don't have neurological or orthopedic problems at all, but problems with their muscle balance, skeletal type, psychological environment, or nutritional balance.
Patients who have been recommended for surgery that "may work" come to him for a second opinion, and he finds that their chronic back pain can be solved by adjusting their working environment, physical therapy treatments, taking Pilates and/or yoga or wearing different shoes. The patient is saved the physical and mental stress of surgery, and the cost is lower.
When he presents at medical conferences, many of the doctors are like, "But that's not what we learned in medical school."
He finds that nurses are much more pragmatic about patient treatment. If it works, they're willing to try it.
There are a lot of naturopaths in Oregon. They do have to learn all the science that regular MDs learn, but they also learn more about nutrition and exercise than MDs do.