Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine is a Toronto naturopathic clinic dedicated to providing safe and effective treatment of a wide variety of health conditions using natural therapies and the principles of naturopathic medicine.
Naturopathic medicine can play an important role in the successful management of Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease develops gradually, often starting with a tremor in one hand, may be accompanied by sleep problems, difficulty chewing and swallowing, urinary incontinence or urine retention, constipation, sexual dysfunction, hallucinations and depression.
Many of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are the result of a lack of dopamine, a chemical messenger (neurotransmitter) in the brain, caused by death or impairment of the specific brain cells that produce dopamine. Although the cause of Parkinson’s disease is unknown, genetic mutations or environmental toxins may be play a role in its development.
Professional healthcare should be sought out if you experience any symptoms that cause you to suspect you may have Parkinson’s disease.
Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease
Symptoms of Parkinson’s disease can vary widely from person to person. Possible symptoms of Parkinson’s disease include:
• Tremors, often beginning in the hand
• Rubbing together of your thumb and forefinger (pin-rolling)
• Muscle rigidity limiting range of motion and causing pain
• Slowed motion (bradykinesia)
• Impaired posture and balance
• Loss of automatic movements (e.g., blinking, smiling)
• Speech changes
• Dementia
Treatment of Parkinson’s disease at Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine
At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine, the goals of Parkinson’s disease treatment are to reduce severity of symptoms, retard disease progression and manage side effects of conventional medical treatments.
Conventional treatment for Parkinson’s disease may include surgery, or a variety of medications, including levodopa, and medications described as dopamine agonists, MAO B inhibitors, catechol O-methyltransferase inhibitors, anticholinergics and antivirals. These medications may have serious short- or long-term side effects. For this reason, you may choose to try natural treatment together with conventional medications in order to decrease dosages of conventional medications required to manage your Parkinson’s disease symptoms.
Naturopathic treatment of any chronic health concern must be recognized as a process that involves identifying specific treatment goals, a thorough understanding by your naturopathic doctor of all factors affecting your health, including physical, psychological, emotional and lifestyle factors, development of a comprehensive treatment plan and execution of that plan through periodic monitoring and adjustment.
At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine, a typical approach to treating Parkinson’s disease may be to first identify and address underlying factors in your lifestyle (e.g., exposure to toxins, poor diet) that may be contributing to your Parkinson’s disease symptoms, reduce severity of symptoms and retard disease progression using acupuncture or Bowen therapy and manage side effects of conventional medical treatments.
Where appropriate, a number of therapeutic options are available, to be used alone, or more often in a complementary fashion, including:
• Acupuncture
• Cleansing protocols
• Homotoxicological medicines
• Homeopathic medicines
• Botanical (herbal) medicines
• Nutritional supplements
• Bowen therapy
• Suikodo™
• Lifestyle counseling
• Diet therapy
• Relaxation techniques
• Exercise prescription
References
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Parkinson’s Disease [Online]. [cited 2010 Jan 17]; Available from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/parkinsons-disease/DS00295.