ALS Holistic Therapies: The Law of Similars as Opposed to the Law of Differences

Holistic therapies are rooted in ancient, Eastern tradition and its medical practices (as opposed to typical, Western, scientific medical practice) and are gradually increasing in credibility around the globe. Holistic therapies offer possible treatment options for patients suffering from many kinds of illnesses, including ones with neurological symptoms, like those experienced by patients with ALS.

What is ALS?

The Mayo Clinic suggests that "Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a-mi-oh-troh-fik lat-ur-ul skluh-roh-sis), or ALS, is a serious, neurological disease that causes muscle weakness, disability and eventually death. ALS is often called Lou Gehrig's disease, after the famous baseball player who was diagnosed with it in 1939. In the U.S., ALS and motor neuron disease (MND) are sometimes used interchangeably."

At this time, there is no known cure for ALS, but there is growing interest in research in this respect, in the Eastern world, as well as in the Western world. 

Eastern medicine focuses on the law of similars, as opposed to Western medicine, which is based on the law of opposites. In the western world, while medical orientation is scientific in nature, it does not always have the answers needed by patients. When it appears there are no feasible answers for diseases like ALS, patients often turn to holistic therapies.

What are holistic therapies? 

Holistic therapies incorporate “the concept of holism in theory or practice”. Holistic medicine presents “a system of therapeutics” regarded as being “outside the main stream of scientific medicine”. For example, it may involve chiropractic medicine, naturopathy or nutrition.

Holistic therapies focus on symptoms demonstrated by the entire body, as well as the mind and the elimination thereof, based upon the assumption that when there are no symptoms, there is no disease entity.

Each kind of holistic therapy is different, but the ultimate goal is always healing, health and wholeness.

Holistic therapies offer numerous options for patients seeking treatment with respect to ALS symptoms. 

Increasing neurological debilitation can be frightening to both patients and their families. While there may be genetic factors involved, other problems like exposure to chemicals may also be causal factors in ALS. 

There is ongoing, genetic research on ALS with respect to its suspected cause, inherited or otherwise, (like chemical toxicity). Many potentially toxic chemicals are traceable in the human body and identifiable because each chemical causes distinct symptoms.

With respect to various kinds of holistic therapies and treatment, acupuncture attempts to correct the energy flow through meridians. With acupuncture techniques and those of acupressure, a release of the energy flow brings about healing. Chiropractic treatment focuses upon the correction of body alignment, which may be beneficial when there is neurological involvement, as in the symptoms of ALS. Homeopathy focuses on medical treatment using the law of similars, which triggers an immunological response. (In western medicine, this is comparable to the use of cowpox for vaccine to prevent smallpox.) Naturopathy centers on the healing power of nature. Iridology is diagnosis of symptoms through examination of the iris of the eye.

The human body is a whole and functions, as such. When genetic changes take place, other aspects of health may deteriorate. For example, chemical toxicity may affect every system in the entire body.

Genetic research continues to offer hope to patients with ALS, as does both Western and Eastern medicine. 

To function as a whole, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, requires a holistic approach to healing, health and wholeness. Both Eastern and Western medicine have much to offer, and the combination of the two may lead to positive results for ALS patients. There is always hope.