Chennai: An ‘integrative medical’ approach, incorporating allopathy, Ayurveda, Yoga and naturopathy, could address several chronic ailments besides providing quick relief and qualitatively better life for patients, opines Dr Ennapadam S. Krishnamoorthy, who has pioneered integrative medicine in the city. “Reducing the dosage of drugs makes a big difference economically, socially and psychologically for the patients. Allopathy can make a person better. But it has its own limitations for treating chronic diseases such as diabetes, chronic pain, hypertension, lipid disorders, etc., and ensuring greater comfort. This is where Ayurveda, Yoga and naturopathy could play a vital complementary role,” Dr Krishnamoorthy said in a chat with DC.
This could even make one free from being dependent on drugs for life. “But proper diet is another crucial factor that should not be ignored,” he adds. Asserting that allopathy, Ayurveda, Yoga and naturopathy have different approaches to healthcare and are unique in their own way in treating various ailments, he said there is an increasing need to adopt an “integrative medical,” approach to improve the quality of life of patients.
In fact, he encourages chanting ‘Om’ and combines it with physiotherapy and Yoga to help those suffering from respiratory disorders. “Om chanting has helped to bring about improvement in COPD and asthma patients. Many of them have psychological concerns and we were able to help them overcome those problems. Of course, pulmonologist, too, helps,” Dr Krishnamoorthy, who runs Trimed, the country’s first integrative medical treatment centre in the city, said.
There is increasing need to focus on chronic ailments as one-third of the elders over 60 years have some chronic disease or the other. Chronic diseases emerge during middle age and may cause permanent disability if not treated on time.
