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Los Angeles Jewish Home's Blog
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Unconventional Practices for Practical Purposes
It's always interesting to see how Eastern medicinal techniques make their way into Western practices. Today's posts in The New Old Age, an award winning blog sponsored by The New York Times, talks about the use of reiki in special care centers to help people with dementia.
Reiki is the ancient Japanese practice of channeling universal energy to heal or, at the very least, soothe a person in need. And in addition to senior care facilities, some hospitals are experimenting with the practice.
In a recent Jewish Home Feature Article, Dr. Edward Schneider explained that Eastern and Western medicine can complement one another. What would be interesting to know definitively, though, is whether reiki can physically heal, or whether the presence of a calm caregiver or peaceful music simply puts dementia patients at ease.
What do you think?
Home Care Partners, a nonprofit home care agency in Washington, won a two-year grant from the federal Administration on Aging to give it a try and has just finished training 36 aides in reiki. Next year, the agency will offer reiki training to family caregivers and to workers at adult day programs.
“It relieves stress, it reduces anxiety and it can help diminish pain,” said Marie Muller, the agency’s education manager and a trained reiki master. “We hope that our clients with dementia who become agitated and stressed will find reiki calming” — and thus will be less disturbed when aides help them bathe or dress or eat.
“It relieves stress, it reduces anxiety and it can help diminish pain,” said Marie Muller, the agency’s education manager and a trained reiki master. “We hope that our clients with dementia who become agitated and stressed will find reiki calming” — and thus will be less disturbed when aides help them bathe or dress or eat.
Reiki is the ancient Japanese practice of channeling universal energy to heal or, at the very least, soothe a person in need. And in addition to senior care facilities, some hospitals are experimenting with the practice.
At Portsmouth General Hospital in New Hampshire, for instance, two staff practitioners and a half dozen volunteers offer free reiki to all patients, family members and staff, last year providing more than 2,100 sessions.
“People say they just feel comforted,” said Christina Niles, the hospital’s reiki director, citing patient surveys. “I personally believe reiki is healing. Not everyone at the hospital agrees, but everyone thinks that people feel better afterward.”
“People say they just feel comforted,” said Christina Niles, the hospital’s reiki director, citing patient surveys. “I personally believe reiki is healing. Not everyone at the hospital agrees, but everyone thinks that people feel better afterward.”
In a recent Jewish Home Feature Article, Dr. Edward Schneider explained that Eastern and Western medicine can complement one another. What would be interesting to know definitively, though, is whether reiki can physically heal, or whether the presence of a calm caregiver or peaceful music simply puts dementia patients at ease.What do you think?
Labels: Alternative Medicine, Caregiving, Dementia, Eastern Medicine, For the Body, Healing, Health, Japanese Medicine, New York Times, Reiki, Schneider, Staff, The New Old Age, Traditional Medicine, Wellness
Friday, February 18, 2011
New Advice on Preventing Falls
Cross posted from The New York Times blog, The New Old Age.
By Karen Stabiner
For the first time since 2001, the American Geriatrics Society and the British Geriatrics Society have updated their guidelines for preventing falls in older people. The update includes two notable changes: One recommends tai chi — the meditative, slow-motion Chinese exercise — as an effective way to prevent falls, while another suggests that doctors review medication use by all elderly patients, with an eye toward reducing use of those drugs that increase the risk of falling.
The earlier guidelines did not single out any particular exercise regimen and endorsed prescription reviews only for patients taking more than four medications.
Exercise is essential for any older person who can manage it, according to Dr. Mary Tinetti of the Yale University School of Medicine, a chairwoman of the panel that issued the new guidelines. Tai chi gets the nod because several trials have suggested that it seems to help reduce the risk of falling, she said, although it is possible that other forms of balance training work just as well.
Greg Fuller teaches tai chi at the Jewish Home in Los Angeles. “The basic underlying philosophy is that balance is everything,” he said. Most important for his students, whose average age is 90, tai chi involves small, slow, controlled motions.
“With beginners, we spend a lot of time working while seated, bringing attention to the proper alignment of the pelvis, chest and head,” said Mr. Fuller. Once that is accomplished, “finding strength and balance while standing is much easier.”
Even then, many students work standing just behind a chair. “The presence of the chair back within reach gives them a sense of security and confidence,” Mr. Fuller said. “They forget about the possibility of falling and concentrate on the movements.”
Confidence is important to fall prevention, according to Dr. Tinetti, who said that fear of falling can itself lead older people to cut back on activities they used to enjoy. The less they do, sadly, the less they eventually are able to do.
The geriatrics groups also have long recommended that the medication regimens of older patients be reviewed and, if possible, scaled back. Earlier guidelines called for reviewing medications only if a patient takes more than four. This time around, researchers say that all older patients ought to have their doctors review their prescriptions for any that might increase the risk of falling.
“The evidence is strongest that medications that affect the brain — these include antidepressants, sleep medications and medications for anxiety — increase the risk of falling,” said Dr. Tinetti. “There is also a suggestion, not yet proven, that narcotics and some blood pressure medications may increase the risk of falls, as well.”
The updated guidelines distinguish between a fall that requires intervention and one that might be a isolated incident. The updated criteria for getting a risk evaluation are:
Read the original blog post here.
By Karen Stabiner
 |
Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press |
The earlier guidelines did not single out any particular exercise regimen and endorsed prescription reviews only for patients taking more than four medications.
Exercise is essential for any older person who can manage it, according to Dr. Mary Tinetti of the Yale University School of Medicine, a chairwoman of the panel that issued the new guidelines. Tai chi gets the nod because several trials have suggested that it seems to help reduce the risk of falling, she said, although it is possible that other forms of balance training work just as well.
Greg Fuller teaches tai chi at the Jewish Home in Los Angeles. “The basic underlying philosophy is that balance is everything,” he said. Most important for his students, whose average age is 90, tai chi involves small, slow, controlled motions.
“With beginners, we spend a lot of time working while seated, bringing attention to the proper alignment of the pelvis, chest and head,” said Mr. Fuller. Once that is accomplished, “finding strength and balance while standing is much easier.”
Even then, many students work standing just behind a chair. “The presence of the chair back within reach gives them a sense of security and confidence,” Mr. Fuller said. “They forget about the possibility of falling and concentrate on the movements.”
Confidence is important to fall prevention, according to Dr. Tinetti, who said that fear of falling can itself lead older people to cut back on activities they used to enjoy. The less they do, sadly, the less they eventually are able to do.
The geriatrics groups also have long recommended that the medication regimens of older patients be reviewed and, if possible, scaled back. Earlier guidelines called for reviewing medications only if a patient takes more than four. This time around, researchers say that all older patients ought to have their doctors review their prescriptions for any that might increase the risk of falling.
“The evidence is strongest that medications that affect the brain — these include antidepressants, sleep medications and medications for anxiety — increase the risk of falling,” said Dr. Tinetti. “There is also a suggestion, not yet proven, that narcotics and some blood pressure medications may increase the risk of falls, as well.”
The updated guidelines distinguish between a fall that requires intervention and one that might be a isolated incident. The updated criteria for getting a risk evaluation are:
- An elderly person worried or frightened by a fall.
- Two or more falls in the past year.
- One or more falls with injury.
- Repeated difficulty with balance when walking.
Read the original blog post here.
Labels: Aging, Balance, Cross Post, Falling, Fitness, For the Body, Health, New York Times, Stabiner, Staff, T'ai Chi, The New Old Age