Naturopathic medicine combines the art and knowledge of traditional healing with the diagnostic tools of modern medical science. The overarching premise of Naturopathy is to maintain health and prevent the onset of disease. However, should a person's health be compromised, the Naturopathic Physician relies on five principles which provide the foundation for assisting the person in restoring and maintaining vibrant health.

1. First do no harm.
2. Act in harmony with the healing powers of nature.
3. Address the fundamental cause of the disease.
4. assess and heal the whole person through individualized treatment.
5. The physician as teacher.

A system of medicine which developed in Asia over thousands of years. Acupuncture is not just the use of needles to treat pain, but rather is a method to balance the body's energy through the use of herbs, needling of certain points and other physical means. It works through the flow of Qi (chi), in the meridian channels and organs of the body. By balancing and strengthening the body's Qi, a state of harmony and health arises. Through interview, feeling the pulses, looking at the tongue and other western diagnostic tools, the practitioner can determine which points require needle stimulation, or other treatment.

Chinese medicine is several thousand years old and has a deep tradition of herbal formulae. It is a highly systematized method of diagnosis and treatment based on understanding that the different physiological, psychological and environmental systems of the body are an integrated whole. Many Chinese herbal formulas are available in prepared forms and are easy to take.They are compatible with most other forms of medication and offer minimal risk of side effect. Almost all of the formulas that are used today have been used with sucess for hundreds of years, and modern research more often confirms than denies their clinical effectiveness.

Homeopathy is a system of medicine that uses tiny doses of natural substances including plants, animals, and minerals to stimulate the individuals’ innate healing ability. We call this innate healing power the vital force or the healing power of nature (Vis Medicatrix Naturae).

There are over 3,000 homeopathic remedies. The homeopath chooses one remedy that best matches the overall state of the individual. No two people with earaches present in exactly the same way. Usually they need two different remedies. If the remedy chosen acts, it will move the individual towards health without suppressing symptoms or causing side effects. Homeopathy is non-toxic and does not interfere with medications or herbs. It is one of the most cost effective and powerful medicines available today.

The medical science of homeopathy was founded by a German physician, Samuel Hahnemann about 200 years ago. It is being used extensively in Europe, Israel, and India. It is gaining popularity in the United States. Health professionals that practice homeopathy include Naturopathic Physicians, Osteopathic Doctors, Medical Doctors, Chiropractors, Veterinarians, and trained professional Homeopaths.

For more information about homeopathy:

New England School of Homeopathy
The National Center of Homeopathy
Homeopathic Academy of Naturopathic Physicians

Detoxification is the body's natural process of eliminating or neutralizing toxins via the digestive system and liver, the kidneys, the lungs, and through perspiration from the skin. Each year people are exposed to thousands of toxic substances such as chemicals, pesticides, food additives, solvents, pollutants, and heavy metals. They are in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. These substances are not only found in the environment that we live in, but many toxic substances are created by the body's normal processes such as digestion or recovering from a strenuous workout. Toxic substances can take their toll on the body and create a variety of symptoms, including decreased immune function, neurological disorders, hormonal dysfunction, psychological disorders, and even cancer. The body has a limited capacity to deal with these toxic substances, the remainder of which are then stored in the tissues. There is a very delicate balance between the body's ability to successfully detoxify and the burden of toxins that the body has to deal with on a daily basis. When toxins accumulate in the body, symptoms typically appear. The ability to detoxify and eliminate toxins largely determines an individual's health status. Detoxification therapy helps rid the body of chemicals, pollutants, and other toxic substances in order to facilitate a return to normal health and vitality.

As a part of Naturopathic medicines wholistic approach, we utilize modern lab tests to assist in our diagnosis. Ask your practictioner about blood test options and other tests that are available.

Though water therapy has been documented as early as 4000 BC, it wasn’t until the early 1800’s in Germany when a farmer named Vincent Preissnitz used cold wet compresses to heal his wounded hand and fractured ribs. Because of his own powerful healing response, he began applying it to family, friends, neighbors and livestock and hence, hydrotherapy as a healing discipline was born.

Hydrotherapy is considered a basic cornerstone of naturopathic medicine used to trigger the basic healing mechanisms of the body. Applications of hot or cold water, steams, cold friction rubs, tepid baths, and the alternating of these improve circulation to the desired area.

Constitutional hydrotherapy is the alternating applications of hot wet towels and cold wet towels and used for almost every condition. It allows you to direct and improve blood flow to specific areas of the body that need attention. Combined with appropriate dietary changes, herbal medicine and other naturopathic treatments, you can achieve a very powerful healing effect.

Here’s what to expect: While you lie on your back on the table your bare chest and abdomen will be covered with two thicknesses of terry cloth dunked in comfortably hot water and wrung out. You’ll then be covered with a woolen blanket to ward off the chills.

After five minutes, the hot towels will be removed and replaced with a single thickness of towel dunked in cold water and wrung out, and you’ll be re-covered with the blanket. The cold towel will be left in place for ten minutes.

Finally, you’ll then be asked to turn over, and the same treatment will be repeated on your back. Often, sine wave electro stimulation (feels like a gentle squeeze and release of your muscles) will be applied to the back adjacent to the T7 region (near the base of the shoulder blades) and later to the area near L4 (lower back) and on the abdomen in the center of the solar plexus (above the belly button). This addition increases the strength of the treatment and is utilized on an individual basis.

This additional stimulation pumps the lymphatics in the abdomen, stimulates the nerves in the region that innervate the vital organs of the digestive tract, support elimination of waste matter and allows the body to go into a parasympathetic state, also known as the relaxation state and the state in which your body heals.

This is a non-invasive way to support the body’s healing processes. It has been clinically proven to detoxify the digestive tract, reduce inflammation and improve the composition of the circulating body.

Constitutional hydrotherapy treatments are commonly used for infection anywhere in the body, digestive disorders, skin conditions, childhood complaints, women’s disorders, fatigue, chronic pain, autoimmune disorders, depression, asthma, thyroid, liver disease, stress disorders and to support the body during a cancerous process.

The protocol is recommended on an individual basis as well. Typically, treatments are 2 times a week for a period of time. Acute illness, or the early onset of cold/flu usually requires one or two treatments back to back. Otherwise, more chronic conditions usually require a series of 6 or 15 depending on the situation. Occasionally, for more severe cases, a few series of 15 are required. Simply stated, constitutional hydrotherapy “remakes the blood”. Once the blood is vitalized, normal metabolism follows and hence, health is restored.

A Digital THERMOGRAM is a heat-sensing camera that develops a color image on a computer screen, based upon temperature differentials on the surface of any area of the body. A woman imaging her breasts simply has to stand or sit in front of the camera, and within 12 seconds an image appears on the computer. It doesn't have physical contact with the body and doesn't introduce ionizing radiation into the body, as is done during Mammographic Imaging (which some people believe can provoke a malignancy to form).

Contact our office for the next scheduled round of thermography in Durango.

Far-Infrared, also known as radiant heat, simply a form of energy that heats objects directly through a process called conversion. We cannot see this band of light with the naked eye, but we can feel this type of light in the form of heat. Our sun produces most of its energy in the infrared segment of the spectrum.

Regular use of an infrared sauna can help with cardiovascular conditioning, detoxification, stress management and insomnia. It can also help with ailments associated to some degree with poor circulation such as Arthritis, Sciatica, Backaches, Hemorrhoids, Diabetes, Varicose Veins, Rheumatism, Strained Muscles, Fatigue, Stretch Marks, Menstrual Cramps, Cellulite and Skin Conditions.

Sweating is as essential to our health as eating and breathing. It accomplishes three important things: rids the body of wastes, regulates the critical temperature of the body at 98.6 degrees and helps keep the skin clean and pliant. Sitting in a sweat bath could be the most vigorous activity you’ve had all day. The heat produces an artificial “fever” and urges every organ of the body into action. While outwardly relaxed, your inner organs are as active as though you were jogging or mowing the lawn. At the same time, you are being cleansed from inside out by the skin, your body’s largest organ and its excretion, sweat.

Our Far-Infrared Sauna is ready for use. Sauna sessions can be purchased individually or by the pre-paid package price. Call the NHC office for pricing and sauna hours.