Treatments & Services

Palliative Care

• Overview
• The Palliative Care Team
• Integrative Therapies
• Resources

Integrative Therapies

Integrative therapies are those which are non-traditional to the medical setting but are integrated into the patient's plan of care with the knowledge of the patient, physician and other healthcare staff. These therapies serve the goal of decreasing pain, stress and anxiety.

They do not cause any discomfort to the person receiving the treatment. Some are treatments which have been used in the healthcare field for 20 years (like relaxation), while others are more recently available to healthcare, like therapeutic touch, which have their origins in ancient healing practices.

We have provided these therapies to palliative care patients with significant success in increasing deep relaxation, improving an overall sense of well-being, and decreasing pain. Each person will have a different response to these treatments. The patient's interest guides their participation.

Some of the therapies used at Boone Hospital Center include:

Relaxation
There are two methods of relaxation we can offer. One is progressive muscle relaxation and the other is simple breathing relaxation. Both can bring about deep relaxation and ability to improve a person's overall sense of well-being.

Guided Imagery / Visualization
This therapy starts with simple breathing relaxation and adds the element of imagining whatever the patient chooses in order to enhance their life.

Music
Patients are screened for their preferences in music. Audio tapes are provided along with a audio cassette so the person can benefit from the relaxation and comfort of soothing music.

Therapeutic Touch / Healing Touch / Pranic Healing
These are therapies which use hand techniques over the person's body to help them relax and often helps in the decrease of pain. This is not a body massage. Touching is not required for these treatments. The practitioner giving the treatment is formally trained. The benefit comes from the use of energy through this person onto the patient. These are types of "energy work." This kind of complementary or alternative therapy is being offered in hospitals around the country where taking every avenue of pain control is a high priority.

Massage
Licensed massage therapists use touch to improve circulation, relax muscles, relieve tension and reduce aches and pain. Therapeutic massage offers not only relief to our physical body, but can also provide a balancing influence on our lives.

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