Introduction- The Barriers to Integration
As the discussion of integrated health care increases, we know that we are reaching a turning point in the history of medicine. Public demand is increasing for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to be integrated into the National Health Service (NHS) alongside orthodox health care. Gradually in response to this demand, health service providers are becoming keener to oblige or at least discuss the possibility.
So what’s the hold-up? Why is it that part of the medical orthodoxy still ridicules CAM? There is evidence to suggest that many doctors are actually interested in CAM and would like to know more about it. One of the sticking points may be that CAM therapies are often based on a different worldview from the modern scientific worldview. CAM in their various forms can incorporate traditional mystical ideas. These philosophies state that the body consists of more than physical constituents and also has an associated force often called ‘chi’. The word ‘energy’ is also widely used and many CAM disciplines contain a reference to an energy system of the body within their philosophy.
Discussion of the energy system of the body usually consists of:
• Chakras – various energy centres in the body
• Meridians – energy pathways in the body that are conduits for ‘chi’.
• The aura – often interpreted as an energy field that can be detected at some distance from the body.
For the purpose of this article we shall not discuss homeopathy or flower essences, which are sometimes classified as energy medicines. A lot of these therapies agree that a change in this energy body will have an affect on the physical body. This is part of the strategy of therapies such as acupuncture, aura cleansing and chakra balancing. By having a positive effect on the energy body, the well-being and health of the patient is enhanced.
Implicit in this philosophy is that the energy body has an effect in creating and sustaining the physical body. Much esoteric teaching on the subject contains this idea. Esoteric philosophies discussing non-physical elements in the human body are not obviously compatible with orthodox medicine in the NHS. Although many doctors may wish to have further integration of CAM into the NHS the philosophy behind them may prove to be a barrier. At present some CAM philosophies do not have much scientific basis. It is important to distinguish between a discussion of the philosophies containedwithin them and the discussion of their clinical efficacy.Even with the most excellent randomised controlled trials and evidence base, this philosophical barrier still stands in the way of full scientific acceptance. We are slowly accumulating an evidence base with CAM and finding which therapies are known to ‘work’ yet still the issue remains; can doctors subject patients to a therapy based on a philosophy that has no apparent scientific basis? We need to recognise this as a real ethical problem in the NHS and a barrier to integration. It may be seen as unethical for a doctor who believes in a type of philosophy that is not scientifically proven to provide this to their patients.
We only need to look at the case of Dr Michelle Langdon, a North London GP who offered homeopathy to her patients alongside orthodox health care. In the handling of the case by the General Medical Council (GMC), some focus was placed on Dr Langdon having introducing personal beliefs into the consultation with the mention of geopathic stress. She was subsequently suspended from the medical register. Whatever our opinion regarding the handling of this case it raises awareness of the issue of a doctor’s personal beliefs when dealing with their patients.
The GMC has indicated with this case that doctors must adhere to medical systems within the medical, scientific orthodoxy. CAM philosophies may be seen as out of this boundary and therefore part of the personal belief system of the doctor. If a doctor practices or allows CAM to be administered to their patients, the GMC could see this as introducing personal beliefs into patient care. As long as there is no coherent science behind CAM philosophies, these accusations could still stand. In order to further integration we need to take ideas such as the existence of chakras out of ancient times and into the scientific age.
Electromagnetic Medicine, Psychoneuroimmunology and their limitations
Some readers may protest that this has already been done with the science of electromagnetic medicine. There have been many advances in this field providing a much-needed scientific framework for energy medicine. What is becoming apparent from experiment is that manipulation of the electromagnetic field of and around the body causes changes in the physical body.
Local manipulation of the body’s electromagnetic fields cannot be the entire explanation behind energy medicine. Many healing modalities do not require any local contact at all. Distant healing is a common part of a healer’s repertoire and is usually taught in modalities such as Reiki.
A big factor in healing is the intent behind it. The mechanism of action of ‘good intent’ is not incorporated into electromagnetic theories. Although research into electromagnetic medicine is very valuable, anomalies such as these suggest that it does not represent the full story.
In a similar way psychoneuroimmunology although an extremely useful modality of science, cannot be a full explanation for all of the principles of energy medicine because it does not contain a comprehensive explanation for distant healing, the mechanism of intent, or the energy system of the body.
Energy medicine needs a more comprehensive scientific explanation. Unless this happens there is a risk of holding back from full integration. This would ultimately mean a loss to the patient and the choices available to them.
The unification of physics and biology
Part of the reason why electromagnetic medical research does not provide us with a comprehensive explanation for all of the phenomena for energy medicine lies in the fact that electromagnetism is only one of the forces of nature. We know about three other forces in physics: the weak nuclear force, the strong force and the force of gravity.
A full picture of nature and biology must incorporate all four forces. Theoretical physics is currently engaged in the search to unite these forces in a theory of everything7. This theory of everything must also explain biological organisms and not be limited to non-living matter to be truly a theory of everything. The successes that are being made in physics must inform biology, as they are the laws that govern biological matter as well as non-biological matter. We must look
to physics to give us a new biology. In this series of two articles I shall put forward a new science of auras and chakras that incorporates principles of quantum theory, relativity and cosmology and relates them to biology. Hence the title: Quantum Bio-cosmology (QBC).
Matter as frozen light
Another consequence of quantum physics is the concept of the zero point field otherwise known as the Dirac sea, or the quantum vacuum. We are bathed in a sea of particles of light: photons, which pop in and out of existence. Their fleeting existence has earned them the name, ‘virtual particles’. They are still active in a vacuum and at zero-point temperature when all other
activity has ceased.
What occurs at this field is that photons become particles of matter and antimatter, which then annihilate each other and become photons again. This cycle occurs continuously all around us. The effect of the field can be demonstrated under certain circumstances; the field can cause metal plates to move, a phenomenon known as Casimir forces.
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