Respiratory System Disorders and Therapy From a New - Louis Bolk ...

complementary medications and therapies discussed in this chapter would go
beyond the bounds of this Companion.
The thesis of a recent inaugural address states: approximately 75% of clinical
practice has not been researched epidemiologically; it is based on the clinical
expertise of the physician. Clinical expertise should be reevaluated and taught
as a method to medical students and interns (Smulders 2008). In other words:
“Practice Based Evidence” guides most of our daily medical practices; Evidence
Based Practice provides data that often do not match the individual patient.
The therapies we describe have proven their value in practice and rest, as such, on
“Practice Based Evidence”. We will describe them from a pragmatic point of view in
the sense of “systems that work.” A concise indication of their effective mechanism
is provided in several places. These descriptions are by no means exhaustive. We
feel that the practical nature of this Companion justifies this method.
By way of completion, we offer a more extensive list of references for those who
would like to delve more deeply into the therapeutic approaches at the end of this
Companion.
We are convinced that, above all, the therapeutic process is an artistic and
creative process. A schematic or standardized treatment will be less effective than
individually adjusted therapy. General perspectives are guidelines with a universal
relevance. However, each person is individual and variable, particularly in illness.
This applies to constitutional aspects as well as to the factors that determine
acute disease. The ideal therapy is found by individualizing standard rules.
Therapeuticians must, at all times, maintain a contact with the patient that allows
them to adjust previously applied treatment to the current situation.
In the following, we will discuss the direction in which the therapy should work
from a dynamic viewpoint, the objectives that are sought with the therapy, and the
practical therapeutic options.
Treatment Modalities for Respiratory Disease
Acupuncture is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Acupuncture and TCM have proven