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Biomedical subjects

E A Mein

Publications and source records attributed to E A Mein.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Manual medicine diversity: research pitfalls and the emerging medical paradigm.

Recent studies published in leading medical journals have concluded that chiropractic treatment is not particularly helpful for relieving asthma and migraine symptoms because even though study participants showed notable improvement in symptoms, those subjects who received sham manual medicine treatments also showed improvement. Yet the sham treatment received by control groups in these studies is reminiscent in many ways of traditional osteopathic manipulation. This seems to represent not only a failure to recognize the value of many manual medicine techniques but also an ignorance of the broad spectrum of manual medicine techniques used by various practitioners, from osteopathic physicians to chiropractors to physical therapists. Such blind spots compromise research methodology with regard to manual medicine studies, which could, in turn, diminish the role of manual medicine in clinical practice. Osteopathic manipulative treatment provides an excellent model for recognizing and integrating the full range of manual medicine techniques into research and clinical applications because of the wide range of techniques employed. The potential exists for these techniques to contribute much to medical research and clinical practice--provided that osteopathic physicians and other manual medicine practitioners work to alleviate ignorance about the efficacy of various forms of manipulation.

Asthma↗
PubMed1999

The abdominal brain and enteric nervous system.

Conventional medical treatment for neurologic disorders such as epilepsy, migraine, and autism focuses on the brain. Although standard medical treatment is often helpful, the underlying causes of these disorders are not well understood. Furthermore, some individuals respond poorly or not at all to regular medicine. Evidence is accumulating in the medical literature that the enteric nervous system (ENS)-that part of the nervous system associated with the alimentary canal-also plays a role in these disorders. Historically, the concept of an autonomous abdominal nervous system was advocated by Byron Robinson, Johannis Langley, and Edgar Cayce. The work of these three prominent historical figures is considered along with modem view-points on the abdominal nervous system. Complementary therapies that address the nervous system of the abdomen have potential as useful adjuncts to conventional treatment for certain neurologic disorders.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1997

Entrainment and the cranial rhythmic impulse.

Entrainment is the integration or harmonization of oscillators. All organisms pulsate with myriad electrical and mechanical rhythms. Many of these rhythms emanate from synchronized pulsating cells (eg, pacemaker cells, cortical neurons). The cranial rhythmic impulse is an oscillation recognized by many bodywork practitioners, but the functional origin of this impulse remains uncertain. We propose that the cranial rhythmic impulse is the palpable perception of entrainment, a harmonic frequency that incorporates the rhythms of multiple biological oscillators. It is derived primarily from signals between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Entrainment also arises between organisms. The harmonizing of coupled oscillators into a single, dominant frequency is called frequency-selective entrainment. We propose that this phenomenon is the modus operandi of practitioners who use the cranial rhythmic impulse in craniosacral treatment. Dominant entrainment is enhanced by "centering," a technique practiced by many healers, for example, practitioners of Chinese, Tibetan, and Ayurvedic medicine. We explore the connections between centering, the cranial rhythmic impulse, and craniosacral treatment.

Autonomic Nervous System↗