Therapeutic Support is often a necessary part of Lyme Treatment. Some may look at it and think it is a waste of time and money, or a luxury. For anyone struggling with this disease, you understand how much it affects every aspect of your mind, body, and spirit. Supporting all aspects of a person’s health and balance increases their chances of success exponentially.
So what is Therapeutic Support? To me, this is anything that improves the quality of life of a Lyme patient. It may help to stimulate immune support, detox, emotional and mental health, pain management, mobility, and anything else associated with Lyme disease. The one thing it doesn’t do is kill Lyme spirochetes. This is an important distinction to make.
This does not, however, take away from the healing properties and often the necessity during Lyme treatment. These methods are often very effective at supporting detoxification and boosting immune function. Many of them also relieve pain and stress; alleviating anxiety, sleep disturbances, and minimizing symptoms.
This type of support can also be effective in creating an environment that does not support pathogens or allow them to thrive while supporting the person and their body’s natural functions; subsequently making the anti-microbial treatments more effective. They are not effective as a treatment themselves for killing Lyme spirochetes or other co-infections.
As with anything, do your research on what therapy may or may not be right for you as well as choosing practitioners. And always consult with your doctor prior to adding anything new to your regimen.
Please be sure to read the Note on Medications for Pain and Sleep Management, Anxiety, and Depression at the end of this page.
This is not a complete list, and I will continue to update it. I have only provided brief descriptions and links. For more information and other tips on common needs for Lyme Treatment, please see:
Here are some of the most common and effective methods:
Massage
Massage has been used in many cultures for centuries to relax the mind and body. It is used to work on muscle tension, joint flexibility, pressure points, lymphatic system, and overall health and relaxation. It also helps to alleviate anxiety, depression, and sleep problems. There are several types of massage and they will vary from place to place.
The most common types are:
More Info:
Bodywork/Touch Therapies
Touch Therapies are alternative therapies that are often done in conjunction with massage, but can also be done as separate therapies. These are generally used to induce lymphatic and immune responses, and to release tension, energy, and toxins that are built up in the bodily system. They are also used for pain management and relaxation.
The most common types are:
Myofascial Trigger Point Therapy
More Info:
Chiropractic/Osteopathic Manipulation
Osteopathic Care or Chiropractic Care? What is the difference?
“Osteopathy is a system of medical practice based on a theory that diseases are due chiefly to loss of structural integrity which can be restored by manipulation of the parts supplemented by therapeutic measures. Chiropractic is a system of therapy which holds that disease results from a lack of normal nerve function and which employs manipulation and specific adjustment of body structures, focusing on the spine.”
Energetic Healing
What is Energetic Healing: “Energetic Healing is an umbrella term for any therapy that manipulates the energy circuits in our physical or subtle bodies to regain balance and facilitate our body’s innate healing mechanisms”
There are various types of energetic healing, and there is no way I could list them all here. This type of healing has been used in many cultures for centuries. As always, thoroughly research anything that you are considering, and find something and someone that you are comfortable with. If they claim to cure Lyme disease with this method alone…find a different practitioner.
“Healing Touch is for the individual who wants to enhance wellness in themselves and the lives of people they care about by using the gift of energetic touch. Learning Healing Touch will enable you to offer comfort and relief when nothing else seems to help. You will possess a life-changing gift that you can give over and over again, once you have mastered simple, easy-to-learn steps and techniques that support health and facilitate the healing process….The goal of Healing Touch is to restore balance and harmonies in the energy system, placing the client in a position to self heal.”
“As a healing modality Therapeutic Touch has been shown to be very effective in decreasing anxiety, decreasing stress, evoking the relaxation response, decreasing pain, and promoting wound healing. Therapeutic Touch as a method of healing is used by both professionals in the health field and laymen in the community.”
More Info:
Meditation
Meditation and other Self-Help techniques can help to relieve stress and relax the entire body and mind, allowing for healing and processing of the many emotions that we tend to hold onto, and thus hold in our bodies. It is the perfect Mind-Body connection.
Research has shown that there are physiological effects in response to active meditation and is becoming a growing interest in the neurological field. There is no one way or right way to do this. You have to find something or a combination of things that work for you. This may not be your cup of tea, but it has been used in various cultures and modalities for centuries.
Meditation can be done at home or anywhere; alone or in a crowd. There are no rules unless you impose them on yourself. It often encompasses spiritual connection as well. Prayer is a form of meditation, although it is sometimes directed outward, rather than looking within. Buddhism is probably the most commonly known and recognized form of meditation in the West.
I have studied various techniques and methods over the past 25 years. I was never one to just do what a book or someone else told me. So, for me, it has become a very personal practice, with roots in many methods. I think the point many miss, is it isn’t about specific words, rituals, celebrations, or religions. It’s about communicating with your spirit and whatever other higher being(s) you find helpful and supportive. It is a healing tool and an opportunity to create something unique for yourself in order to feel connected and present.
There are an endless amount of methods and modalities. Some require sitting in a specific position or laying down. Some are combined with physical movement such as Yoga and Martial Arts. The important thing is to find something that works for you and helps you to heal within.
Don’t be turned off by the word Psychic…there are no crystal balls, bells, cards, or parlor tricks…I promise. They teach meditation and energetic self-healing by looking at your personal space or energy from a neutral perspective, in present time. This allows you to separate from it, and heal it, so you can move forward on your journey. I personally attended Psychic Horizons as a student, Clairvoyant training, Teacher Training, and Minister’s class for over 5 years. Their beginning 3 step classes for meditation can be taken via the telephone, and provide some very helpful basic tools. I cannot say enough about this place. Much of my wisdom comes from here.
More Info:
Yoga
Yoga is an excellent practice for overall health, joint flexibility, immune function, and it quiets the mind. Deep breathing gets more oxygen into the body which helps overall. It can be an excellent combination of meditation and exercise. Please see the Exercise page for more information on Yoga.
Tai Chi/QiGong
Both of these forms incorporate movement, breathing, and meditation to induce a positive healing effect on the body.
Ayurveda
As described by Chopra.com “More than a mere system of treating illness, Ayurveda is a science of life (Ayur = life, Veda = science or knowledge). It offers a body of wisdom designed to help people stay vital while realizing their full human potential. Providing guidelines on ideal daily and seasonal routines, diet, behavior and the proper use of our senses, Ayurveda reminds us that health is the balanced and dynamic integration between our environment, body, mind, and spirit.”
Respected Practitioner: Jivan Shakti
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is a very effective therapeutic tool. It is the use of essential oils for healing. Depending on the mode that is used and the oil chosen, varying therapeutic effects can be achieved. This covers a broad spectrum from antimicrobial medicinal uses to helping with sleep, mood, and anxiety. It can also be used in combination with Hydrotherapy. For more information, please see the Essential Oils page.
Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy is great because you can do some of it at home! There are several types of hydrotherapy such as foot baths, hot bath, sauna, steam bath, warm wraps and compresses, etc… It tends to be most effective when treatments alternate hot and cold, depending on what is needed.
Hydrotherapy is helpful and sometimes essential in removing toxins from the body and stimulating our natural detoxification and immune responses. Please see the Detox page for more information.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
As defined by the Mayo Clinic “Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized room. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a well-established treatment for decompression sickness, a hazard of scuba diving. Other conditions treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy include serious infections, bubbles of air in your blood vessels, and wounds that won’t heal as a result of diabetes or radiation injury.
In a hyperbaric oxygen therapy room, the air pressure is raised up to three times higher than normal air pressure. Under these conditions, your lungs can gather up to three times more oxygen than would be possible breathing pure oxygen at normal air pressure.
Your blood carries this oxygen throughout your body, stimulating the release of substances called growth factors and stem cells, which promote healing.”
Note: Some people who have Babesia can have severe reactions to this, so be sure to discuss it with your doctor beforehand.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Infrared Sauna
Infrared Sauna’s are effective at inducing detox through heat and sweating. It often has a therapeutic effect that relieves pain, stress, anxiety, and depression. They do emit electromagnetic energy, so overuse or prolonged use should be avoided. Please see the Detox page for more information on Infrared Saunas.
Ondamed Biofeedback
Many Lyme Literate practitioners are using this specific device with great results in supporting relaxation, boosting immune function, and relieving pain. This is sometimes confused with a Rife Machine. It is similar, but is used not as a treatment to kill Lyme, but to support bodily functions. For more on Rifing, please see the Naturopathic Treatments page.
As described on Ondamed.net:
“ONDAMED is a battery-powered biofeedback device that a medical practitioner uses to determine which frequencies of sound, as well as the accompanying weak pulsed electromagnetic fields, cause a response in a patient’s autonomic nervous system. Temporary stimulation by these frequencies, combined with the patient’s cognitive and non-cognitive participation, promotes relaxation, muscle re-education, and various other prescription uses, such as pain relief, stress relief linked with reduction of inflammation and potential improvement of the immune system.”
Biomat
Chelation
Chelation is generally used to remove toxins, particularly heavy metals from the body. It removes all vitamins and nutrients, so should be taken away from food and medications. This should not be done long term, and only if deemed necessary by your health care provider. For more information, see the Heavy Metals & Parasites page.
A Note on Medications for Pain and Sleep Management, Anxiety, and Depression
Pain and sleep management and mental health can usually be managed with proper dosing of treatment in combination with immune support, proper detox, nutrition, exercise, and a strong support network including a doctor that is available to his/her patients. There are many herbal, nutritional, and safe methods of supplementing these needs. Many of them are listed above. Over the counter anti-inflammatory medications can supplement most pain needs beyond this. Different forms of therapeutic support help with different needs in this area.
Still, some may need pharmaceuticals due to extreme neurological conditions as a result of damage from Lyme. There are many scenarios that could happen that would require additional intervention; often pain in combination with psychological disorders and seizures.
However, I feel it is extremely important to emphasize that this only be done if it is medically necessary and make sure you fully understand the implications and side effects associated with any drug you take.
I’ve been seeing more and more people that are having serious issues with depression, anxiety, and pain. Many are on pharmaceuticals to “help” with that. I’ve never been one to take meds, personally, unless I had no choice, so I never had to personally go through this. However, I have known and do know people that struggle with trying to come off of some of these drugs. It can take months or years to completely come off of these drugs!
Of course, me being the type of person I am, I like to research stuff before I put it in my body or sign up for it. And it is really concerning to me that some of these meds are prescribed like candy, and sometimes by LLMDs. I felt compelled to give a little warning here.
Benzodiazepines, in particular, if you start looking into this family of drugs, raise big concerns. I honestly wonder how they are legally prescribed for long term use. I also wonder how many Lyme patients are really having serious withdrawal symptoms, seizures, and continuing to get worse due to these drugs…..not just Lyme. And how many Lyme suicides are due to them? When you look at the withdrawal symptoms list, it closely mimics some of the worst and most dangerous Lyme symptoms. How are you supposed to know what is Lyme and what is withdrawal if the symptoms are the same?
I’m actually quite concerned about this one, and I know some will argue about benefits. I can understand that they may be needed in extreme circumstances for the short term. If they are prescribed for long term use, doses should be kept low and consistent. But they are not designed to be used long term, are highly addictive for some, and can cause severe and life threatening side effects if they are abruptly stopped. In fact, over the long term, they start to cause the very symptoms that they were initially prescribed to stop.
Yet most doctors who prescribe these drugs don’t think to give the warnings to the patients. Sadly, many of them are unaware of the long term affects and dangers and refuse to help the patient taper slowly off of the drugs after prescribing them! Personally, I see no benefit in taking a drug to temporarily remove symptoms for something that you know will take a long time to heal…..and after taking that drug for a long time, you are having the exact same life threatening symptoms from the drug. This can also put much more strain and toxic load on your body which is already struggling to fight Lyme & Co.
This is not to say that all drugs for these symptoms are bad. In some cases, they are necessary. There are many safer alternatives out there, including other seizure, pain, depression, and anxiety medications. Conventional or Natural, there are other options for long term use. Everyone is different and has different needs. Just be aware.
Some Psych. drugs can impair your own ability to cope or feel emotion. Pain meds can have addiction and withdrawal issues, and other awful side effects. Sleep meds tend to be addictive and then you need another med to wake up…it’s a vicious cycle.
Do your homework when it comes to medications. Understand what you are putting into your body and what the risks are. Always discuss it with your doctor and be aware of interactions with other medications and supplements. More information below.
Herbal medicine for depression, anxiety and insomnia
Opioid Antagonists in Pain Management
Sleeping Pills, Natural Sleep Aids & Medications
Critics Site Serious Side Effects of Benzodiazepine Antidepressants
Benzodiazepines Withdrawal Syndrome
Lymenet: Looking for honest Lyme/ benzo feedback please
Addictions and Recovery.org/Benzodiazepines
Benzo Support.org/Withdrawal Symptoms
Addiction: Part I. Benzodiazepines-Side Effects, Abuse Risk and Alternatives
Abuse and Dependence Liability of Benzodiazepine-Type Drugs
Special thanks to Muriel Miller and all the other wonderful people who inspired me to do this page and contributed their knowledge. This is the good stuff!
Treatment Success requires over-all health and well-being