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Naturopathic Medicine


 

At Explore Health in Scottsdale, AZ, we believe strongly in the body’s ability to heal itself. However, when you are suffering from chronic or acute illness or pain, you need the experience of a physician that can provide direction and guidance to encourage the body’s immune system by removing the roadblocks and strengthening the healing power of nature for a faster and more complete recovery.  Dr. William Nelson, NMD, at Explore Health AZ has been providing this type of care since 1996.

Is Naturopathic Medicine effective?

Naturopathy is a concept that was brought from Germany to the United States in the 1800s. Some naturopathic therapies incorporated today including to the traditional Chinese medicine and the Ayurvedic principles as practiced in India actually date back thousands of years .  Contemporary Naturopathic medicine combines the wisdom and efficacy of time-honored traditional medicine with latest advances in medical science to provide the most comprehensive treatments for all chronic and acute medical conditions.   We pride ourselves by knowing when and how to combine the best of both cutting edge developments with safe and effective methods to customize your medical care to meet each patient’s individual medical needs.  

Examples of naturopathic modalities include herbal and nutritional supplements, lifestyle and Vis counseling, spinal and soft tissue manipulation, hydrotherapy, acupuncture, radiofrequency and ultrasound therapy, PEMF, Naturopathic endocrinology, medical assisted treatment (MAT) with Naltrexone, and regenerative injection therapies, using Prolotherapy, neuroprolotherapy, PRP and exosome.  Dr Nelson has over 24 years of successful clinical experience helping patients with conditions including acute and chronic pain, addiction recovery and digestive problems, autoimmune and endocrine problems.   

Dr. Nelson is often the doctor of “last resort.”  Hundreds of our successful patients get results working with the “Naturopathic Dr. House,” as many have called Dr. Nelson, after exhausted the resources of their insurance based medical conventional medical providers and other less experienced Naturopathic doctors.   Recently, Dr. Nelson has helped prevent the loss of one of our patient’s legs after two world renowned hospitals had urged the patient to have it amputated.  Others finally become pain free, prevent knee/hip replacement or spinal surgery, some are referred to other “exceptional” medical specialists when necessary.  If you are currently struggling to overcome any type of medical challenge and you are willing to develop a partnership with an experienced doctor to “coach” you back to health, please call us to discuss your situation.  

How can a Naturopathic Medical Doctor help when Conventional Medicine fails?

In order to provide an individualized care plan, Dr. Nelson will spend the time necessary to understand you and our health concerns. With 24 years of experience combining natural therapies with evidence based medical science, Dr. Nelson is a uniquely qualified Naturopathic Medical Doctor who is proud to serve Scottsdale and the surrounding communities.

His decades of education and experience are beneficial in helping you find a treatment that meets your needs, lifestyle and personal preferences.  To prepare for your first visit be prepared to talk about your medical history, lifestyle habits and current stress levels.  Also please bring your recent lab tests and all X-Rays, CTs, MRIs, and PET scans along with the diagnostic imaging results.  

How does Naturopathic Medicine Work?

During your initial consultation, Dr. Nelson will investigate the key aspects of your life that may be blocking your natural ability to heal.  These “obstacles to cure,” may include unresolved chronic infection(s), dysbiosis (yeast, parasites or imbalanced intestinal flora), dental foci (anaerobic chronic infections from root canals or infections in the jaw), endogenous or exogenous toxicity, poor liver function, sympathetic nervous system dominance, adrenal fatigue, scars from surgery or trauma, negative effects of immunosuppressive drugs (prednisone, etc), traumatic brain injury, undiagnosed nutritional deficiencies, food or environmental allergies, heavy metal toxicity from dental work, environmental, or work exposure, unwanted emotions from recent or childhood trauma, addictions, inherited illness or expression of genetic polymorphism, unresolved joint or back pain from ligament laxity, trigger points, peripheral nerve entrapment, or disc/cartilage degeneration, etc.

Most conditions that do not respond to a conventional medicine linear approach using prescription drugs, surgery, chemotherapy or radiation will respond when the patient is evaluated and corrective therapies are incorporated to deal with all of the potential obstacles to cure listed above.   Most difficult to treat conditions do not have a singular cause and will not respond to reductionist diagnosis and treatments popularized and promoted as “evidence based” using the double-blinded, double-crossover, placebo-controlled model.   Many times, this involves ignoring conventional wisdom of statistics or poor prognosis given by the best medical “experts” in the world for certain diseases and chronic pain.  Often our patients experience resolution from incurable pain or recover from terminal conditions.  In other situations, our patients experience the ability to live with the pain or enjoy a quality of life and peace of mind that is often unavailable while pursuing conventional oncology or treatments for terminal illness.

What type of Conditions Do Not Respond to Naturopathic Medicine?

Although we can not make promises, Dr. Nelson has been helping patients recover from difficult to treat illnesses and pain after they have failed to receive benefits from insurance based medicine for all types of conditions.   However, this approach does not lend itself to reductionist solutions for complicated multi-factorial medical conditions.  Patients that expect a natural “Green Drug” miracle cure for their chronic condition will predictably not respond to Naturopathic Medicine.  Comprehensive Naturopathic Medical Care requires cooperation, patience, and the patient’s commitment to partnering with the doctor to systematically evaluate and mitigate all the obstacles to cure.  This is often time consuming and frustrating for the patient who wants a “quick fix.”  The benefits of working with a Naturopathic Medical Doctor with two decades of experience is that Dr. Nelson can prioritize which obstacles are most likely to be causing the biggest negative effects on the patient’s health and systematically work with the patient to evaluate and correct each health stressor in that order.  The doctor-patient relationship is one best described as “doctor as teacher.”  In this paradigm, the doctor is not responsible for “healing” the patient.    The best teachers are only effective if the student is motivated to learn, change, and follow the advice of their mentor.  The best students only achieve their objective if the teacher can identify and help the student correct the obstacles to their development.  

In insurance-based medicine, the patient just provides the doctor with their symptoms.  The doctor’s responsibility is to diagnose and “cure” the patient usually using a pharmaceutical prescription, surgery, etc.   With many simple conditions, this approach works very well and is often life-saving.   In conditions that don’t respond to this linear approach, the patient is usually told “there is nothing else I can do,” “you’re gonna have to learn to live with this,” or worse, “it’s all in your head, let’s try Zoloft, Prozac, Xanax, etc.”

What conditions respond to Comprehensive Naturopathic Medicine?

This type of treatment is perfect for anyone wanting to get to the root of the problem or for people who are not responding to conventional medicine or who experience intolerable side effects from pharmaceutical medicine.   Examples of common health issues that respond to Comprehensive Naturopathic Medicine include:

 

  • Acute or Chronic Knee pain
  • Whiplash/Auto Accident Injuries
  • Degenerative Joint Disease of Knee, Hip
  • Low Back Pain
  • Neuropathic Pain
  • Degenerative Discs
  • Osteoarthritis of back, knees, hips and shoulders
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome
  • Digestive issues- ie:  IBD, Crohn’s, ulcer,
  • Infertility for both men and women
  • Headaches
  • Complementary care for chemotherapy, radiation
  • Pre and post-surgical care programs
  • Obesity
  • Anxiety, Depression, or Mood disorders
  • Menopause 
  • Low Testosterone
  • Erectile Dysfunction
  • Adrenal Fatigue
  • Hypothyroid/Hashimotos
  • Non-healing/Diabetic Wounds
  • High Blood Pressure
  • Stroke and MI rehabilitation 
  • Opiate, Heroin, and Fentanyl Addiction
  • Alcohol Use Disorder
  • Auto-immune Disease
  • Immune optimization, prevention, and non-acute treatment for pandemic viral disease

If you cannot find relief from your chronic illness or pain through conventional medicine, you may benefit from Comprehensive Naturopathic Medical care.

Integrative Cancer Services

At Explore Health in Scottsdale, AZ, Dr. Nelson is honored to provide integrated cancer services to his local communities. To help clients achieve cancer remission, he develops personalized treatment plans based on numerous details regarding their specific circumstances. These include:

  • Type and location of the cancer
  • Staging
  • Age and overall vitality prior to diagnosis
  • Budget
  • Dealing with the discomfort and side effects of oncology treatments
  • Naturopathic oncology or a blend of natural and conventional oncology

Prevention Consulting and Screening

At Explore Health in Scottsdale, AZ, we offer several integrative cancer services. However, the most popular cancer service we provide is prevention consulting and screening. After all, prevention is the best cure. This includes advice regarding abnormal but non-cancerous pap smears, fibrocystic breasts, prostate problems and other signs you may develop cancer in the future.

Schedule Your Initial Consultation Today

If conventional medicine is not working for you, naturopathic medicine may be just what you need to take back your quality of life. To learn more, contact us today at Explore Health in Scottsdale, AZ to schedule your initial consultation. We are here for you. 

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