Palliative Care

Palliative care is an interdisciplinary approach used to treat symptoms of any illness, whether physical, mental, social, or spiritual. The overall goal is to improve the quality of life of sufferers and their families using a variety of techniques.

As an interdisciplinary concept, many types of treatment may be involved in palliative care, such as medicine, manual therapies, and even self-awareness.

Although palliative care grew out of hospice care and is therefore commonly viewed as a step prior to hospice, this is not necessarily the case. The benefits of palliative care are wide-ranging and can be used to treat even minor illnesses. One unrecognized benefit, however, is the treatment of severe symptoms — breathlessness or nausea, for example — that may be hard to manage with mainstream medicine.

The goal of palliative care is to help treat symptoms of any condition. The course of treatment varies based on the condition. A sprained ankle may require ice, rest, and OTC medication, which is a course of treatment very similar to mainstream medicine. For more severe conditions, however, the course of treatment draws on a broader range of treatment options. For example, rather than being prescribed several types of medication to treat nausea, a palliative care provider may prescribe medication and also perform manual manipulation.