Integrative Medicine

When you want a holistic approach to health care that incorporates complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) techniques with conventional medicine, choose UNC Medical Center. We bring together research, knowledge and practice, so you can count on finding safe, effective integrative medicine options to help you feel your best.

Integrative Medicine Services We Offer

Take advantage of a wide range of prevention, wellness and treatment services, including:

• Acupuncture – Uses thin, solid, metallic needles to stimulate specific points on the body as a way to relieve chronic pain or treat other conditions. Offered by the UNC Family Medicine Center, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and UNC's Comprehensive Cancer Support Program.
• Biofeedback – Teaches you how to control body functions like heart rate or muscle tension with the help of electrical sensors that show how your body responds. Offered at UNC's Center for Functional GI and Motility Disorders and through the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center's Recreational Therapy program.
• Nutrition and supplements counseling – Recommends a diet that provides the vitamins and nutrients you need to feel your best. Available at the UNC Wellness Centers and UNC's Comprehensive Cancer Support Program.
• Massage therapy – Relieves muscle tension and discomfort, reduces pain and swelling and stimulates healing. Available at the UNC Wellness Centers and through UNC's Comprehensive Cancer Support Program.
• Mindfulness training – Teaches you how to focus and relax to reduce stress and ease physical and psychological symptoms
• Yoga – Reduces stress and eases side effects of cancer treatment. Available at UNC Wellness Centers.
• Tai chi - A Chinese martial art whose system of physical exercises can improve balance and ease physical and psychological symptoms. Available at UNC Wellness Centers.

Your doctor can help you decide which techniques are best for you.

Conditions That May Benefit from CAM

You may benefit from incorporating complementary and alternative medicine into your treatment plan if you experience:

• Acute or chronic pain
• Anxiety or depression
• Arthritis
• Cancer
• Headaches and migraines
• High blood pressure or high cholesterol
• Insomnia or other sleep disorders
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Nausea and vomiting
• Sprains

Mindfulness Program

When daily stresses challenge your ability to cope, ease any resulting physical and emotional discomforts with mindfulness techniques. In our mindfulness-based stress- and pain-management programs, you’ll learn how to recognize the warning signs of stress reactions and relax in ways that enhance your body’s natural adaptive and healing abilities. Mindfulness techniques have been shown to deliver lasting benefits for people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), heart disease, migraine headaches, anxiety, depression and some autoimmune diseases.

Find a mindfulness program to meet your needs at UNC Medical Center.

Options include:

• Basic/Foundational Course – Learn mindfulness skills, practice mind-body exercises and participate in group discussions
• Mindfulness Skills for Changing Your Relationship with Food – Explore food cravings and gain skills to reduce emotion-driven eating
• Mindful Self-Compassion – Gain emotional resilience to boost your own happiness and reduce feelings of anxiety and depression
• Mindfulness for Teens – Learn how to cope with the day-to-day challenges of being a teenager

To register, call our Mindfulness Program at the Program on Integrative Medicine at 919-966-8586 or go to our website.