The psycho neuro endocrine immunology (PNEI) is an integrative medicinal discipline that studies the relationships between the nervous, hormonal and immunological systems and human behavior.
Why choose the psycho neuro endocrine immunology when you are a physiotherapist ? My experiences as a globe trotter, kinesiologist or physiotherapist have opened my eyes to many aspects.
Kinesiology and physiotherapy, two different disciplines
The discovery of Chilean medicine
It all started in Chile, I was a 3rd year kinesiology student at the Universidad Mayor in Santiago. That’s right, kinesiologist, because kinesitherapy didn’t exist there. At first, I thought it was just a question of word and not of practice. It was during the practices that were done at home in pairs that the word took on its full meaning.
First, we had to relieve a patient’s arthritic knee pain and help her maintain the activities of her daily life. Having European practices, I was confident that I could make my South American partner’s treatment more complete and rewarding with our different experiences. But when our teacher came to supervise the treatment, he did not see things the same way. Indeed, I was in Chile, there to discover a way of thinking. So I had to learn their philosophy and not demonstrate the European methods.
Therefore, it was at that very moment that I realized that the inter-change was going to be much more complex than I had imagined. He clearly explained and stated that I had to understand and relearn the business. Here, they were not going to make the effort to adapt to me, but it was up to me to learn and understand their culture and relationships in order to provide a treatment that matched the university’s expectations.
The kinesiologists' vision
Then, after 6 months of work, I had fully understood and understood this whole aspect of globality. In fact, it was no longer just a matter of treating the physical aspect of our patient’s osteoarthritis, but also of maintaining the other psychological, social and visceral systems, etc… If, firstly, we succeed in therapeutically reducing the physical pain of our patient’s arthritis. However, if, secondly, this patient suffers from her social relationships. The independence of our patient will not increase, even if the pain of her knee has decreased. All this is because of her social relationships, which have also diminished, for example. Indeed, it was all about balance and wholeness. To better explain this to me, one of the students at the university diagrammed this idea :
When I returned from Chile, I wanted to explore this idea further. I started to practice meditation and self-hypnosis to improve my physical performance. I tried to choose my last internships with tutors who were looking for this global effect. I went to Andorra and discovered the PNEI master in Barcelona.
What is the psycho neuro endocrine immunology ?
The beginnings of the PNEI
Psycho neuro endocrine immunology is an idea that emerged in the 1970s. It took several years to make the interconnection between all the systems of the human body.
Researchers claim to understand the mechanisms by which we maintain our health. The same mechanisms by which we lose our health balance. We study how the immune system communicates with the Central Nervous System (CNS) and the endocrine system. We are looking at the impact that the gut microbiome can have on our behavior, the central nervous system and the endocrine system. How the microorganisms in our gut and immune system play a key role in our mood, memory, emotions and behavior.
How is psycho neuro endocrine immunology practiced today ?
Some physical therapists may have asked you how you cope when you come in with a back problem ? Why might stress be related to my knee pain ? Or why your behavior changes during your menstrual cycle.
The PNEI is a new holistic discipline that brings a human dimension to medicine. This holistic vision leads us to reintegrate the well-being of people by looking for the cause and not by treating the symptoms. Instead of treating the form of the disease, we are interested in the depth, why did I get sick ? What can I restore in my body ? This is looking at the person, not the disease.
I regularly see patients with constipation or irritable bowel syndrome along with chronic pain, fatigue and recurrent headaches. As well as women with menstrual irregularities or pain often associated with digestive problems, anxiety, stress or acne. And the most curious thing is that we go to different specialists, the physio for chronic back pain, the doctor for digestive problems, the gynecologist for menstrual problems. But what if the solution to the different pathologies was within each of us ?
In light of these examples, the PNEI offers a new approach to health, a coherent model that links the immune system to the central nervous system.
All of the articles we discuss are related to the PNEI.