Complementary and Alternative Medicines Essay

The traditional Chinese treatment of acupuncture is an affective alternative medicine that has been around for thousands of years. Acupuncture is one of the most researched and documented alternative medicines around (Acupuncture). Although a vast majority of people believe Western medicine is the only cure to sickness, many people benefit from acupuncture everyday. Most people disregard the ancient art all together without giving it a chance because are scared of the needles it involves. Also, since no accurate scientific explanation of how and why it works has been found, people shy away from it. The healing powers of the body are taken to a whole different level with this alternative medicine.

The term complementary medicine is used by conventional medical practitioners to refer to nom-invasive, non-pharmaceutical techniques which are used in conjunction with allopathic medical treatments such as drugs and surgery. The term implies that sometimes conventional medicine is used as a primary tool and also a non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical complementary technique is used as a supplement when needed. Complementary medicine has become an increasing feature of healthcare

Because many of the treatments of alternative medicine do not adhere to the principles of conventional medicine, whether or not to allow practice of these techniques in the United States is a major concern of the medical community today. The Food and Drug Administration is the decision making body of issues such as this and more often than not, does not approve many of these practices. Due to the fact that holistic medicine sometimes contradicts the fundamentals of biomedicine, health care regulation boards such as the FDA find it difficult to accept many of these treatments. Because the Western world is so unfamiliar with these techniques it is only natural for medical community to often disprove these methods. However, as more and more doctors discover the limitations of

Acupuncture – this technique is also considered to be a complimentary therapy. Acupuncture is a type of an ancient Chinese medicine that has been practiced for thousands of years by the Chinese. This technique is basically where you inject refined needles that have been sterile into the patient’s body.

P4 – explain the role of complementary therapies in relation to orthodox treatments (IE3; CT2;

The therapies offers uses state-of-the art science, including dry needling. It is like acupuncture with the use of needles that uses mild electronic current to stimulate muscles in precise positions.

Today we have alternative medicine which was developed thousands of years ago and have a long-standing historical value of effectiveness, advantages, and some drawbacks. Diagnosis was the first approach to any illness. Alternative medicine looks at the factors of equilibrium and the environment in which one lives and the disease is considered an imbalance between the two; cleansing the whole body than on a particular problem to get the balance back in sync. Very much the description of the Buddhist and the Greek cultures of medicine and healing the

Complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM, can be characterized as a gathering of restorative, human services, and healing systems other than those incorporated into health care in the United States. CAM incorporates the perspectives, speculations, modalities, items, and practices connected with these systems and their utilization to treat disease and advance health and prosperity (McKenzie, 2012). Even though heterogeneous, the significant CAM frameworks have numerous normal attributes, including an attention on individualizing medications, treating the entire individual, advancing self-consideration and self-recuperating, and perceiving the otherworldly way of every person. What's more, numerous CAM frameworks have attributes generally found in standard human services, for example, an emphasis on great sustenance and preventive practices. Dissimilar to standard medication, CAM frequently needs or has just restricted trial and clinical concentrate; then again, experimental examination of CAM is starting to address this learning crevice. In this manner, limits in the

medical schools; and, (c) is not generally reimbursable by health insurance providers” (qtd. in Jarvis). This definition includes natural cures and herbs, whole medical systems such as Indian Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine, mind-body practices such as meditation and hypnosis, healing and energy medicine such as qigong, and practices such as acupuncture and massage (Baker 746).

Alternative Medicine is defined as any practice that is not included in traditional medicine care. There are various reasons why hospitals or health care settings include alternative medicine. Some health care facilities are experimenting with different therapies to advance the health care system. One therapy that has been proven to have positive results is the doll therapy for patients with dementia. In “Doll therapy: Therapeutic or Childish and Inappropriate?”, doll therapy is examined and the ethicality of the medicine is discussed. The qualitative experiment carried out in the article shows the ways that patients, families, and staff feel about using dolls in the care plan of dementia patients. The authors, Julia Heathcote, and Moira Clare, hypothesize that the dolls are positive ways to increase patients’ wellbeing because the dolls encourage a childish happiness for many clients (Heathcoat & Clare, 2014).

Over many years, society has explored options into different varieties and forms of medicine to help people with pain along with other treatment options not prescribed by mainstream medicine. Some options of alternative medicine consist of acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, herbal medicine, meditation, massage, aromatherapy, hypnosis, and other medicines not prescribed by mainstream medical care. People look towards these options after most other options are explored and tried out over years to help cope with personal trauma or pain/injury. We will be looking at all the various examples listed above in more significantly detail and give more detailed explanation of what each individual technique can do for you. These methods can be used in a variety of approaches to promote self-healing and growth after a significant traumatic event in one’s life. Acupuncture, Massage therapy, and meditation are all significant forms of alternative medicine which will be the primary focus in this paper. Alternative medicine can help people with significant mental, physical and emotional issues. The benefits of alternative medicine are going to be explored and introduced as a possible solution besides mainstream medicine.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in complementary medicine, and indeed alternative medicine (Lee-Treweek 2002, Andrews 2004, Barry 2006). Moreover the number of professionally trained therapist and practitioners has increased giving the patient/client a better choice and at more competitive rates (Smallwood, 2005).

The scientific community is much quicker to label this second type as quacks, whereas the scientific community has failed to gain a consensus on the legitimacy of the first type. Unfortunately, both are encompassed by the term alternative medicine. This paper will focus on the more controversial alternative medicines described in the first group.

These therapies have proved to be of much benefit in supporting the normal healing course of the body. Even though there are many modern alternative remedies, with different beliefs, all of them operate under some common principles. One of these principles is that the body has the capacity to heal naturally and maintain stability (Paquette, 2000). The other one is that adverse health conditions can occur as a result of factors emanating from mind, emotions and the body. Alternative medicine, according to Goldberg, Trivieri and Anderson, (2002), focuses on determining the chief cause of a particular condition, and dealing with the whole person rather that concentrating on symptoms. If a person pays close attention to his/her health he/she can contribute to his/her wellbeing. Alternative medicine holds firmly to the principle that one treatment cannot be used for all people even though they may be suffering from the same condition. Each and every person as per alternative medicine has distinct bodily, mind and spiritual make up (Goldberg, Trivieri and Anderson, 2002).

Alternative methods of healing have been utilized by non-western medicine for generations. The use of acupuncture to heal everything from seasickness to muscle soreness is well documented and widely used. Physical therapy is often a precursor to surgery and many times will prevent the need to undergo a more invasive procedure. A lesser-known form of alternative healing but becoming more popular is music therapy. In the late 18th century, scientists began to investigate the effects of music on the human body; however, using music as a healing medium dates back to ancient times. There are many forms and techniques of music therapy that aid a variety of disabilities having to do with communication, behavioral issues, the autism spectrum,