Benefits of Alternative Medicine and Therapy against Modern Medicine

Over the last couple of years alternative medicine has gained enormous reputation. Today we hear a lot about alternative medicine and therapy that are widely being used, but yet there are many who are still not sure about its benefits and often raise questions regarding its effectiveness. In fact, many people who ask questions like – how it differs from conventional medication. They usually speculate why its been labeled or always referred as “alternative” and what benefits it can deliver against modern medicine.

In broad terms, “alternative system of medicine” differs totally from the mainstream medicine. In comparison to modern medicine, this form of medicine actually works by combining different elements of lifestyle including exercise regime, diet along with the actual medicine itself. It is a practice of consuming a medicine without having a heavy dose of any drug. Perhaps it is one of its own kinds of therapies where an individual becomes a member of different treatment techniques. The best part is it doesnt have any side effects. Every treatment techniques are 100% natural and safe. They majorly use natural substances processed simply. It doesnt involve any participation of advanced manufacturing processes, which commonly generally make use of carbon polluting energy. Apart from this, if we talk more about its benefits then alternative system of medicine is much more cost effective. The cost involved in alternative therapy is generally affordable and even the most financially compromised families can easily afford it. Adding to this, it usually recognizes the true nature of disease. Besides this, alternative medicine recognizes physical symptoms only develop when you ignore the mental and emotional signs and symptoms. And, this mental strength allows individual to deal with different health problems as they arise. An individual finally able to understand the how physical body functions and the way it relates to health.

It is one form of medical treatments whose benefits just cannot be ignored. Though medical science has not totally accepted its effectiveness, but yet these days many conventional medications are getting linked to natural products as well. Adding to this, many leading conventional institutions from all across the world are even introducing alternative therapies into their clinics. People have turned towards using alternative system of medicine, since it offers multiple health benefits and cures them in a natural way. Thus, with so much to offer and looking at its growing popularity, making a career in alternative medicine can be the good opportunity. Today there are many institutes that are offering such kinds of courses. You can also select this course through distance education program as there are various alternative therapy institutes as well that are offering alternative medicine correspondence courses as well. The content of most of these courses can help you get fully trained and prepared to enter the desired field with complete confidence. Thus, once you complete the course and with a degree in hand, you can enter various fields that offer various methods of holistic healing.

The benefits of alternative therapy and medicine against modern medicine have grown in popularity with each generation. The demand of alternative medicine exerts has increased and with this growing need for experts. The institute that offering such kinds of courses are becoming increasingly necessary and beneficial. So if you are looking forward to make a career in this field make sure you possess a good education from a reputed alternative medicine institute.

Acupuncture an Alternative Medicine

Acupuncture is often associated with pain control; in the hands of a well-trained practitioner, it has much broader applications. Acupuncture is a part of the health care system of China that can be traced back at least 2,500 years. The general theory of acupuncture is based on the premise that there are patterns of energy flow (Qi) through the body that are essential for health. Disruptions of this flow are believed to be responsible for disease. The goal of this procedure is to restore the well-being and the health of the individual. While it may seem strange, acupuncture uses a method of inserting needles into specific points in the body. It should only be performed by a skilled individual, one that has received training in the. It is a method of encouraging the body to promote natural healing and to improve functioning. Acupuncture can be effective as the only treatment used, or as the support or adjunct to other medical treatment forms in many medical and surgical disorders. One should always plan their activities so that after the treatment one can get some rest. This is especially important for the first few visits. Do not eat an unusually large meal immediately before or after the treatment.

With increased globalization and exchange of views and other parameters, the system of medicine also attempts to enter into the others territories. It is an ongoing process, which results in giving world class treating mechanisms and ultimately results in better way of healing. As there are many cases that represent the audacity of the claim of treating by one system of medicine establishing itself as superior, yet there are no guarantees that a particular medicine system will eventually succeed in giving relief to the patient. However, there are attempts that go on in justifying the superiority of a particular medicine system and it applies to all the healing systems of the world. In fact, it is primarily the result of enhanced globalization.

Some of the people on the western side of the fence think that Chinese Medicine is confined to magic and associate it with being hocus-pocus. They see it primitive and since the basis of Chinese Medicine owes its origins to herbs or acupuncture, it is largely related to one of yet another term, placebo effect. Chinese Medicine is largely taken upon as non-working when it comes to serious cure and genuine diseases or illnesses. Moreover, Chinese Medicine is taken as ancient leaning towards spiritualism, and more taken as falling in the category of religious healing practices.

However, the fact of the matter is entirely different. Chinese Medicine is actually coherent and independent system of thought and practice that took quite a long time to evolve and reach the current stage. Chinese Medicine approaches the human body and attempts to restore it with an progress understanding and curing skills. That is where it is gaining immense popularity not only in the areas where it is already established but also in the far-flung world regions.

Alternative Medicine and It’s Use in Natural Pain Management

Chronic Pain conditions are a growing problem in the United States. And while the debate still rages about whether or not chronic pain should be managed as a separate condition or just a symptom of another problem it is clear that pain management has become a booming segment of the healthcare industry.

Consequently, the use of pharmaceutical drugs for pain control has also reached an all time high. Drugs like Oxicontin, Vicodin and methadone, are front page news in causing America’s latest drug crisis, as a result, the use of cocaine and heroin have also reached levels not seen in this country in 30 years.

Due to the economic and scientific phenomena of the pharmaceutical revolution of the 20th century, thousands of years of knowledge were suddenly abandoned. Herbal medicine has safely and effectively treated pain for millennia, and is for safer than the synthesized, processed medications that today’s doctors seem to be all too willing to hand out like so much candy.

In the realm of alternative medicine, there are many forms of natural pain management that are in fact, the basis of where many of our oh-so-popular pharmaceutical drugs come from.

Codeine and morphine are opium derivatives that may be effective but are also highly addictive, and even aspirin is a derivative of willow bark. Many other plants have been used in natural pain management since antiquity, such as lavender and chamomile for minor pain issues and these plants have the added benefit of also assisting with the emotional component of pain such as anxiety and difficulty sleeping. Plants like henbane and mandrake are so effective that they are even used very effectively during labor to ease the pain of childbirth.

Some wonderful and powerful herbal medicine can also be found in the spice cabinet. Spices like turmeric, and ginger are two of the most powerful anti- inflammatories on the planet. These plants are natural COX-2 inhibitors; they are the alternative medicine answer to the popular pharmaceutical drugs Celebrex and Vioxx. In the middle east, India and all over Asia where the diets are rich in spices like turmeric, and ginger and cayenne, where life is also far less convenient then our own, people have a far less occurrence of arthritis and chronic back pain, and continue to work very labor intensive jobs such as farming and agriculture work even into their 90’s.

There has always been an accepted school of thought in allopathic medicine that it is acceptable to injure one part of the body to heal another, thus even common over the counter NSAID pain relievers such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen, can cause long term damage, acetaminophen to the liver and ibuprofen to the kidneys, in natural pain management many plants, roots, barks, and other herbs not only antistetic in nature but they are also anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic as well, and herbal medicine is gentler on the system and is more synergistic with the body allowing for greater absorption of the necessary constitutes.

So you see that alternative medicine goes beyond the typically accepted ideal of treating just the symptoms and goes farther to treat many of the underlying causes as well as some of the other components involved in chronic pain conditions.

Holistic, alternative and complementary medicine

What is holistic medicine?

Holistic medicine (health) is more than just an alternative medicine or just a herbal medicine. Holistic medicine supports reaching higher levels of wellness as well as preventing illness. Not just with nutritional supplements, vitamins or herbs. Most important factor is your lifestyle. People enjoy the vitality and well-being that results from their positive lifestyle changes, and are motivated to continue this process throughout their lives. Holistic medicine (health) is actually an approach to life. Rather than focusing on illness or specific parts of the body, this ancient approach to health considers the whole person and how he or she interacts with his or her environment. It emphasizes the connection of mind, body, and spirit. The goal is to achieve maximum well-being, where everything is functioning the very best that is possible. With Holistic Health people accept responsibility for their own level of well-being, and everyday choices are used to take charge of one’s own health.

A recent positive trend has been in the medical schools, which are beginning to invite holistic physicians to lecture or to develop programs in the schools to complement their more conventional curricula. The National Institute of Health has developed an office to support and research holistic and alternative medicine practices. Some states are now passing laws to protect and support the practices of holistic providers, as they have sometimes been the subject of harassment by their more conservative colleagues, for their different orientation, techniques, and approaches to health care. With these current trends, the changing needs and perceptions by a more informed public, and the increasing scientific validation of holistic approaches, I see the holistic paradigm coming of agethe new frontier of health care and human awareness.

What is alternative and what is complementary medicine?

Alternative medicine: practices used instead of standard medical treatments. Alternative medicine is distinct from complementary medicine which is meant to accompany, not to replace, standard medical practices. Alternative medical practices are generally not recognized by the medical community as standard or conventional medical approaches. Alternative medicine includes nutritional supplements, megadose vitamins, herbal preparations, special teas, massage therapy, magnet therapy, and spiritual healing.

Integration of complementary and alternative medicine therapies (CAM) with conventional medicine is occurring in hospitals and physicians offices, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) are covering CAM therapies, insurance coverage for CAM is increasing, and integrative medicine centers and clinics are being established, many with close ties to medical schools and teaching hospitals. In determining what care to provide, the goal should be comprehensive care that uses the best scientific evidence available regarding benefits and harm, encourages a focus on healing, recognizes the importance of compassion and caring, emphasizes the centrality of relationship-based care, encourages patients to share in decision making about therapeutic options, and promotes choices in care that can include complementary therapies where appropriate.

Numerous approaches to delivering integrative medicine have evolved. Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States identifies an urgent need for health systems research that focuses on identifying the elements of these models, the outcomes of care delivered in these models, and whether these models are cost-effective when compared to conventional practice settings.

It outlines areas of research in convention and CAM therapies, ways of integrating these therapies, development of curriculum that provides further education to health professionals, and an amendment of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act to improve quality, accurate labeling, research into use of supplements, incentives for privately funded research into their efficacy, and consumer protection against all potential hazards.