I'm writing today on Alternative Medicine because it's something that can be used effectively for Self-Care. I don't know what I would do without people who approach medicine from the whole body perspective and not just from a symptomatic viewpoint. This article will outline what Alternative Medicine is and help you identify whether or not you need different options when it comes to your health care.
I don't have a particular story. I'm just someone who has embraced a wide variety of Self-Care tools and they have worked for me. Let's start by defining the term Alternative Medicine.
Alternative Medicine is any range of medical therapies that are not regarded as orthodox by the medical profession. Examples are herbalism, homeopathy and acupuncture. The more appropriate term used now is CAM or Complimentary and Alternative Medicine. There are 5 known categories of CAM therapies.
1. Alternative Medical Systems
Homeopathic and Naturopathic therapies developed apart from modern conventional Western medicine and have their own theories and practices. Eastern methods include Ayurveda (a sister practice to yoga) and Chinese Medicine.
2. Mind Body Therapy
Because the mind and body are woven together and intricately connected, many therapies seek to enhance the mind's capacity to affect bodily function and symptoms. Patient support groups and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy are two examples of CAM therapies. Yoga, meditation, prayer, hypnosis and art therapies such as music, dance and art are all considered mind-body healing tools.
3. Biologically Based Therapies
Often times it will be determined that food causes allergies and the diet is missing crucial elements. In these cases, a variety of herbs, special diets and supplements may be prescribed to help the body come back to homeostasis.
4. Manipulative and Body-Based Therapies
Have you ever been in a car accident and had whiplash? This is where a chiropractor or massage therapist might be needed. Rolfing is another body-based therapy that can help with structural integrity.
5. Energy Therapies
There are two types of energy therapies: Biofield and Bioelectromagnetic
Biofield – these are intended to affect energy fields surrounding and penetrating the human body. There's not a lot of science behind these therapies. Qi Gong, Reiki and Therapeutic Touch are considered the main biofield energy therapies.
Bioelectromagnetic – involve the unconventional use of electromagnetic fields, such as pulsed fields, magnetic fields or alternating current or direct current fields.
The Difference Between Complementary and Alternative Medicine: What's the difference?
Complementary and Alternative Medicine have often been lumped together; however, there is actually a difference between the two.
Complementary medicine refers to healing practices and products that work together with traditional medicine. One example might be a cancer patient receiving chemotherapy who may also undergo acupuncture or other therapies to help manage chemo side effects like nausea and vomiting.
Alternative medicine differs in that it is not used as a complement to, but rather as a substitute for traditional therapy. An example would be a cancer patient who decides against recommended chemotherapy and instead chooses to treat the disease with specific dietary changes.
A third type of medicine, Integrative Medicine, combines CAM with traditional Western therapies. I tend to go to doctors who practice IM because they aren't just symptom based. The aim of IM is to get to the root of a problem whether it's biological, emotional/mental/psychological or a combination of both. An example of both mental and physical would be discovering that heart palpatations were caused by mental anxiety.
An IM doctor will look at your whole system and during your first visit, they might schedule you for an hour to get your history and ask you about your lifestyle. The downside is that it's typically expensive for your first visit and IMs aren't usually covered by insurance. I go to an IM for my hormone regulation versus my OB/GYN. The reason is because my IM is super well-versed in how hormones work in the body and she can test and discover how my hormones work in particular. She will not prescribe synthetic hormones or any kind of prescription drug that might affect the brain such as anti-depressants. My OB/GYN is willing to prescribe a medicine that could affect the brain and my IM is not willing to do that, so I prefer the more natural route.
But when I have a cough I can't get rid of, I head over to my regular MD, because the office will get me in quickly, it's covered by insurance and I can get meds right away if I need them. The IM doesn't work as quickly because they are more preventative in nature – not so much emergency physicians.
Chiropractic, Rolfing, Acupuncture and Massage have all benefited me and so many other people. The key to getting effective treatment is to get a referral from a friend, a doctor or someone whose opinion you trust. There are some incompetent medical professionals out there so be alert. When you hear the word, "Quack", it means they are not practicing with great skill and may be unethical.
Whether or not you choose to use CAM or Internal Medicine as a complement to your current medical care, you should know about the available options out there. One way to know if you should try CAM or IM is if all conventional methods have failed for an issue you've been dealing with. Sometimes a Naturopathic Physician can hone right in on the problem and help you heal quickly.
Again, I highly recommend getting a referral from someone you trust before using alternative therapies. Keep in mind that not all therapies work for all people. Where acupuncture might help one person with a frozen shoulder, another might need physical therapy. Sometimes you have to try several different therapies to find the one that works for you.
For good self-care, you should open your mind to Complementary and Alternative Medicine as it just might be the solution to one of your health care concerns.
Share your opinions about CAM and IM in the comment section below!