Alternative Medicine
Throughout recorded history, people of various cultures have relied on whatWestern medical practitioners today call alternative medicine. The termalternative medicine covers a broad range of healing philosophies,approaches, and therapies. It generally describes those treatments andhealth care practices that are outside mainstream Western health care.People use these treatments and therapies in a variety of ways. Alternativetherapies used alone are often referred to as alternative; when used incombination with other alternative therapies, or in addition to conventionaltherapies they are referred to as complementary. Some therapies are faroutside the realm of accepted Western medical theory and practice, but some,like chiropractic treatments, are now established in mainstream medicine.Worldwide, only an estimated ten to thirty percent of human health care isdelivered by conventional, biomedically oriented practitioners ("Fields ofPractice"). The remaining seventy to ninety percent ranges from self-careaccording to folk principles, to care given in an organized health caresystem based on alternative therapies ("Fields of Practice"). Many cultures
Does all this recent medical establishment attention mean that thenon-conventional therapies really work? Critics say a definitive scientificanswer must await well-designed experiments involving many patients. Founded in the eighteenth century by German physician SamuelHahnemann, it is based on the idea that "like cures like" (Kees); thatmicro-doses of substances, known in large amounts to cause illness, cantreat that illness by stimulating the body's own natural defenses andcurative powers. In addition to releasing endorphins, doctors and clinicians know thatacupuncture can provide at least short-term relief for a wide range of painsby inhibiting the transmission of pain impulses through the nerves. The systems of alternative medical practicethe OAM has classified so far share many common therapeutic techniques. Some scientists suggestthat the power of prayer and faith healing, like some forms of meditation,might also be physiological in that they may protect the body from thenegative effects of stress hormone norepinephrine. A diagram of the meridian system looks similar tothose of our circulatory and nervous systems (Crute). Although chiropractic clearly has its drawbacks, notably its stubborninsistence that spinal misalignments cause or underlie most ailments,including those far afield from the backbone, its use of vertebralmanipulation has proved useful in treating acute low-back pain and othermuscular and neurological problems. When the flow ofenergy becomes blocked, an imbalance is created, resulting in pain ordisease. Furthermore, recent studies also show acupuncture to be effective inalleviating bronchial asthma, bronchitis, and stroke-induced paralysis(Apostolides). Twenty years ago, few physicians would have advised patients to take folicacid to prevent birth defects, vitamin E to promote a healthy heart, orvitamin C to bolster their immune systems. Puncturing theskin with a needle is the usual method, but acupuncturists may alsostimulate the acupuncture points with finger-pressure. Current chiropractic research focuses onback and musculoskeletal pain and reliability studies. Traditional oriental medicine and naturopathic medicine, for example, bothuse herbal remedies, acupuncture, and mind/body control. "I'm a healthy skeptic," says Johns Hopkins psychiatrist MaryMcCaul (Apostolides).
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Acceptance Essays
