Alternative Medicine

            Alternative Medicine, also called unconventional medicine, therapeutic practices, techniques, and beliefs that are outside the realm of mainstream Western health care. Alternative medicine emphasizes therapies that improve quality of life, prevent disease, and address conditions that conventional medicine has limited success in curing, such as chronic back pain and certain cancers. Proponents of alternative medicine believe that these approaches to healing are safer and more natural and have been shown through experience to work. In certain countries, alternative medical practices are the most widely used methods of health care. However, many practitioners of modern conventional medicine believe these practices are unorthodox and unproven.

            A special report prepared for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Alternative Medicine: Expanding Medical Horizons, categorizes alternative medicine practices into six fields. The first field, mind-body intervention, explores the mind’s capacity to affect, and perhaps heal, the body. Studies have shown that the mental state has a profound effect on the immune system, and these studies have provoked interest in the mind’s role in the cause and course of disease. Specific mind-body interventions include meditation, hypnosis, art therapy, biofeedback, and mental healing.

Bioelectromagnetic applications, the second field of alternative medicine, make use of the body’s response to nonthermal, nonionizing radiation. Current uses involve bone repair, nerve stimulation, wound healing, treatment of osteoarthritis, and immune system stimulation.

The third field is alternative systems of medical practice. Each of these systems is characterized by a specific theory of health and disease, an educational program to teach its concepts to new practitioners, and often a legal mandate to regulate its practice. Examples include acupuncture, Ayurvedic medicine, homeopathy, and naturopathy.

Touch and manipulation are the mainstays of the manual healing methods, which constitute the fourth field of alternative medicine. Practitioners of chiropractic and massage therapies such as Rolfing structural integration believe that dysfunction of one part of the body often affects the function of other, not necessarily connected, parts. Health is restored by manipulating bones or soft tissues or realigning body parts.

The pharmacological and biological treatments that make up the fifth field of alternative medicine consist of an assortment of drugs and vaccines not yet accepted in mainstream medicine. Compounds such as antineoplastins (from human blood and urine) for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), various products of the honeybee for arthritis, and iscador (a liquid extract from mistletoe) for tumours have not been scientifically evaluated because of the expense of conducting safety and effectiveness studies.

Throughout the ages people have turned for healing to herbal medicine, the sixth field of alternative medicine. All cultures have folk medicine traditions that include the use of plants and plant products. Many licensed drugs used today originated in the herbal traditions of various cultures, such as the medication commonly used for heart failure, digitalis, which is derived from foxglove. In the United States, herbal products may be marketed only as food supplements. Since they are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there is no guarantee of their purity or safety. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 4 billion people, or 80 percent of the world’s population, use herbal medicine for some aspect of primary health care.

POPULAR THERAPIES

1)Acupuncture

     Acupuncture, ancient Chinese medical procedure involving insertion and manipulation of needles at any of more than 360 points in the human body. Applied to relieve pain during surgery or in rheumatic conditions, and to treat many other illnesses, acupuncture is used today in most hospitals in China and by some private practitioners in Japan and elsewhere, including the United States. Acupressure, a variant in which the practitioner uses manipulation rather than penetration to alleviate pain or other symptoms, is in widespread use in Japan and has begun to find adherents in the U.S. Also known as shiatsu, acupressure is administered by pressing with the fingertips—and sometimes the elbows or knees—along a complex network of trigger points (see below) in the patient's body.

    Acupuncture needles dating from 4,000 years ago have been found in China. The first needles were stone; later, bronze, gold, or silver was used, and today needles are usually made of steel. Initially, needles were used only to prick boils and ulcers. Acupuncture was developed in response to the theory that there are special meridian points on the body connected to the internal organs and that vital energy flows along the meridian lines. According to this theory, diseases are caused by interrupted energy flow, and inserting and twirling needles restores normal flow. The primary use of acupuncture in China today is for surgical analgesia. Chinese surgeons estimate that 30 percent of surgical patients obtain adequate analgesia with acupuncture, which is now performed by sending electrical current through the needles rather than by twirling them. American physicians who have observed surgery performed while the patient is under acupuncture have verified that it is effective in some patients, but put the figure closer to 10 percent. Brain surgery is especially amenable to this form of analgesia. Chinese surgeons claim that acupuncture is superior to Western, drug-induced analgesia in that it does not disturb normal body physiology and therefore does not make the patient vulnerable to shock.

    Chinese doctors also treat some forms of heart disease with acupuncture. As part of an attempt to put the practice on a more scientific basis, one Chinese study tested the effects of acupuncture treatment on more than 600 people with chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart. Results showed that almost all the patients greatly reduced their use of medicine and that most were able to resume work. Other physiological conditions treated with acupuncture are ulcer, hypertension (high blood pressure), appendicitis, and asthma.

    Good evidence suggests that acupuncture relieves nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy and surgical anaesthesia, nausea during pregnancy and pain after dental surgery. Controlled studies of acupuncture for other medical conditions have not yet produced conclusive results.

    How acupuncture works remains uncertain. Both Western and Eastern scientists have shown, by producing acupuncture analgesia in rabbits, that the effects are not simply a matter of suggestion. After the discovery in 1975 of encephalin and endorphins (natural pain inhibitors in the body), some neurophysiologists suggested that the needles may trigger the release of one or more of these substances, which inhibit pain signals by blocking their pathway through the spinal cord. This view is supported by both American and Chinese studies showing that placing acupuncture needles in certain parts of the brain of dogs causes a rise in the level of endorphins in the spinal fluid. Scientists in the U.S. have also shown that acupuncture analgesia is at least partly reversible by naloxone, a drug that blocks the action of morphine and morphine like chemicals such as endorphins.

          2)Aromatherapy

            Aromatherapy, in alternative medicine, the therapeutic use of essential oils extracted from plants or trees. Essential oils give a plant its fragrance and have been known throughout history for their healing effects on body and mind.

The ancient Egyptians used aromatic plants and their essential oils in cosmetics and medicines as well as to purify the air and as a preservative for mummification. Aromatic plants were also used medicinally in ancient Greece, Rome, China, India, and throughout Europe until largely replaced by laboratory pharmaceuticals in the late 19th century. Modern aromatherapy, along with the term itself, dates from the 1930s and the scientific studies of French chemist René-Maurice Gattefossé on the antimicrobial effects of essential oils.

Essential oils are chemically complex—a particular oil may contain between 50 and 500 different chemicals—and have a wide range of pharmaceutical properties. They can fight bacteria and viruses; dilate or constrict blood vessels; act on the adrenal glands, ovaries, or thyroid gland; affect digestion; and serve as sedatives or stimulants.

Aromatherapy is considered particularly useful for skin problems, including wounds and burns; respiratory problems such as colds, coughs, and sinusitis; the pain of muscular aches, arthritis, rheumatism, headaches, and migraine; and stress-related conditions such as insomnia, anxiety, and depression. In some European hospitals, aromatherapy is used to relieve pain and stress, essential oils are applied to wounds to combat infection, and vaporized essential oils are sprayed to prevent the spread of airborne infection.

Some essential oils commonly used in aromatherapy include lavender for headaches, stress, and insomnia, and as first aid for cuts, burns, and insect bites; eucalyptus for colds and coughs; and peppermint as a stimulant, and for nausea and travel sickness.

Essential oils are usually administered through massage, baths, compresses, or inhalation. Because these oils are extremely concentrated—for example, 900 kg (2000 lb) of roses are needed to produce 1 kg (1 lb) of rose oil—they are diluted in vegetable oil for massage or in water for baths and inhalation. Some essential oils may be taken internally, but only with great caution and under professional supervision, because they can be poisonous if ingested improperly.

When used in massage and bathing, essential oils are absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream. When inhaled, the oil molecules stimulate scent receptors in the brain that, in turn, trigger a response in the part of the brain that influences heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, memory, stress levels, and hormone balance.

Advocates of aromatherapy believe that essential oils can have a marked effect on body and mind. The art and science of aromatherapy is to determine which oil or combination of oils is best suited to treating a particular condition and a particular person. In the United States, aromatherapy is largely self-taught but may be practiced by professionals licensed in other hands-on healing therapies, such as massage, physical therapy, or nursing.

          3)Ayurveda

            Ayurveda, (Sanskrit “science of life”), form of alternative medicine based on the principle that disease is caused by an imbalance of life forces. Derived from spiritual visions received by Indian rishis (Sanskrit for “seers of truth”) 5000 years ago, Ayurveda is the oldest existing system of medical practice and is regarded by proponents as a complete way of life aimed at spiritual, mental, and social well-being as well as physical health.

The keystone of Ayurvedic medicine is the constitution of the individual. Ayurveda identifies three basic metabolic body types corresponding to three basic life energy forces, or doshas i.e. Vayu (Air), Pitta (Bile) & kapha (Phlegm). Each person’s constitution is seen as a mixture of these doshas. Advocates of Ayurvedic medicine believe health is a balance of these energy forces, resulting in harmony of body, mind, and spirit in the individual as well as between the individual and the outer forces of the environment and society.

Ayurveda does not seek to treat the symptoms of disease; instead, it seeks to restore the underlying balance of the doshas. The Ayurvedic practitioner diagnoses a patient’s constitutional type and imbalances through such techniques as questioning, specialized pulse measurements, and observation of the tongue, eyes, nails, face and skin, voice quality, urine, and breath odour. The practitioner then makes specific recommendations to bring the doshas back into balance.

Ayurvedic therapies focus on lifestyle changes and herbal remedies, concentrating on diet, exercise, yoga, meditation, massage, herbal tonics, steam baths, enemas, and other alternative medical practices such as aromatherapy. Special cleansing therapies such as bloodletting and blood-thinning herbs are also used to rid the body of disease-causing toxins.

Ayurveda is considered useful in supporting many other kinds of treatment programs. Proponents believe it is a preventive as well as a curative therapy that can strengthen the immune system against disease. Changing lifestyle habits can improve persistent problems such as back pain, arthritis, tension headaches, high blood pressure, obesity, constipation, allergies and colds, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and other stress disorders.

The Siddha system of medicine is also similar to Ayurveda & has been originated from South India.

4)Biofeedback

Biofeedback, a technique by which patients monitor their own bodily functions in an attempt to alter those functions. Primarily used in treating painful or stress-related conditions, biofeedback helps a patient control physiological processes that are normally considered involuntary.

In biofeedback training, electronic or mechanical instruments attached to the patient measure physical functioning, such as the degree of muscle tension. The machines then transform this information into amplified signals that the patient can hear or see—for example, a beep or a flashing light—thus enabling the patient to know when internal responses are abnormal. This feedback information (see Automation) can then guide the patient in trying to gain control over the internal condition.

Biofeedback learning has been likened to that involved in mastering an athletic skill. Although this kind of learning may occur in biofeedback, its benefits often are largely the result of relaxation induced by the procedure. Most treatments include training in formal relaxation techniques, which when used alone, often produce benefits equal to the biofeedback-assisted relaxation.

Biofeedback was developed in the late 1960s by scientists studying learning and the control of neuromuscular disorders, the autonomic nervous system, and mental states. Their work led to exaggerated claims that biofeedback would enable people to alter states of consciousness, lower blood pressure, and regulate heart functioning at will. Research has shown that although some degree of control is possible, it can be too limited to correct abnormal conditions.

Biofeedback is used to treat many disorders brought on or aggravated by stress, such as tension and migraine headaches, Raynaud's disease (abnormally cold hands and feet), tics, and muscle tension. It has shown particular promise in helping patients to recover the use of paralysed limbs.

            5)Chiropratic

            Chiropractic, form of health care that prevents disease and maintains a patient’s health and well-being through spinal manipulation, which involves adjusting the vertebrae in the spinal column, without the use of drugs or surgery. Chiropractic focuses on the relationship between the spinal column, the nervous system, the circulatory system, and a patient’s nutrition, exercise, and other lifestyle choices. The practice examines the combined effect of these factors on a patient’s overall health and the prevention of disease.

            Chiropractic is based on the theory that our nervous system is the key to maintaining homeostasis, or a healthy balance, in our bodies. Doctors of chiropractic (DC), known as chiropractors, believe that the body is susceptible to disease when this balance is disrupted by misaligned vertebrae, or subluxations, and any other joints and muscles that disturb the proper functioning of the nervous system due to tissue injury. Chiropractors use carefully applied hand pressure in a thrusting motion to improve vertebra or joint mobility, which in turn improves nerve function and reduces pain. One theory suggests that chiropractic therapy triggers the release of the body’s endorphins, natural painkillers produced in the brain. Chiropractors believe that chiropractic is most effective soon after the patient has experienced pain and before the body deteriorates into a chronic state of disease.

Chiropractors primarily treat patients with conditions such as back pain, neck pain, and headaches. In addition to spinal manipulation, chiropractors are also qualified to provide soft tissue manipulation, such as muscle massage and ultrasound stimulation of deep tissue; physical examinations; X rays; counselling on lifestyle and nutritional changes; and counselling on exercises aimed at building flexibility, strength, and overall well-being. Chiropractors refer patients to another health care provider if the patient’s condition or disease would be better treated through other medical approaches.

Spinal manipulation has been practiced since the beginning of recorded time. Chinese records from about 2700 B.C. provide one of the earliest written references to spinal manipulation. Papyrus records kept by the Greeks and dating back to at least 1500 B.C. note instructions for manipulating the legs in treating conditions of the lower back. Records also indicate that the ancient Japanese, Indians, Egyptians, Babylonians, Syrians, Tibetans, and Native Americans practiced soft-tissue manipulation.

Chiropractic in the United States was first practiced more than 100 years ago by Daniel David Palmer, originally of Canada. He first performed spinal manipulation in 1895 on a patient who had become deaf 17 years earlier after he felt something “give” in his back. Palmer examined the back and gave a crude adjustment to what he believed was a misplaced vertebra in the upper spine. The patient then observed that his hearing improved. Palmer continued to explore the relationship between joint dysfunction, its effect on the nervous system, and the impact of both on human health. In 1897 he founded the Palmer School of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa.

During its 100-year history in the United States, the chiropractic profession has faced and overcome many obstacles, including a boycott of the profession by the American Medical Association (AMA). After nearly two decades of legal action by the chiropractic community fighting this boycott, in 1992 the Supreme Court of the United States sided in favour of the chiropractic profession, stating that the AMA had acted in violation of antitrust laws. As part of the legal settlement, the AMA released to its members an ethics opinion on chiropractic, stating that it was thereafter ethical for medical doctors to refer and associate with doctors of chiropractic. Today, the two professions enjoy strengthened ties, as witnessed through the interchange of college faculty and the increase in inter-profession referrals.

            6)Homoeopathy

Homeopathy, alternative system of medicine developed in the early 19th century, based on the concept that disease can be cured when a patient is treated with minute quantities of a substance that produces symptoms of the disease in a healthy person. Homeopathy focuses on healing the underlying cause of disease, not simply eliminating the symptoms caused by the disease.

The study of homeopathy was founded in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann (1753-1843), a German physician and chemist who had become disillusioned with the conventional practice of medicine. Hahnemann based his innovative medical treatment on the healing power of a good diet, exercise, fresh air, and minimum doses of natural medications. This approach to medicine was a radical concept at the time.

Homeopathy is based on three principles: the law of similars, the single medicine, and the law of infinitesimals. According to the law of similars—frequently referred to as the phenomenon of “like cures like”—a disease is cured by a medicine that creates symptoms in a healthy person similar to what the patient is experiencing. Hahnemann established this principle when he investigated cinchona, the bark of a tropical evergreen tree and a natural source of quinine used to treat malaria. He observed that a healthy person who took cinchona developed symptoms of malaria, and decided that the effectiveness of the drug came from its ability to cause symptoms similar to those of the actual disease. Using this approach, a homeopathic physician prescribes medication that matches most closely the symptoms presented by an individual patient. Hahnemann used the Greek words homoios and pathos, which mean “similar sickness,” to name the new approach to medical treatment.

The principle of the single medicine is based on a belief that one remedy should cover all physical, mental, and emotional symptoms experienced by a patient to cure the whole person. This practice contrasts with conventional medicine, which usually uses separate medications for the treatment of each symptom.

The law of infinitesimals was established by Hahnemann when he observed that large amounts of substances prescribed for treatments caused a wide range of negative side effects in patients. He determined through experiments that taking minute levels of a medication strengthens its potency and increases the length of its effectiveness. Homeopathic physicians use this principle as a guideline in prescribing ultra-minute levels of nontoxic medications, which are prepared from vegetable and animal tissues as well as from minerals and chemicals, to promote safe and reliable cures. The use of minimal doses is one of conventional medicine’s primary objections to homeopathy. Critics note that trace amounts of ingredients used in minimal doses are so small that medications are exempt from United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements for scientific proof of a drug’s effectiveness against disease.

Practitioners claim that homeopathy offers an effective substitute for antibiotics, is often the best treatment for viral infections, and reduces or eliminates the need for some surgical procedures. However, homeopathy also recommends the use of conventional medical treatment and surgery in cases of severe infections and serious illness.

7)Iridology

Iridology, in alternative medicine, a diagnostic system that analyzes the iris, the collared part of the eye, to understand the overall health patterns of the body.

Study of the eye as a window into the health of the body dates back more than 6000 years. It was practiced in ancient China, and by the physician Hippocrates in ancient Greece. Modern iridology, as developed in Europe and North America since the late 1800s, includes the theory that specific regions of the iris correspond to specific areas of the body.

Iridology attempts to identify inherited strengths, weaknesses, and general illness patterns rather than to name specific diseases. Iridologists look for tendencies toward inflammation, congestion, or a buildup of toxins, as well as patterns related to nutrition and the endocrine system.

Using a flashlight and magnifying glass, special photographic equipment, or a microscope, iridologists examine the iris for colour and tissue structure appearance, as well as unusual markings such as specific pigments and irregular lines. The iris markings are compared to an iris chart that correlates specific zones of the iris with specific parts of the body. The iridologist then recommends preventive or supportive health practices, or further consultation with another specialist. Iridology is considered a rapid, safe, and painless assessment tool to be used in conjunction with other traditional or alternative methods of diagnosis and treatment.

Practitioners of iridology are generally specialists in other fields, such as naturopathy, herbal medicine, or nutrition.

8)Naturopathy

Naturopathy was founded in the beginning of the 20th century by a group of therapists who were followers of Sebastian Kneipp, a 19th-century proponent of the healing powers of nature. At the height of its popularity, there were more than 20 naturopathic medical schools (today there are only three) in the United States and naturopathic physicians were licensed in most states. The practice of naturopathic medicine declined as the use of pharmaceutical drugs increased. However, in the past several decades there has been a resurgence of interest in naturopathy.

Naturopathic medicine integrates alternative medical practices—such as botanical medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, and Oriental medicine—with modern scientific diagnostic methods and standards of care. Naturopathic physicians are trained in conventional medical disciplines as well as in alternative approaches. They integrate this knowledge according to principles that recognize the body’s inherent ability to heal itself, the importance of prevention, and the possibility of therapeutic use of nutrition to promote health and fight disease.

Hydrotherapy, enema, fast, vegetarian & other restricted diets, massages are some practices in this system. 

Most of the research on naturopathy has been based on observation of treatments rather than on controlled clinical trials that compare naturopathic therapy with no treatment (a placebo) or with an alternative treatment.

9)Vitalistic Medicine

Vitalistic Medicine, in alternative medicine, generic term for a range of therapies based on the theory that disease is engendered by energy deficiency in the organism as a whole or a dynamic dysfunction in the affected part. Such deficiencies or dysfunctions are regarded as preceding the biochemical effects in which disease becomes manifest and upon which orthodox medicine focuses. Acupuncture, crystal therapy, homeopathy, magnet therapy, and naturopathy are all vitalistic therapies.

10)Unani Medicine

This system was developed in Arabia before 12^th century. It is based on the 4 humours present in the body i.e. Dam (blood), Balgham (phlegm), Safra (yellow bile) and Sauda (black bile).. Emphasis is given in this system to pulse examination for diagnosis. Herbs & minerals are used as medicine.