The Nature of Alternative Medicine

By Hokatta Sutoon

For as long as one can remember, there has been a division between the type of medicine practiced in the West and that in the East. The last ten years, however, has seen this change.

Eastern medical practices have started to become more accepted and used in the West. The once far fetched idea of using meditation, herbs and other alternative health approaches no longer is laughed at.

When it comes to sweeping terms, alternative medicine is certainly one. It can include everything from massage, herb treatments, meditation and even prayer. This grab bag approach has led to an argument over what exactly alternative medicine means.

On one side of the dispute, you have medical professionals who believe anything that is not from the European medical model and evidence based is alternative medicine. For example, herbalism would fall under alternative medicine in their opinion.

In contrast, many western style medical professionals look to effectiveness. They argue that there is no alternative medicine. There is only medical approaches that work and those that don’t. If they work, they are not alternative regardless of where they come from.

So, who wins the debate? At the moment, there is no answer. What is clear, however, is many eastern medical practices are becoming more popular with Westerners. Consider the following.

Looking at the States, people are becoming very receptive to both the idea of alternative medicine and its use. In fact, roughly fifty percent of all adults use it in one form or another.

This percentage might seem be interpreted as a rejection of Western approaches. It is not. Most people use alternative treatment approaches in combination with western. In short, they try for the best of both worlds.

While alternative approaches are more accepted, the acceptance is limited to certain areas. The most popular alternative medications and treatments are in areas where re-occurring pain is a problem.

People prefer to self-medicate with alternative medicinal approaches. Less than twenty percent will consult with a licensed practitioner.

Women are far more likely to use alternative health options than men. No particular reason is known, but the biggest disparity seems to be in treatments that combine a mind-body element.

At the end of the day, the exact nature of alternative medicine is somewhat irrelevant. What is clear is people are becoming more receptive to its use as a mainstream solution. One must wonder if it can really be called alternative any more.

Educate yourself on alternative health care solutions at AlternativeHealthCompanies.com.

Article kindly provided by UberArticles.com

Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »

Reprint Rights

Comments are closed.