The first world congress for
alternative medicine was convened back in 1973, in Rome. This provisional program, at that time,
consisted of as many as 135 types of therapies. Other terms which might be used
to refer to alternative medicine in different cultures include indigenous
medicine or folk medicine. The origin of such practices dates back to as far as
5000 years and these treatments differ according to the countries and different
cultures.
Due to the growing popularity of
alternative medicine, a study was conducted which was labeled as ‘Types of
alternative medicine used by patients with breast, colon, or prostate cancer:
predictors, motives, and costs.’ The objective of this study was to assess various
predictors and the different costs associated with the different forms of
alternative medicine that patients use
to combat cancer. This involved a survey of around 356 patients who were
suffering from various kinds of cancers
ranging from breast cancer, prostate cancer, to colon cancer. (Patterson, et al., 2002)The results from this
study pointed out that as many as 70.2% of the patients made use of some
form of alternative medicine , while
16.6% of the patients were visiting providers of alternate medicine. Another 19.1% used mental or other therapy of
some kind and 64.6% used dietary supplements.
Apart from this, other findings
suggested that 83% to 97% of the patients made
use of alternate therapy for
general well being and this varied based on the type of therapy used. Also, it
was discovered that around 8% to 56% used it as a treatment for cancer. The
average annual expenditure by a user on alternative medicine amounted to $68,
while the expenditure ranged from $4 to the $14,659.
This studied clearly concluded
that alternative medicine served to improve their well being which made it
essential that clinicians should maintain an open mind about these treatments
while encouraging open discussion in this regard. (Patterson, et al., 2002)
Different types of Alternative treatment
Listed below are some of the
types of alternative treatments which are being practiced currently:
Acupuncture
This kind of treatment makes use
of needles. These are fine needles which are specifically prepared for this
purpose. These needles are inserted at specific points in the body in order to
disperse, simulate, and regulate the flow of the vital body energy so that a
healthy balance of energy can be restored.
Acupuncture is used to provide relief from pain, and is also used to
treat acute, degenerative, and chronic conditions in adults and in children.
Acupressure
This treatment is similar to that
of acupuncture; however, it uses fingers to apply pressure at specific points
on the body, instead of needles. This treatment is used to address ailments
like stress, tension, menstrual cramps, arthritis, pains, and aches.
Other similar alternative
treatments include:
• Astrology
• Atlas
orthogonal
• Aroma
therapy
There are numerous other
treatments available apart from the ones mentioned, each offering a bundle of
healing benefits for man.
Bibliography
Patterson, R., Neuhouser, M. L., Hedderson, M. M.,
Schwartz, S. M., Standish, L. J., Bowen, D. J., et al. (2002). Types of
alternative medicine used by patients with breast, colon, or prostate cancer:
predictors, motives, and costs. U.S. National Library of Medicine . http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12230908
