Alternative Medicine – What Is It?

By: Hokatta Sutoon

In a sweeping view of medicine, we can see two categorical divisions. There is traditional, western style medicine and alternative medicine. What, then, is alternative medicine?

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.

As a whole, these newly introduced medicinal techniques are called alternative medicine. You might be surprised to learn, however, that there is much dispute about this categorization.

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.

On the other side of the ledger are medical professionals who mock the alternative title. They suggest a medical approach must be evidence driven. It either works or it does not. If it works, than it is part of mainstream medicine regardless of where it came from.

Given the disputed approach, which one wins out? The answer has yet to be determined and is somewhat semantic when you think about it. For regular folk, however, alternative medicine is a viable health care treatment.

In the United States, adults are turning towards alternative medicine. More than 50 percent have used some form of it, a number that makes one wonder if it can be called alternative any longer.

Interestingly, the increased use of alternative approaches does not preclude most western treatment plans. Instead, patients usually supplement such treatment plans with alternative approaches.

The most prominent area for this approach is in pain management. Western medicine has a rather poor performance when it comes to pain management. Pills and drugs rarely do the trick, so many look to alternative approaches.

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

Looking at the issue a different way, we find a distinct division between the sexes. Men are far less likely to turn to alternative medical approaches than are women. There is no clear basis as to why.

The definition and acceptance of alternative approaches to health and pain issues seems to be based on one fundamental thing. Does it help? The number of users would seem to suggest it does.

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