Holistic Medicine Vs. Traditional Medicine
Traditional medicine is fueled by the power of scientific research, yet opponents claim that it treats symptoms rather than underlying causes. Holistic medicine treats the body as a whole and recognizes the mind and body are one entity. Traditional medicine offers surgical advances that saves lives--these advances are not possible with holistic medicine.
Other People Are Reading
-
Benefits of Traditional Medicine
-
Traditional medicine is fueled by scientific advances, and offers such wonders as liver and other major organ transplants, C-section births without which many women would have died in childbirth and the ability to surgically extract tumors. There are new advances daily in the treatment of cancer and other aggressive diseases. Yet traditional methods have their limitations--one being that the disease itself is treated rather than the underlying cause. Proponents of holistic medicine believe that medical doctors got their degrees by repeating what they were taught and not questioning the process--this is why what they do is "cut-and-dried." They believe that a holistic approach is a preventative one and one that people should use so they don't end up needing transplants or invasive care.
Acupuncture
-
Acupuncture uses tiny needles in strategic locations in your body to stimulate the life force energy or "chi." Traditional doctors who recommend it believe that it stimulates nerve centers, tissue and muscles for accelerated healing. Acupuncture is used for back pain and headache relief, stress relief, depressio, and even infertility.
-
Chiropractic
-
Chiropractic is primarily used to relieve back and neck pain, and works on the premise that your spinal and skeletal structure is the "housing" for your central nervous system. If bones are out of alignment in your spinal cord, they can compress vital nerves that control other parts of your body and cause disease. Many people are very happy with the results they have with chiropractic for pain management as opposed to the options offered by traditional medicine (traction or back surgery).
Homeopathy
-
Homeopathic medicine works on the principle that if a lot of something can cause certain symptoms, a minute amount of the same substance will relieve those symptoms. Growth in the use of this treatment in the US has been around 25 to 30 percent per year, and it is said to be extremely effective. The catch is that there are so many remedies available that it takes quite a bit of time (and some trial and error) to find the right one.
Herbal Medicine
-
Herbal medicine has been around for hundreds if not thousands of years, and many people visit their health store every day to purchase well known herbal cold or flu remedies. These remedies come from many ancient societies as well as from the Native American community,and include such well-known herbs as ginger root for bringing on menses and black cohosh for menopause-related hot flashes.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit medicine image by Robert Kelly from Fotolia.com
