What is Alternative Medicine?

When we say "medicine" we usually refer to the type of care one gets in the office of an M.D. or in a hospital. This care usually includes scientific diagnosis and treatment with pharmaceutical drugs or surgery. This is the excellent medicine, based on research and technology, that we have the good fortune to enjoy. This medicine saves and restores lives and fights diseases.

Prior to the industrial revolution, much of medicine was from folk traditions. Some of this was based on sound reasoning and observation, and some based on folklore and superstition—and it was often difficult to tell what was effective because systems to measure results, like our modern clinical trials, were not in place.

All of us should be infinitely grateful for the lifesaving science and technology have brought us, and grateful to the doctors and researchers who dedicate their live to our wellbeing. So what then, is alternative medicine, and do we need it?

Webster defines the word "alternate" as "the possibility of choosing between two different things or courses of action," or "something different from something else." Alternative medicine is usually practiced by practitioners who pursue a "different course of action" in their healing work. Alternative practitioners include naturopaths, chiropractors, nutritionists, acupuncturists, Ayurvedic doctors, homeopaths, herbalists, energy healers, healing touch practitioners, among others.

Many of these treatments have not been tested by modern research standards and are therefore not included in the current standards of care, nor are they taught in most conventional medical schools. Treatments may include ingredients not protected by the FDA. Many of these treatments, such as Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine, have been healing mankind worldwide for thousands of years; some of these treatments are in the forefront of what will become part of mainstream medicine. For instance, acupuncture is now used as an anesthesia technique during surgeries.

Do we need these alternatives? Isn't our modern medicine doing enough to safeguard our health? Yes, it is enough—most of the time.

Alternative medicine provides just what its name implies, an alternative when standard treatments fail, or when innovations fall outside the box of the usual bent of research. Alternative medicine looks at traditions from around the world, and this has led to the discovery of treatments now vital to our drug industry. For example, digitalis is an herb used in traditional herbal medicine for heart problems, and is now a vital part of modern heart medicines, and the Yew tree provides taxinal, an important cancer-fighting drug. There are just two of the examples of folk herbal medicine that have found their way into the mainstream.

The main value of alternative medicine is its focus not on disease but on the person, not on sickness but on health, not on overcoming illness but on creating wellness. Because fighting illness and creating wellbeing are both necessary components of a good health plan, the term "complementary medicine" has been coined. Complementary medicine includes and integrates treatments of many modalities and from many traditions.

Alternatives enable us to benefit from various points of view and provide healing from different systems: nutritional, structural, energetic, as well as pharmaceutical and surgical. This type of care can be provided by one person, or a team of individuals, or in a clinic.

Let's look at how a broken arm would be treated by a team of complementary practitioners. An orthopedic surgeon would likely set the bone, and X-rays and surgery would insure proper alignment. The complementary aspect kicks in when a nutritionist suggests adding calcium to the diet to help speed bone mending. An herbalist might suggest herbs for the same reason. And perhaps an acupuncturist or chiropractor might be consulted to restore and realign structural integrity of the "flow" of energy as Chinese medicine might diagnose.

Is complementary medicine alternative? It certainly is becoming more mainstream, as more and more physicians, healers and clinics are choosing to work cooperatively for the good of their patients and utilizing complementary healing modalities in their practice. In this column, we will explore the different types of complementary or alternative medicine, and treatments for a variety of injuries and illnesses.