Susan asks…
What is holistic medicine and how effective is it?
What are the effective uses of Acupuncture ?
vti answers:
Holistic medicine is another advertising slogan/catch all phrase for alternative therapies. In theory holistic medicine is meant to address the entire person and the underlying causes behind diseases (whereas conventional medicine just gives drugs to cancel out symptoms), but in practice it tends to be another term for any form of alternative medicine (about half of which does the mission statement of “curing whole person).
I’m a huge fan of alternative therapies, so that is not meant to slander the entire discipline of HH, but it’s about the most truthful answer I can give.
One of the best examples would be acupuncture. The chinese (and other cultures) hold the viewpoint that problems in the physical body tend to be manifestations of problems within the body’s chi (energy). So accordingly, to fix most health problems they put a lot of the medical focus into improving the chi. I’m sold on this theory since I work with it everyday, but beyond some evidence that many of the most toxic chemicals are energetically rather than chemically active, there’s very little to support this in conventional medicine.
There are lots and lots of ways to manipulate the Chi within someone. Accupuncture was designed to give people who have an innability to feel chi themselves or manipulate it properly with their hands/mind a way to via needles. A huge gradient exists with accupuncture. In China (where people are more skilled) it can be used for a wide variety of health issues, whereas in the US (where people are less skilled) it tends to mostly be used for treating pain. There are also less known forms of accupuncture (which are much harder to do) that can accomplish much more incredible results, but this “better” form of accupuncture has mostly been eliminated from China due to some things the communist party did.
I hold the opinion that accupuncture is better to have than reiki or accupressure since both of those are fairly poor energetic practices, and require a person to be skilled, something quite rare over here (whereas accupuncture allows someone with no real ability to still act upon the person).
So to answer your question once again, it depends on the skill of the doctor.
Almost every single one can address pain.
With the better people in china it can be used for things such as treating damage from strokes or obesity, and the best people can treat nearly anything.
If you want the scientifically accepted middle ground though, based off of somewhat proficient accupuncturists, but not highly skilled ones;
In 2002, the WHO authored a report known as Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials. Counting only the things which were seen to definitely work and choosing to ignore those which were labeled as speculative, the report found that TCM acupuncture could cure the following:
Pain of the following regions: Lower back, Neck, Knee, Facial, Dental, Headaches.
Other Conditions: Sciatica, Tennis elbow, Periarthritus of the Shoulder, Sprains, TMJ, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Induction of Labor, Correction of Malposition of the Fetus, Morning Sickness, Nausea and Vomiting, Postoperative Pain, Stroke, Essential Hypertension, Primary Hypertension, Renal Colic, Leucopenia, Adverse Reactions to Radiation or Chemotherapy (I personally know many people who have successfully used TCM for this), Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever), Bilary Colic, Depression (such as depressive neurosis and depression following a stroke), Acute Bacillary Dysentery, Primary Dysmenorrheal, Acute Epigastra, Peptic Ulcer, Acute and Chronic Gastritis.
Hope that helps!
William asks…
What is the possibility of going back to holistic medicine on a national level?
instead of relying upon overworked and expensive doctors!?
Sunny Girl,
You are right about the “quackery” comment in the U.S. It is sad that holistic medicine was the only way to heal before the dawn of pharmaceuticals. Even this country used holistic medicine at one time. Many still do here, but only in a small groups. I live in an area where there are many holistic doctors and medicines..thankfully!
vti answers:
I would love to see this happen, but it never will because of the hold that the Pharmaceuticals have.
My family have used holistic medicine for generations. That’s the way we were brought up.
We only use allopathic medicine if all else fails. For example, broken bones etc.
It is possible to live within an allopathic medical system and still use almost exclusively holistic medicine.
It means taking your health into your own hands. Reading up on what herbs and remedies help what conditions. Learning what alternative therapies are good alternatives for skeletal or muscular problems.
Learning about what different therapies can achieve. Chiropracters, Osteopaths, CranioSacral Therapists, Acupunture, Homeopathy, Herbalism, Chinese Herbal, Ayuvedic. They are all brilliant therapies/therapists and can cure most conditions.
It’s maybe not so easy if you are not in close access to these sort of therapies, but even so herbs and remedies can be purchased on line and books can be purchased that show safe methods of administration.
I think we are probably more fortunate in Europe that holistic medicine is fairly readily available in almost all towns and cities. It is quite popular here, whereas I have heard that in the US it is seen as some sort of quackery.
I would like to see knowledge of holistic medicine incorporated into a Doctor’s general training. Or Doctor’s specialising in particular areas within holistic medicine.
It’s the voice of the people that bring about change. If enough people want it, then maybe change will begin to take place. I think the problem at the moment is that people are not too aware that there is any viable alternative to ordinary medicine.
Helen asks…
Are there any ethical problems with Holistic Medicine?
is there any way that holistic medicine could be considered unethical?
vti answers:
No, not at all.
Ken asks…
What is the best way to deal with neuropathy using holistic medicine?
Specifically, homeopathy or ANY type of alternative treatment which is effective.
The neuropathy began following a root canal in December. The symptoms are tingling, prickling, itching, extreme skin sensitivity.
vti answers:
Neuropathy can be a very difficult thing to treat. I have seen some success with acupuncture but results are widely varied. It is not only dependant on the skill of the acupuncturist but also on the neuropathy of the patient.
Good clinical success has been documented with the use of amitriptyline and TENs in combination. Much better than either used alone. As you might have already found though, what works for one person wont work for everyone.
Good luck.
Daniel asks…
What is a good project topic for a video project on holistic medicine?
It has to be a ten minute video, along with a research paper. I have gone blank and I can’t think of a good theme for the video or the paper. It’s such a broad topic and I’m not sure which aspect of it to focus on.
vti answers:
A topic you may want to consider is the use of herbal medicines to prevent or treat conditions. Google herbal medicine and you can see all of the resources available to you. Yoga, meditation also come to mind. Have fun.
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