Thursday, April 23, 2009

Alternative Health Therapies Review

By Calvin Wapasa

Today, you'll find that there is a veering away from conventional medicine as more are exploring alternate means. With mainstream methods of healing combining with alternative methods, there is a more holistic, integrated combination treatment. Alternative medicine offers an approach and combinations of other therapies to the etiology and treatment of illnesses not considered by conventional medicine. They include the following: folk medicine, herbal medicine, diet fads, homeopathy, faith healing, 'new age' healing, chiropractic, naturopathy, massage, and music therapy although this list is not exhaustive. Alternative therapies are employed as an alternative to conventional medicine in the hope that they exert some healing process on the underlying disease.

Alternative health therapies have the capacity for providing better health, improving the quality of life, improving general health, giving a sense of well-being and imparting an overall sense of control over oneself. Reducing tension, anxiety, stress, sleeplessness, and depression are just a couple of things that alternative health therapies are known to do as well as make you feel a lot more relaxed. They decrease the symptoms of cancer which are soreness, feeling unwell, breathlessness, constipation, diarrhea, fatigue and reduced appetite.

A combination of alternative health therapies and conventional medicine has been noticed to be very effective in masking pain, even when there is a serious condition. Some hospitals provide chemotherapy and radiotherapy as part of cancer care; these are conventional cancer treatments and are offered by some social support organizations for free or at a small fee. Many cancer patients currently use alternate therapy to manage and sustain themselves through the difficult cancer treatments. These therapies are very valuable in that they identify and support spiritual and emotional characteristics and physical features, but they should not be used as the only alternative line of treatment.

More than billion is spent by the Americans annually on vitamins and herbs which are alternative health products. Recent studies by Tindle, Davis, Phillips, & Eisenberg, in 2005, showed that approximately 72 million adults in the United States use complementary and alternative therapies. Also indicated from these studies is a figure of more than billion per year spent on out-of-pocket for these therapies according to Herman, Craig, & Caspi, 2005.

Nonetheless, it is still extremely important that you learn which of the alternative health therapies are going to offer the treatments that are most effective for your needs, and you are going to have discover which of these treatments you are comfortable with. Individual therapies have been proven to improve the quality of life for many people with Motor Neuron Disease (MND), these can include: acupuncture, aromatherapy, homeopathy, hypnotherapy, massage, meditation, reiki and reflexology. It is important to consult the treating physician before using alternative therapies and to check out all additional treatment, so that there is no adverse or cross reactions that affect the treatment.

If you choose to integrate alternative health therapies into your treatment plan, you must discuss your choices openly, honestly and regularly with your doctor and others on your health care team. The treating physician can often recommend and help in acquiring alternative treatments at the clinic or hospital itself or some other provider. Maybe they will be able to recommend some precise practitioners or therapies as more doctors are convinced that in today's society, complementary medicine has a place. For several individuals out there, all of these different types of therapies are very helpful when it comes to coping with all of the effects of the conventional treatments, which reduces anxiety and provides them with control over their life. - 14130

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