Introduction to Traditional Treatments Print E-mail



The COPD treatmentsmedications, the various physical therapy modalities, oxygen, and so onare all tools prescribed by Western medicine, which is heavily dominated by a modern perspective and technology. Western medicine has benefited greatly from this century's scientific progress and from health care discoveries and innovations fueled by this century's wars. But these enormous advances unfortunately displaced still-valuable traditional treatments that had been practiced for hundreds or thousands of years. If they weren't scientifically provable, explainable, or at least reasonably modern, they ended up on the cutting room floor. A great many treatmentssuch as herbal medicine, hypnosis, massage, chiropractic, and homeopathy, to name just a fewcame to be regarded with disfavor and suspicion, and existed on the fringe.

When health care was touched by the activism and anti-establishment attitude of the 1960s, a growing number of people began investigating this medical fringe, which by then included newcomers as well as traditional treatments. Some approaches gained temporary fad popularity. Othersthose that help significantly to cope with health problems little responsive to Western medicinehave made a substantially increasing impact. And now the alternative or complementary therapiesas they are calledcan work extremely well in partnership with Western medicine. They acknowledge that treatments in use for several thousand years have valuewhether or not we understand how they workor they would have fallen by the wayside in the ancient past. The growing use of the term complementary to replace alternative reflects this current emphasis on the value of partnership instead of the antagonistic either/or mentality that held sway for a long time.

Although it is a slow process, with large areas of ignorance and resistance, complementary medicine is finally starting to gain legitimacy in the medical establishment. We are beginning to see the emergence of physicians who practice integrated medicinemeaning that they provide Western and a range of complementary therapies under one roof. More and more good research is taking place, and top medical journals are starting to publish it. There are centers for funding such research, and a core of medical schools have added courses in complementary medicine to the curriculum. Recognition of the value these ancient therapies offer has now become one of the modern revolutions in health care.

An advantage of complementary therapies is that they are often gentleand inexpensiveenough so that you can experiment. If complementary treatments appeal to you, see what is helpful and can comfortably become part of your routine. Those that are more costly (such as hypnosis) and not guaranteed to be covered by insurance are not usually needed on a regular basis.

So, do feel confident about trying treatments. Most of the treatments well discuss are not dangerous to use without professional supervision. And when you see a dosage range, it means that you have to find what is right for you, i.e., start at the low end, and gradually work up if this doesn't seem to be enough. (And if the high end still doesn't work, then it's not a treatment that works for you.) And whatever you do decide to tryplease tell your doctor and any other health care professionals you see. It helps them to give you the best care, and your experiences may benefit other patients. And if your doctor is one who tends to dismiss complementary treatments, perhaps any positive results you experience will help to expand his perspective. (National surveys document that the great majority of people who use complementary treatments actually hide this information from their doctor, typically because they fear disapproval. That doesn't help patient or doctor.)

When it comes to choosing nutritional or herbal supplements, there are certain things not to rely on. One is the term naturalwhich advertising companies unfortunately use in a manipulative way to imply a guarantee that a health care product is helpful and safe. Looking at the range of medicinal plants, for example, all are natural, but some are therapeutic, some are poisonous, and still others are good or bad for you depending on the dose and/or your particular circumstances. Do not choose a nutritional or herbal supplementor select a dosageby reading manufacturers' recommendations. Some may be reasonably accurate, but many are not. And never seek the advice of health food store employees. The employee who really knows his herbal/nutritional medicine is rare indeed. Far too many are simply parroting misinformation they have read or heard elsewhere.


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