Alternative Health

The term alternative health is a general phrase used to describe any preventative, diagnostic, or healing medical practices, procedures, systems of thinking, or lifestyle choices that do not fit into the traditional idea of allopathic, or traditional, medicine and have often not been proven effective through traditional scientific [Page 73]medical studies. Although the movement is considered new and even misguided or dangerous by some individuals, conventional health practitioners, health insurance companies, and pharmaceutical companies, many of the ideas that fall under this umbrella term are influenced by, or directly descended from, ancient medical practices from all over the globe.

The latest wave of alternative health interest came in the 1970s, possibly as a result of growing dissatisfaction with conventional medical care. Currently, health care professionals hold a variety of opinions and condone alternative health practices to varying degrees. These opinions can affect the cost and availability of treatment. Due to this and other factors, sometimes alternative health practices are implemented as complementary medicine. Complementary medicine is a term that refers to any alternative health practice used in conjunction with conventional medical practices, as opposed to in place of them.

Some give alternative health no credence based on the fact that it is not often tested in the same scientifically rigorous manner as more conventional practices. Even in the cases where data have been collected, it is all too often evidence that demonstrates a correlation between treatment and recovery or prevention, not a clear cause-and-effect relationship. Because of the stigma attached to some of these practices, people may even participate without admitting so to their conventional health care professionals. Because some alternative health practices are linked to spirituality, people may also make the decision to participate in them secretly, or choose not to participate at all, based on their existing spiritual beliefs.

Still others have completely abandoned traditional medicine in favor of these practices and report positive results treating everything from anxiety to cancer. It is up for argument how much the placebo effect may be in play, and also how much that matters, if the end result is an end to symptoms and good health. In other words, whether it is the practice itself or the belief that the practice will work, if a health condition is prevented or successfully treated, then the alternative health practice is likely to receive further attention.

One major area of concern is self-prescribing of alternative health practices without the supervision of a health care professional, which, like the casual or misinformed utilization of any medical treatment or practice, can result in injury or even death. People may, for instance, utilize herbal remedies without informing their primary physicians, because they are not aware of possible interactions with other prescription drugs.

Alternative health practices often focus on the connection between the body and the mind and take a holistic approach to treatment, with the aim of achieving a balance of some sort. The terminology in this field is used loosely, and often there is more than one term that refers to the same practices or similar practices. A term coined by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is complementary and alternative medicine. The NCCAM divides complementary and alternative health practices into five main categories: alternative medical systems, mind-body interventions, biologically based therapies, manipulative and body-based methods, and energy therapies.

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