According to recent NCCIH data, more than 30% of adults and 12% of children adopt health care approaches that are not typical of conventional Western medicine. The approaches that they used are known as ‘alternative medicine’ or ‘complementary medicine’. However, not many people know much about these.
Therefore, our team at Alternative Medicine in Melbourne has taken it upon itself to explain to you what alternative medicine is and what practices constitute it.
What’s alternative medicine?
When discussed, alternative medicine is usually grouped together with complementary medicine to form a single category – complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). However, they are quite different.
The National Cancer Institute defines alternative medicine as treatments that are used INSTEAD of standard medical treatments. An example of which is adopting a special diet to cure an illness, rather than taking medications. Whereas, complementary medicine refers to treatments that are used ALONGSIDE standard medical treatments, such as using acupuncture to lessen some side effects of cancer treatment.
Alternative pain management, Melbourne, FL is successfully applied to treat many conditions, especially chronic pain at our practice. Therefore, if you are hesitant about taking more and more medications, or are looking for more natural ways to treat your ailment, check us out!
What practices constitute alternative medicine?
CAM can be divided into 6 subgroups based on how they are conducted and how they affect you. Our clinic offering alternative Medicine in Melbourne has a range of services from multiple categories to maximize the outcome.
Traditional Alternative Medicine
Traditional Alternative Medicine practices are much more mainstream, accepted and integrated into Western medicine. These include acupuncture, Ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy, and Chinese or Oriental Medicine.
Body
This approach focuses on manual manipulation, sometimes in combination with mind techniques. The idea behind this technique is to attend to the areas of the body that are not the injury/illness site in order to ensure that the body is not wasting its healing energy on the healthier areas.
Body therapy practices include Tai Chi, Yoga, massages and chiropractic and osteopathic medicine.
Diet and Herbs
Nutritional excess or deficiency has become an everyday serious problem recently. These are particularly dangerous as they can lead to chronic diseases. Therefore, dietary and herbal approaches have become increasingly popular as a means to tackle health problems.
Common dietary and herbal practices include herbal medicine, dietary supplements or dietary and nutrition changes.
Read more about Chinese Herbal Medicine.
External Energy
Some believe that external objects or other external sources release energies that have a direct and positive impact on a person’s health and well-being. External energy therapy includes Qi Gong, Reiki, and Electromagnetic Therapy.
Mind
The power of the connection between the mind and body is widely recognized in CAM and conventional medicine. Research supports the claim that emotional and mental wellbeing induces physical wellbeing.
Examples of therapies that focus on the mind are meditation and hypnosis.
Senses
Oftentimes people believe that stimulating their senses (touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste) positively improves their overall wellbeing. Therefore some therapies incorporate the senses into the treatment. These include art, dance, visualization, and guided imagery.
More about AcuHealth Family Medicine!
At AcuHealth we want to give you a pain-free life without a life-long prescription to potentially harmful medication. We believe that good healthcare focuses on reversing all aspects of the damage – physical, mental, and spiritual. You can be sure that alternative medicine at AcuHealth is the therapy you can rely on as our physician will give you effective education and the treatment required for sustaining long-term well-being.
Ready to take your first step towards a healthier lifestyle and pain-free life? Contact us today!
- Visit us at Acuhealth Integrative Medicine (Inside the Health For Life Wellness Center), 402 N. Babcock, Suite 101, Melbourne, FL 32935
- Call us today: 321-422-2240
- Or, send us an email: info@acuhealthmedicine.com
The material contained on this site is for informational purposes only and DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE PROVIDING OF MEDICAL ADVICE, and is not intended to be a substitute for independent professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health.
