Different Kinds Of Natural Alternative Medicine

Many of these natural alternative medicine practices overlap. There are common ideals and holistic approaches among them which look at the balance of the body, mind and spirit and not only at symptoms of an illness as are the characteristics of modern day medicine system.

Holistic Healing Practices

Among the natural and alternative medicine practices, the Chinese as well as the Ayurveda of India are healing practices that have lasted for centuries. These include homeopathic and naturopathic therapies as well. Such holistic healing practices also include mind and body intervention methods as a crucial part of healing. In such systems all kinds of therapies are incorporated and not simply treating the symptoms of a disease. Cognitive behavioral therapy, prayer, meditation and artistic expression are different forms of mind and body intervention practices.

Herbal Remedies

Herbal remedies are an essential part of natural alternative medicine. In such treatments, herbal extracts, dietary supplements and homeopathic remedies are different prescriptions given by such experienced practitioners. Today natural and herbal remedies are sold through different pharmacy and healthcare stores. If one is also undergoing any medication, it is important to consult a physician before taking on natural and herbal based supplements and medicine. That way it is ensured that there will be no adverse reactions in the body by such intake as unexpected reactions can occur.

Body Based Therapies

Body based therapies in alternative medicine include manipulating the different body parts in order to address different ailments. Osteopathic manipulation, body massages and chiropractic treatments are instances of such therapies. Such treatment can be taken on alongside Western medicine as they help to relieve pain in joints and muscles and help to correct imbalances in the structure and postures of the body.

Energy Therapy

Energy therapy is another form of alternative medicine that is practiced by any holistic health professionals. Even though the concept is simple, treatment by such therapy is complex. Reiki is a form of energy therapy where positive energy is cultivated in order to remove the negative energy forces in the body and achieve good health. Even bio electromagnetic therapy is such a form of alternative therapy that uses the concept of energy forces to help heal the body from different disorders. There are different people who follow or believe such alternative medicine practices. Holistic healing practices have a more spiritual aspect to them and people can gain benefits from the same. When chemical based drugs deplete the mind and body of the natural health and energy, natural alternative medicine can help such people gain back balance and harmony in their body, mind and spirit. That is essential also for maintaining health ad general wellbeing.

Is Alternative Medicine A Solution For Cancer Victims?

If you have cancer or know someone who does, then you know that sometimes the treatment can be as disheartening as the disease. The effects of chemotherapy can reduce cancerous cells, but the side effects are nausea, loss of appetite, and hair loss, just to name a few. It's no wonder that cancer victims look for alternative forms of treatment, and alternative medicine has come up with some options that are meant to be complimentary to the more "modern" forms of treatment. However, there appears to be no middle ground here; while the alternative medicine community is accused of overstating the validity of alternative medicine, the "conventional" treatment provider's tend to understate the effects of alternative therapies for cancer sufferers.

While there is no cure for cancer, the NCCAM (National Center for complimentary and Alternative Medicine has conducted studies showing that acupuncture relieves the fatigue, nausea, and pain symptoms associated with both colon and breast cancer, as well as headaches and neck pain associated with surgery for brain tumors or throat cancer. Ginger is a good tasting treatment for the nausea and vomiting side effects of chemotherapy. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is currently being studied as a relief for larynx cancer patients. (Hyperbaric oxygen therapy consists of breathing oxygen which is at an atmospheric pressure greater than sea level. It is being studied to compliment radiation therapy.) Massage is used to relieve fatigue for all forms of cancer.

Another form of alternative therapy used for fighting the symptoms of cancer is coupling pancreatic enzymes with chemotherapy for the use in pancreatic cancer treatment. Pancreatic enzymes are proteins secreted from the pancreas that help in food digestion.

There is a distinction between complimentary medicine and alternative medicine. Complimentary medicine is used along with conventional medicine; whereas alternative is used instead of. Studies show that better long term results were achieved with complimentary medicine on advanced stages of cancer, while alternative medicine seemed to help early stage cancers. The study is called CAM, (complimentary alternative medicine) and statistics show that 36% of adults with various stages of cancer use both therapies. If you include megavitamin therapy in this statistic the numbers almost double to 62%. 79% out of almost 500 cancer patients use some form of complimentary or alternative therapy for cancer symptoms. Possibly the most beneficial part of CAM therapy is that patients can feel as if they are taking some form of control over their cancer, and that increases the quality of life and chances for survival. Bringing relief of pain and increasing hope for cancer patients is reason enough for these foundations to continue to receive grants and continue their studies.

If you are considering CAM therapy, there are some questions that you should ask the health provider before you begin treatment. One of the most important is will the treatment be covered under your health insurance and if so, are there any clauses you should know about? If the therapy is being sponsored as part of a clinical trial, find out who is sponsoring it so you will know if the trial is being conducted by an unbiased company with no marketing credits to be gained by the outcome. You'll also want to ask if the therapy will interfere with any conventional treatment you might be receiving at the same time. Usually the answer is no-that's the nature of alternative and complimentary medicine-but you should have all the information before agreeing to any type of treatment. Ask also if there will be any side effects, or if the documented benefits outweigh the risks, if any, involved.

Alternative Medicine Courses - Tapping the Potential of Alternative Medicine

Known as a traditional Chinese medical practice, the alternative therapy is based on the concept of positive flow of energy all through human body. Applied for more than 2,500 years now, the alternative therapy is among the most popular forms of Chinese medical practices that include therapies like acupuncture, homeopathy, natural massages and herbal medicines. With subsequent treatment plans, this practice classifies numerous body patterns into an accurate type of diagnoses so that the disease can be cured from within.

For those interested in acquiring an alternative medicine degree, and, to spread this unusual form of healing world-wide, a lot of alternative medicine schools offer various alternative medicine courses that help the aspirant to get professional understanding on different aspects of this therapy. Based on your career interest, the successful completion of one of more alternative medicine courses from an accredited school of natural medicine can lead you to professions like naturopathy, homeopathy, message therapy, oriental medicine and more.

Alternative medicine schools that offer alternative medicine degree are often consist of comprehensive studies in Aromatherapy, Naturopathy, Botanical and Herbal Medicine and other Chinese medicine subjects. Acquiring such courses can lead to careers as Doctor of Naturopathy, Naturopathic Health Practitioner or Natural health advisor. Those who want to study natural medicine along with other courses or along with their jobs can also apply for an alternative medicine degree online. 

Whether you plan to enroll in one or more alternative medicine courses, it is important to vigilantly review course prerequisites, length of program, tuition and other major factors. In some instances, the alternative medicine courses can be as brief as six months diploma or as long as 4 year degree course. The career outlook for alternative healthcare applicants increases in combination with mainstream health care needs. Herbal medicine, energy healing, aromatherapy, acupuncture, Reiki, massage therapy and naturopathy are just a few of the many areas to consider.

The field of alternative therapy is expected to show rapid growth for many years to come, making almost anything in the alternative medical field a lucrative career option. Search through an abundance of alternative therapy programs to find the right one and start your journey to a rewarding career today! 

Today the popularity of alternative medicine therapy is increasing very fast all over the world. If you too are interested in making a respectable career in this field then join Indian Board of Alternative Medicines, an internally recognized and Government registered alternative medicine school offers career oriented alternative medicine degree programs through correspondence and distance learning mode. For more information visit: Altmedworld.net.

Chemical Straightjackets are not the Best Adhd Therapy Option

There is often a lot of misinformation handed out concerning ADHD therapy options, and parents and kids are caught in the crossfire. The conventional medical establishment would have you believe that any child with ADD or ADHD can only function successfully if they are on one or more prescription medications.

It is not uncommon to see a young child of 7 or 8 being placed on an ADHD amphetamine based drug and then being several more prescriptions to control or minimize the side effects that have begun to surface. Many physicians will not even alert parents to the fact that they can investigate ADHD alternative therapy modalities. The children are the innocent victims that are being given an alphabet soup of drugs that are not even offering any help with the actual problem.

ADHD therapy is a fairly limited field in the world of medicine. There are several drugs that can be prescribed to improve focus and attention spans but these are risky medications that can pose serious risk to your child's physical and mental health. When you consider that many children could benefit from natural and safe ADHD alternative therapy products these risks should be considered unacceptable. It is one thing to take a medication that can help control symptoms and behaviors if it is the only option. However, it becomes an entirely different situation if the patient had other treatments that were not explored before exposing them to risky medications.

Many child advocates are attempting to let the public know that ADD and ADHD should not be considered as taboo subjects. There is no shame involved in having a brain that is able to process information and learning in different ways. If the truth should be known, many ADHD therapy medications and treatment plans are devised by doctors, psychologists, and school educators in an effort to make all children fit into nice little molds.

Patients who exhibit signs and symptoms like short attention spans and hyper behavior are usually extremely intelligent and can function well if modifications are made to let them learn in the way that works for them. There may be some disruption to the classroom from a hyperactive child but instead of medicating them with drugs behavior modification and natural ADHD alternative therapy supplements have been shown to be extremely effective and successful.

If we take a moment to work with children and adapt the environment to be conducive to their learning style, it is possible that many ADHD therapy practices could be changed. Simply giving a pill to these children is no answer to the overall problem. This first line of treatment plan emphasizes the fact that we are attempting to turn them into little robots.

The best answer for parents and teachers would be for them to embrace a plan that uses ADHD alternative therapy supplements along with positive reinforcement. The natural ADHD products would help balance the brain's chemistry and alleviate symptoms such as lack of attention and impulsivity. The positive reinforcement would help the child understand that certain behaviors and actions are expected without stifling their personality with rigid demands and a chemical straight jacket.

Chiropractic Therapy and Craniosacral Therapy - Alternatives for Fibromyalgia Patients

There is a plethora of alternative therapies for Fibromyalgia.  Each FM patient is unique in so many ways.  We all vary in our degrees of pain, where we hurt most, what medications work, what therapies work, what over-lapping conditions we might have…the list goes on forever!  It is important to know what is available to us and educate ourselves in order to better our quality of life and help manage our pain.

The idea of Integrative Medicine was developed to help medical and other health professionals to expand their practices by and integrating accessible, effective Complementary/Alternative Medicine (CAM) protocols for the treatment of their patients. This would bring patients more complete care and give them all the help that is available to improve their overall health.  I will be focusing on Chiropractic Therapy andCraniosacral Therapy in this article.

The word "chiropractic" combines the Greek words cheir (hand) and praxis (action) and means "done by hand."  Chiropractic treatment for Fibromyalgia fuses the aspects of the body, mind and spirit.  A Chiropractor deals particularly with the muscular, nervous, and skeletal systems (muscles, joints, bones & connective tissues), focusing in the region of the spine. To know if chiropractic therapy will work for you it is a good idea to get regular treatments for at least a 6-8 weeks before determining if it provides relief of your FM symptoms. 

Chiropractors have found that interference with Neuromusculoskeletal Systems impairs normal bodily functions, lowering its resistance to chronic pain and diseases such as Fibromyalgia. Chiropractic care works to remove misalignments in the vertebrae, release pinched nerves to allow the body to heal naturally.

Spinal manipulation is done through a variety of techniques.  The chiropractor may use his or her fingers or hands to apply pressure to and move the vertebrae slightly beyond their normal range of motion. Treatment may also involve gentle twisting of the head, shoulders, and hips. Heat, ice, corsets, ultrasound, biofeedback, strength and conditioning exercises, and relaxation therapy may be used in addition to spinal manipulation.

My mother now sees a chiropractor who uses a gentle method of adjustments along with natural supplements to relieve her Fibromyalgia symptoms and loves it!  She relies on this doctor's method to help manage her pain and, as a result, she is much more active and her range of motion has dramatically improved.

Craniosacral Therapy was developed by osteopathic physician, John E. Upledger, following extensive scientific studies at Michigan State University, where he served as a clinical researcher and Professor of Bio mechanics. 

CST compliments the body's natural healing processes, and is being used more and more as a preventive health measure because of it's ability to strengthen resistance to disease, and is effective in the treatment of many conditions associated with pain and dysfunction, including:migraine headaches, chronic neck and back pain, motor-coordination impairments, central nervous system disorders, orthopedic problems, traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, scoliosis, infantile disorders, learning disabilities, chronic fatigue, emotional difficulties, stress and tension-related problems, neurovascular or immune disorders, Fibromyalgia and other connective-tissue disorders, autism, colic, temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ), post-traumatic stress disorder, and post-surgical dysfunction.

Patients can perform one type of craniosacral therapy at home using a "still point inducer".  The inducer is placed on the back of the head at the line of the ear, and the patient rests on it for five to 20 minutes.

There are many other alternatives out there. I will continue to write about them all because I want to give Fibromyalgia sufferers the shortcuts to the information I didn't have when I was first diagnosed.  I constantly watch for new information and treatment options so that we can make informed choices and better our lives!

Magnetic Therapy, Does It Actually Work?

Magnetic therapy has been around for a long time and is now perceived as one of the more established and credible alternative therapies that are on the market today offering natural pain relief.

But does magnetic therapy actually work? Let's consider the arguments.

On the one hand in the UK several local health authorities have actually given official approval magnetic leg wraps in the treatment of leg ulcers. This based upon independent research which suggested that in 60% of cases the patient actually received a tangible health benefit when wearing a magnetic therapy product.

But how exactly does magnetic therapy work? The generally held view is that magnets actually improve circulation by attracting the iron in blood. Consequently this increases the oxygen supply in the affected muscle and tissue which in turn aids the healing process.

Many people believe that magnets actually reduce the negative energy in the body while others firmly believe that magnets encourage healthy tissue to generate tiny electrical currents which provides a stimulus to the body and thereby aids the healing process.

As a result of these views today millions of people around the world use magnetic therapy to treat joint pains, sports injuries, backache, muscle soreness and many other physical ailments with much anecdotal evidence regarding the success of the treatment.

And magnetic therapy is not just confined to humans, animals with the same physical problems are now also apparently benefitting from magnets, in particular cats, dogs and horses. Many owners will swear by the results achieved from Magnetic therapy.

However there is a counter argument.

The biggest single argument used against magnetic therapy is that for any other drug to come to the market today there would be stringent and detailed tests to ascertain the effectiveness and no tests with this level of rigour ever seemed to have been applied to magnetic therapy.

Many traditionalists argue that patients merely benefit from the placebo effect. That is, if you think you will benefit then you will probably will and so magnetic therapy becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The assumption that magnets actually improve blood circulation can also be challenged at several levels. For example if there was such a change in the blood flow on a particular muscle, surely the skin would become very red underneath the magnet?

In conclusion, there is little scientific evidence to justify the claims made by those who use or market magnetic therapy. But if you honestly feel that there is a benefit from this therapy then you should probably persist with it as magnetic therapy is inexpensive and there are absolutely no recorded instances of magnets ever doing any harm.

How Music Therapy Can Help Autism

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of alternative therapies that can help in a wide range of different ways. In this article we are going to look at music therapy and autism. We will firstly give brief information on what autism is and also what music therapy is. We will then consider the ways in which music therapy can help those who suffer from autism.

What is Autism?

Autism is a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain. There is no cure for the condition and the severity can vary between sufferers. However sufferers may find communication and understanding difficult. In addition to that many are thought to have exceptional talents in some forms of their life but find more basic things impossible to carry out. Autism is normally diagnosed when a child is about 30 months old but it is important to get a proper diagnosis to ensure you know exactly what you are dealing with.

What is Music Therapy?

Music therapy is basically the use of music to bring about change. Often it is used to change the mood or perspective of a person. This is something that you may notice on a day to day basis as a particular song could make you feel sad or happy. The process of music therapy is to use this ability to bring about change in people's lives. It may be to help bring back memories in those suffering from dementia or to help relax a person suffering from stress. The uses and benefits of music therapy are vast and cannot be ignored.

Music Therapy and Autism

Music therapy can be useful for people who suffer from autism as the theory is based on the fact that everyone has a response to music regardless of their handicap. In fact music has been used to help sufferers of autism since the 1950s and the benefits are widely accepted.

One of the biggest benefits of music therapy is it can aid with both verbal and non-verbal communication for people with autism. This is particularly useful as one of the problems people suffering from autism have is their ability to communicate with others. It is thought that music can help as it reduces stress and strain and with it helps to build relationships. This can easily be put into practise by a parent singing to their child.

It is also thought that the use of music can help a child suffering from autism to develop self-expression in a creative way. This can have a large number of benefits as it can help to grow their confidence and also help with their emotional satisfaction. The benefits are very great and wide ranging and something that should be considered.

Conclusion

If your child has been diagnosed as suffering with autism then please discuss the use of music therapy with your doctor. They may be able to recommend a centre that your child can visit and experience music therapy. You may also find that it is offered at the hospital where your child is being treated. If you are not sure about music therapy then please do some more research but it really can help and is worth considering as something to really benefit your child.