By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    physical health
    5 Ways Playing Games Can Improve Neural and Physical Health
    September 9, 2022
    Reasons For Hair Loss and Its Treatment
    Reasons For Hair Loss and Its Treatment
    February 16, 2022
    healthcare organization
    5 Actionable Strategies For Healthcare Organizations
    August 15, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    email marketing in healthcare
    Harnessing the Power of Email Marketing in Healthcare
    October 26, 2023
    healthcare claims
    The Role of Communication in Resolving Complex Workers’ Compensation Claims in Healthcare Settings
    September 22, 2024
    Wounds and Wisdom: What Motorcycle Accidents Teach Us About Health and Healing
    Wounds and Wisdom: What Motorcycle Accidents Teach Us About Health and Healing
    February 12, 2025
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Merging Modern and Alternative Methods for Complete Healing
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Health Reform > Merging Modern and Alternative Methods for Complete Healing
eHealthHealth ReformMedical InnovationsTechnologyWellness

Merging Modern and Alternative Methods for Complete Healing

ScottSaunders
Last updated: February 10, 2013 8:20 am
ScottSaunders
Share
8 Min Read
SHARE

A mechanic I knew in Venezuela boasted he could take apart a car – or fix anything – with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers. The body, though, is much more complex than any car. Illnesses can have multiple causes. Something as common as hypertension, for example, has over three hundred causes; blood pressure increases with pain, anxiety, stress, a lack of nutrients, hormone imbalances, and inflammations, among other causes.

A mechanic I knew in Venezuela boasted he could take apart a car – or fix anything – with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers. The body, though, is much more complex than any car. Illnesses can have multiple causes. Something as common as hypertension, for example, has over three hundred causes; blood pressure increases with pain, anxiety, stress, a lack of nutrients, hormone imbalances, and inflammations, among other causes.

The need, then, is to have more than one set of tools in the medical chest to treat an illness. That can mean pills and needles, X-rays and herbs, charts and chakras. The fully stocked tool chest that truly allows people to be healthier includes both modern medicine and alternative treatment methods.

The Miracles of Modern Medicine

More Read

mhealth
A New Age for Smartphone Apps
5 Benefits Of HIPAA-Compliant Answering Services
Supplements May Improve Memory
5 Benefits of a Ketogenic Diet
RSNA 2015: Important Presentations and Studies from Day 4

People generally seek medical doctors because they have powerful tools at their disposal to treat health problems. Before antibiotics, people commonly lived with – and died from – infectious diseases; pneumonia was the number-one cause of death only 100 years ago. Mom meant it when she said, “Come inside, or you’ll catch your death of pneumonia!”

The modern medicine tool chest also boasts surgery and anesthesia, as well as the ability to attend to acute situations; ERs care for patients with immediate injuries and sicknesses that may cause death or permanent disability if not treated quickly enough. We can help the blind to see, the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, and we can heal many illnesses—miracles wrought by the hands of caring and skilled doctors, with the help of technology and advancements in medicine.

However, modern medicine is not a cure-all in every instance.

When to Seek Alternatives

Despite modern medicine’s ability to heal many maladies, there are also illnesses it doesn’t treat well. Type 2 diabetes, or “metabolic syndrome,” is increasing, and some modern medical tools can worsen the disease or cause other complications. The drugs for Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, and other common ailments can also allow, or cause progression of, problems.

In these cases, it can be helpful to turn to alternative medicine. A rule of thumb to determine if an alternative form of medicine should be sought is to ask, “Is the current treatment actually working?” We must evaluate our treatments and try new options when something is no longer working; it’s very rare that a person needs a lifetime of treatment.

We also have access to many other tools that can alleviate disease. We are just beginning to understand the effects of diet on health and wellness. Other alternative healing modalities, such as herbs, which have been used successfully for thousands of years by skilled practitioners, can remove the causes of illness.

Short-Term Relief, Long-Term Cures

The various modern and traditional healing modalities look at different facets of the same illness in distinct ways.  Modern medicine often looks at the symptoms of illness and provides a drug to alleviate them. Patients with hypertension may be given a prescription to lower blood pressure, pain is treated with pain-relieving medications, and patients with swelling take diuretics to remove excess water.

Other healing traditions, on the other hand, may look at why the symptoms exist in the first place. Why is blood pressure increasing? Why is there pain? Why is there swelling? Tools are then used to address the cause, rather than the symptoms alone. 

It is for this reason that a medical tool chest containing both modern medicine and alternative healing methods is most effective. There is no need to view them as entirely separate spheres of healing. Most medications succeed in relieving the symptoms of a disease while herbs, supplements, and lifestyle changes work to remove the cause of the disease until medication is no longer necessary.

In the case of diabetes, insulin injections may be needed for a period while the patient institutes lifestyle changes. When the patient has lost weight and is exercising regularly, the insulin is no longer needed to feel better. Another example can be found in patients with depression. They may need antidepressants initially, but they can also work with doctors to find and attack the depression’s root cause.

Make “Yourself” Your Expertise

With so much information available today regarding treatments and medicines, it can be difficult to know which is best. The “experts” are experts only in their respective modalities of health.

If a patient goes to an acupuncturist, he or she can expect to be poked with needles. If the patient visits an herbalist, he or she will walk out with an armful of herbs. After visiting a medical doctor, the patient may have a prescription, and if he or she consults a surgeon, the patient may end up in the operating room.

What’s best for each individual can truly only be determined by the patient. It’s best to seek as much information as possible and weigh the risks and benefits of each treatment before making a decision. As one type of treatment is tried, the patient should evaluate whether there’s improvement. From that point, it can be determined whether something new should be put to use.

For example, I had a 36-year-old patient who had to have a pacemaker put in because he was passing out. His heart has a congenital defect that causes it to stop periodically for up to 30 seconds; the pacemaker regularly saves his life. At the same time, he’s had fibromyalgia symptoms that are treated well with herbal medicines. He is now able to sleep well at night, and is no longer in pain all the time – thanks to both forms of treatment.

The Venezuelan mechanic may have been able to fix an entire car with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers, but when it comes to the human body and its many ailments, it may be necessary to use the screwdriver and the pliers – and then the drill, and perhaps the screwdriver once more, until the machine is running like new again.

TAGGED:alternative medicinepatient engagement
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Health
May 15, 2025
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction heart treatment
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction
Cardiology
May 13, 2025

You Might also Like

benefits of virtual medical assistants
Technology

10 Essential Qualities Of A Virtual Medical Assistant

June 5, 2022
healthy cooking
Wellness

Shopping and Cooking Healthy for One

September 7, 2013
Home HealthWellness

Balancing Your Hormones Through A Healthy Vegan Diet

June 19, 2020
myriad genetics
NewsPolicy & LawPublic HealthSpecialtiesTechnology

How Did Myriad Genetics Come to Own Our Genes?

June 27, 2013
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?