Modern medicine is nothing short of miraculous and breakthroughs are being made every day for the most severe illnesses and diseases known to man. Even the first Covid-19 vaccine was developed in less than 12 months since the first case and a new GDNF treatment for Parkinson’s disease has been studied as an effective treatment for restoring damaged cells.
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But even when undergoing the best treatment or looking after yourself as well as you can from a purely medical perspective can feel like there is something missing. Because of this, many people turn to complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) that can provide a sense of wellbeing that medical treatment cannot.
Some of the most popular CAMs include:
- Chiropractic treatment
- Herbalism
- Acupuncture
Using the hands for treatments doesn’t only involve massage and chiropractors are well known for their skills in alleviating back issues while herbalism is an age-old practice that is essentially the basis of modern medication and acupuncture is a controversial yet ancient practice that many patients swear by.
Chiropractic Treatment
The treatment of the musculoskeletal system, comprising of the bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints is a skilled one that has been shown to have many benefits. Yet chiropractic treatment is still considered a pseudoscience despite the obvious benefits of regular treatment for issues such as back pain, headaches, and migraine.
Perhaps the most medical-based of the many complementary treatments available, chiropractic treatment from such professionals as a prenatal chiropractor that can perform special techniques for pregnant women or those who study different techniques such as Gonstead (spinal realignment) and Palmer (atlas manipulation) has been proven to help with many major back, spine and posture issues.
Herbalism
Using natural remedies for the alleviation of pain or to elevate mood is as ancient as mankind with one of the best herbalism examples being that of Chinese medicine. Although a herbal remedy from a practitioner doesn’t come with the label of a big pharma company, it doesn’t mean there aren’t benefits to be gained.
Millions of people worldwide consume such things as vitamin and mineral tablets on a daily basis for their general wellbeing, concentration, and energy. And most of these kinds of tablets are made of a mixture of herb and plant leaves, flowers, and roots such as Ylang Ylang, Ginseng, and Macca root. While there are many critics of herbalism, all registered herbalists need to be qualified and they use plants and herbs whose qualities are scientifically proven to have a significant benefit to the consumer.
Acupuncture
A controversial subject of which the benefit is still debated to this day, acupuncture involves piercing the skin with multiple needles in order to realign the energy centers of the body which many believe is the cause of many common ailments including lethargy, headaches and depression. Whether you believe in acupuncture or not, studies have shown that the points that are stimulated promote the release of natural chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord and brain that heal the body naturally.
While acupuncture can be used to provide immediate relief to some areas of the body such as the teeth, an injured leg or a stiff neck, for example, most ailments for which the technique is used are serious and the help of a professional acupuncturist is usually sought whenever modern or traditional medicine hasn’t worked, and in these cases, ongoing treatment is usually required and can be expensive.