Yes a lot of therapists are into all the quakery but you can't deny the benefits when you get down to basics and receive a really good massage from someone who knows what they are doing!!! It's also a fairly under regulated profession depending on which state you live in so it can be hard to find someone who is good at what they do.
alternative medicine/healing...tried any? is it nuts?
by oompa 26 Replies latest jw friends
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Finally-Free
There's a lot of quackery out there, even in the mainstream medical profession. If a doctor can't find the cause of your ill health, he might tell you "it's all in your head" or you're "making it up to get attention" and try to refer you to a shrink. He'll say anything but "I don't know". A naturopath might tell you to take megadoses of vitamins or wrap your kid in cabbage leaves. An Iridologist may look into your eyes and say you have piles. Can they really see that far down???
I take all of them with a grain of salt and research everything.
W
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mkr32208
I think massage and chiropractic absolutely DO provide very real very good SHORT TERM relief of pain and problems. I got out of massage for several reasons. But the constant quackery was a biggie for me. I mean I owned a registered massage business and had employees and everything so I was a target for it. This was almost 10 years ago and I STILL get mail at least once or twice a week about the latest 'stick a carrot up your ass while drinking pig urine and hopping on one foot naked under the full moon will absolutely positively clear your chi channels or your money back..."
I just go tired of that crap...
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B_Deserter
You can try it and if it makes you feel better, GREAT! The mind is an interesting thing, and the placebo effect can be very powerful. The problem I run into with alternative healing is that they have no evidence to back their claims, only anecdotes, which are completely unreliable if you're doing an objective study. If it works for you, great, but if you're going to try to convince me it works, I better be seeing some proof.
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B_Deserter
Chiropractic is quack medicine that became (very) slightly legitimized by medical science. It does help relieve back pain (although, it is not more effective than a massage). The problem with chiropractors is that they exaggerate who actually needs the treatments. In reality, very few people need them. A lot of chiropractors will tell you that everybody "needs" it and it's good just to "prevent" subluxations from happening. They'll tell you that you need to see them multiple times per week for the first few months, and then put you on a less frequent but regular regimen of adjustments. They'll tell you that if you don't keep coming back, all the benefits of the treatment will be nullified. Of course, the real reason they tell you these things is simple: money. They want you to become a regular source of income. My advice: get a massage instead.
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Carmel
I've been to chiropracters, physical therapists, acupunturists and massage theapists. I've had success with all except the needle lady. My most recent experiance was with extreme low back pain with sciatica. Medical doctor drugged me with pain reliever, muscle relaxant and one other powerful drug. No benefit, so after four weeks I went to the chiropracter. She gave me a treatment then told me to ice it every hour. No meds, but immediate relief of much of the pain. Icing was combined with electrical empulses and within a week I was 90%. Ice is one of my favorite treatments for lots of pain. Utilitarian. If it works, do it. carmel
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WTWizard
There is a big problem. Mainstream medicine is totally crap when it comes to managing chronic conditions (I don't feel like taking a drug for life to control one condition, only to have another condition develop from the drug that will require me to take another drug to control. That is how the racket of mainstream medicine steals from the people. (I do, however, recommend mainstream allopathic medicine for crisis situations and trauma conditions, because in those situations, it will help resolve the immediate situation and allow your body the chance to heal).
However, there are so many quickie natural remedy products for sale that knowing which works and which doesn't is difficult. Those Goji juice remedies work for some people, but I think they are blown up out of proportion. I am suspicious of any MLM program, since the distributors have financial incentive to inflate the results to get others to buy the products.
Other practicioners vary in quality. You might get a chiropractor that is totally incompetent, and the results will be as dismal, or worse, than allopathic medicine. A different chiropractor might be much better, and give you better results. That can be said about any natural remedy involving accupuncture and force fields. Even those psychic healers can do some good, if they know what they are doing--but, if they don't, they are no better than no treatment at all.
One word of caution is indicated. Some natural-sounding remedies are based on the Church of Scientology. You may wish to research any odd sounding remedy using totally independent sources. These Scientology remedies may do some good, but if you are going to support a cult or have to join one, they can do more harm than good. And they might not work any better than the ones found in the Asleep! magazine. Anything like the GentleWind Project, Dianetics, and other programs that have names that are not Oriental in nature or you are not familiar with should be researched with independent sources, and preferably several and on different sides (actual patient testimony from independent sources counts the most, since it is most likely to be helpful and unbiased).
One natural remedy I do recommend is well-chosen, high quality supplements. If you go to a doctor that specializes in herbs and vitamins, you will go after the underlying cause of the disease and cure it. You might come out with herbs, vitamins, a diet that bans or restricts certain harmful chemicals, exercises, and/or gadgets that enhance sleep. Magnetic items may be of benefit--they are harmless at worst. Generally, herbs and vitamins are safer than drugs that come from petroleum. For best results, you should use a quality doctor (as with other fields, if you get a crap doctor, or one that is intentionally selling worthless products, you will waste your money).
Note that, with the possible exception of remedies that support the Church of Scientology, natural remedies are safer as a group than allopathic ones. You take too much herbs or vitamins, you get diarrhea or you puke. You take the wrong ones, you don't get the benefit. And, at worst, you waste your money on something that does nothing. That is more than often can be said for drugs that make the news five years later with severe side effects.
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jamiebowers
Two wierd comments: First, I have never tried alternative medicine for myself, but I have for my cat. She has megacolon which makes it impossible for her to have a bowel movement on her own. After several hundred dollars in vet bills, meds, prescription food, etc., our vet recommended we put her down. I found an herbal supplement online called LaxEase, and it works! Second, my husband used to drink juice made from some kind of boiled root made by the Amish to ease his arthritis pain. It actually worked, but it tasted so bad, he couldn't stand it for very long. So, I guess it's just hit and miss.
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Jim_TX
I think that alternative medicines... some work - and some don't. Yes, there are quacks out there.
While I may believe in certains that seem to help me - I do not go 'round trying to push these ideas on others. Occassionally though, I'll break that rule - if I know the person... and I have been able to help a few folks this way.
Speaking of JWs and their picking-and-choosing what they want to believe...
I remember my mom going up to a city north of here... a long drive... where she went a few times when I was a kid. This place was like a resort... had bungalows for folks to stay there for a week or more... as part of the 'plan'. My mom referred to them as 'treatments'.
Supposedly - the person giving the treatments would come in, briskly rub their hands together - and then move their hands over the patient - who was lying there on their stomach - covered with a sheet. She claimed that she could feel a warmth as their hands were moved about.
Well... I never knew what it was - until recently - it was Reiki (sp?), although she never called it that. Now... for a JW to believe in something like that... is kinda out-there. Of course, my mom never went 100% with the JW teachings... she always kinda veered a bit off center to what was taught - but I found this odd for her to believe in. She always came away from her 'treatments' feeling better - so who is to say?
Regards,
Jim TX
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Mulan
well............here we go again.
As I've said before on numerous other alternative medicine threads, my father was a Naturopathic Physician, very successful, and practiced alternative methods for 40 years or so. I grew up with the philosophy and most of it is right on.
Traditional medicine treats symptoms, period. If you have a backache, they give you pain meds. A chiropractor will treat the cause of the pain.
Most MD's only use symptom treatment, while an ND (Doctor of Naturopathy) treats the cause..........it may take longer to feel better but you get well, and don't just mask the symptoms.
Dad used to explain it like this: "Garbage attracts rats. Medicine kills the rats, but we get rid of the garbage so the rats leave and have nothing to feed on".
Having said that, I do acknowledge quackery, and there is plenty of that out there too.
I believe in blending both philosophies. Common sense helps a lot.