Alternative Health Therapies

It is becoming more common for people to use alternative therapies, also referred to as unconventional or complementary methods, to maintain health and remedy chronic disorders.

Alternative therapies treat a wide range of ailments such as cancer, allergies, asthma, arthritis, back pain, constipation, gas, hair loss, skin disorders, gout, stroke and headaches.

Alternative health therapies include, but are not limited to, herbal medicine, Chinese medicine, naturopathy, osteopathy, acupuncture, homeopathy, reflexology, aromatherapy, Bach and other flower remedies, massage, shiatsu, ayurvedic medicine, nutritional medicine, yoga, anthroposophical medicine, spiritual healing and kinesiology.

One out of every three Americans has used an alternative therapy in the last year. With people suffering serious side effects from prescription medicines and over 80,000 cases of medical malpractice each year, it is apparent why alternative therapy is gaining popularity. According to government-sponsored National Center for Complementary and Alterative Medicine, 30% of all alternative therapy patients seek alternative therapy because traditional medicine has failed to treat their condition.

Such therapies can improve quality of life. "Studies have proven that acupuncture can significantly reduce the nausea and vomiting connected with chemotherapy, while massage has been proven to reduce local pain and muscle spasms related to cancer and its treatment," says Mary E. Charlson, M.D., director of Weill Cornell's Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine.

Read more about how acupuncture is a remedy for constipation.