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Hilary Amann
Intermediate Composition 2089
Professor Skutar
April 4, 2013
Controversies in Alternative Medicine: Efficacy and Benefits of Alternative Medicine
Along with the rise in alternative therapies come many stigmas and controversies in the
medical field about the efficacy and actual benefits of these treatments. Many scientists and
conventional doctors believe that these therapies do not actually work to improve a patient’s
well-being, when in reality there is not enough research and evidence on alternative medical
therapies to make such claims. Health professionals are so quick to ward off non-evidencebased treatments when there could be important and valuable information to be learned if we
were to study these practices more. In order to provide you with necessary background
knowledge in alternative medicine, I will spend some time informing you of the history of this
medical system. I then will go on to examine controversies within the medical system such as
the efficacy of alternative medical therapies and will address different benefits including whole
body treatment, less negative side effects, and lower cost of treatment. With that being said,
for the next ten minutes you will be introduced to new concepts and information in the realm
of alternative medicine. It is my hope that after this speech you all will begin to ponder the
controversial topics of alternative medicine in our society.
Acupuncture, massage therapy, reflexology. These are all different types of alternative
healing that many people throughout the world use to treat themselves on a daily basis. While
around forty percent of respondents in a study of alternative medicine reported use of some
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sort of alternative method of healing, there are still many controversies and questions
surrounding the topic (Astin). Many questions arise when exploring the topic of alternative
medicine such as does this therapy actually work or how will I benefit from the treatment?
*The controversies of efficacy and health benefits of alternative medicine are important to
research and spend time on because of the possibility of whole body treatments, less negative
side effects, and lower cost of treatment. However, this is a very controversial subject among
health professionals mainly due to the lack of evidence and research proving the benefits of
these treatments as well as a lack of knowledge on the subject.
In an attempt to address some controversial topics in alternative medicine, I will start
off by diving into the history of alternative medicine. In the article A History of Healing
Therapies: Western, Eastern, and Alternative Approaches, the author Clair Wood begins by
explaining that the oldest known surgical procedure was trephination; which dates back to
around 4000 BCE (Wood, 219). In this procedure the practitioner would drill a hole into the
patients’ skull to treat health problems. It was believed by the ancient people that they were
releasing bad spirits which were thought to be the cause of many health issues at the time.
During this period “medicine was a blend of religion, magic, and the practical” (Wood, 219).
Another common Egyptian saying was “may your channels be sound” which derived from the
belief that blockages in the body were responsible for illness and disease.
During the Roman and Greek Era around 600 BCE to 530 CE, Hippocrates and Galen
dominated medicine. Hippocrates, known as the “father of medicine”, is also well known for his
theory of the four humors of the body which are blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm. In
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the case of an imbalance of these four humors, that is when disease enters the body.
Hippocrates also believed that it was the physicians’ job to bring the bodily fluids back to a
stable equilibrium with diet and drugs (Prioreschi, 320). After the death of Galen there was a
movement and shift in the beliefs of traditional medicine and how it should be practiced.
Prioreschi wrote in the article Alternative Medicine in Ancient and Medieval History that
“physicians were considered not only greedy and dishonest, but incompetent as well, whereas
the most wonderful remedies could be found in any backyard garden” (320). This leaves us to
the beginning of alternative medicine.
Jumping hundreds of years forward, alternative medicine in the United States is a
relatively new concept. “Health care in the United States remains primarily based upon the
biomedical model, yet, according to NCCAM the 2007 National Health Interview Survey
concluded that approximately 38% of American adults use CAM” (Goldbas, 17). The primary
forms of alternative medicine that consumers sought out were chiropractic, relaxation
techniques, massage, and acupuncture (Rosenbaum, 1256.) This information isn’t too surprising
because many people in our culture have massages on a fairly regular basis and don’t
necessarily think of it as another form of alternative medicine, but rather just a way to relax.
However, although you can see that these concepts of natural healing are deep in our world
history, it still is very new to our research and American society.
I read an article named Quality of Efficacy Research in Complementary and Alternative
Medicine and was shocked to read that “most studies of CAM efficacy, both in adults and
children, are generally of poor quality; this is true for many conventional medical practices as
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well” (Chan). When I first read that I was confused and a little discouraged, to be completely
honest. I then read on to only realize that the reason for that is because the quality standards
for reporting clinical trials have just begun to emerge in modern medicine. Chan then goes on
to state, “In 2005, an Institute of Medicine report stated that ‘the same principles and
standards of evidence of treatment effectiveness apply to all treatments, whether currently
labeled as conventional medicine or CAM’”. However, one of the reason why efficacy is hard to
measure is because in a lot of the treatments there needs to be patient belief and positive
intentions for a good outcome.
Another interesting point that Chan makes is that it is difficult to make accurate
measures of the outcome of the therapy if the effect is unique to the patient, or subjective, and
also if the effects depend on the skill of the practitioner. In certain treatments, there isn’t a
certain ingredient that you can test to see how much is used or if it is actually working. Chan
also states in the article, “Moreover, individuals often use a variety of CAM modalities
simultaneously (eg, meditation, aromatherapy, herbs) or adjunctively with conventional
therapies, and secular trends in lifestyle values such as diet, exercise, yoga, and massage may
attenuate or magnify treatment effects.” Using these therapies in conjunction with our
conventional, biomedical system would undoubtedly show nothing but positive effects. Finding
some sort of common ground or a way to integrate alternative and biomedical systems would
be very beneficial to our medical system.
“Despite a few attempts, it has yet to be established how to integrate CAM therapies
into the conventional medical system in a systematic way” (Borkan and Frenkel, 325). Many
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people have not yet tried to come up with a way to combine the two into one medical system
because there are no clear and distinct guidelines of how to integrate the two. Also, there is a
lack of information and research on the proper integration of alternative medicine into our
modern healthcare.
In this article the author talks about different methods of integrating complementary
and alternative medicine into primary care. It is decided that one of the main steps in the
process is insuring that there is an open and honest relationship between patient and physician.
“Discussing patients’ preferences and expectations will clarify the reasons patients seek CAM,
and provide clues for improving the integration of CAM into their conventional health care”
(Borkan and Frenkel, 326). This also will provide physicians with valuable insight into why
people are drawn to alternative medical treatments. With the patient sharing why they are
interested in alternative medicine and which treatments they are planning on taking part in, it
allows the physician to be able to guide them through the treatment options better.
Another step in integrating the two systems is empowering the patient in the choice of
treatment and including them in the different options. If the patient is clear in his or her ideas
or wishes for treatment, this allows the physician to look into the modality and come up with a
treatment plan that can fit to their needs. This is relevant because “the majority of those who
use CAM do so because they find these health care alternatives to be more congruent with
their own values, beliefs and philosophical orientations toward health and life” (Borkan and
Frenkel, 327). By sharing their findings and advantages or disadvantages of treatment options,
they are able to more readily make a decision together.
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Works Cited
Astin, John A. "Why Patients Use Alternative Medicine: Results of a National Study.” JAMA: The
Journal of the American Medical Association 279.19 (1998): 1548-1553. Web. 01 Apr.
2013.
Chan, Eugenia. "Quality of Efficacy Research in Complementary and Alternative Medicine."
JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association 299.22 (2008): 2685-686. Print.
Frenkel, Moshe A., and Jeffrey M. Borkan. "An Approach for Integrating Complementary– Alternative
Medicine into Primary Care." Family Practice 20.3 (2003): 324-32. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.
Goldbas, Abbie. "An Introduction to Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)."
International Childbirth Education Association 27.3 (2012): 16-20. Web. 1 Apr. 2013.
Ham, Kelli. "Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Evidence-based Resources for
Consumers." Journal of Consumer Health On the Internet 13.4 (2009): 403-16. Print.
Prioreschi, P. "Alternative Medicine in Ancient and Medieval History." Medical Hypotheses 55.4
(2000): 319-25. Web. 31 Mar. 2013.
Rastogi, Sanjeev, and Francesco Chiappelli. "Perspectives, Protocols, Problems, and Potentials."
Evidence-based Practice in Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Perspectives,
Protocols, Problems, and Potential in Ayurveda. 2012 ed. Berlin: Springer, 2012. 3-29.
Print.
Rosenbaum, Cathy C. "The History of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the US."
Annals of Pharmacotherapy 41.7 (2007): 1256-260. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
Spencer, John W., and Joseph J. Jacobs. Complementary/Alternative Medicine: An Evidencebased Approach. St. Louis: Mosby, 1999. Print.
Wood, Clair G. "A History of Healing Therapies: Western, Eastern, and Alternative Approaches."
Choice 48.2 (2010): 219+. Web. 28 Mar. 2013.