Vera Resnick
Reiki, Aromatherapy, Reflexology, Bach Flower Remedies
Tel.: 09-7678734/054-640736
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE - AN OVERVIEW
Currently there are many different alternative therapies available on the market, and for
the person who is trying to decide which kind of therapy to try it can be very confusing.
This article will offer some pointers on how to make that decision, how to choose a
practitioner, and what to expect. The following questions are discussed:
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If I don't believe in it, can it still help?
Why try alternative medicine?
How do I choose a treatment method?
What should I expect during treatment?
Does it hurt?
How many treatments should be necessary?
How much does it cost?
Can an alternative medicine practitioner tell me exactly what's wrong with
me?
Are there any side effects?
How to spot a charlatan
If I don't believe in it, can it still help?
This is one of the first questions I'm usually asked about alternative medicine: "If I don't
believe in it, will it still help me?" The most important measure of a good treatment is
whether it produces results. Belief is less important. If something doesn't work, it
doesn't help if you do believe in it. However, for any medical system, conventional or
otherwise, to be as effective as possible, the patient must want to get better and in this
way cooperate even if only in spirit with the health practitioner. In alternative medicine,
it is definitely helpful if the patient can keep an open mind and be receptive to
improvement. For this reason, children respond very well to alternative medicine, as they
have had less time to develop prejudices.
Why try alternative medicine?
Usually people try alternative medicine because conventional medicine is unable to help
them. Sometimes the reasons could be drastic, and a patient is trying to avoid the
necessity of an invasive procedure or operation. It is very important in this kind of
situation to check with your doctor how much time you have to explore other options
before the operation or procedure becomes essential. In other cases, often connected with
chronic illness, headaches, and physical problems where tests have shown nothing, you
will look for an alternative health practitioner because you don't want to keep taking
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medication that doesn't seem to help anyway, and because you want to improve the
quality of your life.
How do I choose a treatment method?
One of the most important things to check out before choosing a treatment method is
yourself! Do you want to be actively involved in your treatment regimen? Are you able
and willing to do special exercises on a regular basis? Do you feel if you are not taking
any kind of medicine you are not really being helped? Or do you feel you've had enough
of medication, and the only thing you're willing to put into your body is food (and
perhaps the occasional cigarette!) Perhaps what you really want is just to lie back on a
treatment couch, relax, and let the practitioner do the work?
Do you crave touch, or detest it? Think carefully before going to a reflexologist if you
cannot stand having your feet touched. If you have a terrible overwhelming fear of
needles, the trauma involved may hinder the positive effects of acupuncture. If you
believe these are the kinds of treatments you want anyway, try one visit, but if the fear or
distaste persist, try something else. It is essential in any kind of medical treatment,
alternative or conventional, that you should feel confident and comfortable with the
practitioner and the method.
The next step is to look at the problem. The body is a complicated network, where
everything is connected and an event in one area will reverberate through the entire
system. A problem with posture or muscle strain can often involve emotional stress and
malfunction of internal organs. A problem involving non-skeletal symptoms such as
stomach pain, hypothyroidism or high blood pressure may be connected to joint and
muscle condition.
You should bear in mind, however, that even though a therapy may seem to relate only to
the physical or only to the emotional or spiritual levels, all alternative therapies address
the patient holistically.
Does your occupation involve activities which put extra strain on specific muscles, such
as lifting children or moving heavy objects? It's very possible that the main focus of your
illness is muscle and joint pain and problems with posture. For these problems, therapies
such as Feldenkreis or the Alexander Method work towards fixing the underlying causes
by changing the way you move and work with your body. These methods work with
exercises and with hands-on manipulation, and have many adherents. Through methods
such as Feldenkreis and the Alexander method, you will learn how to do what you do in a
way that causes less damage to the body. Another method which is very effective is
Tuina, an ancient form of Chinese massage.
If your health problems relate more to internal organs and physiological processes, such
as high blood pressure, hyper- or hypothyroidism, or digestive problems, you may feel
more comfortable with acupuncture and Chinese herbs, naturopathy and herbal tinctures
and supplements, classical homeopathy or Bach Flower Remedies. Essential
(Aromatherapy) Oils can also be taken by mouth, but these and any other remedy or
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supplement to be taken by mouth, should only be taken after consulting with an
experienced practitioner.
For the "lie back and relax" group, available therapies working on the holistic level
include Reflexology, Healing, Reiki (a specialised form of energy healing), Shiatsu, and
Aromatherapy massage, to name but a few.
And for those who are really willing to invest time and effort but have had enough of
supplements, remedies and their ilk, the Ring Muscle techniques developed by Paula
Garbourg are a highly effective method of treatment. The techniques involve exercises
for ring muscles (which include eyes, lips, mouth, fists and many many more). In
treatment sessions, specific exercises are chosen for each patient, depending on the
problem. You will have to commit to exercising at home for half an hour to an hour each
day. For those who have the persistence, the method has shown very good results.
What should I expect during treatment?
For most of the methods described above, the patient does not remove clothing. Tuina
massage is carried out over loose clothing, although specific areas may be uncovered for
localised treatment during massage. Reflexology massage includes work on the feet
(shoeless and sockless!) and sometimes will include massage up to the knee, depending
on the practitioner and the problem. Reflexology treatments may also include hand
reflexology. Aromatherapy massage will require partial removal of clothing.
Does it hurt?
Levels of pain involved during treatment vary, depending on the practitioner and on the
patient's problem. Reflexology, Tuina and other methods of massage can be very painful,
especially when focusing on specific problematic areas. If you find the pain too much to
deal with you should drop the "stiff upper lip" and tell the practitioner, as it may be
possible to change techniques in order to make you more comfortable. It is essential that
you inform the practitioner when you feel pain, as it is part of your personal profile and is
important in order for the practitioner to understand your problem and its source.
How many treatments should be necessary?
This is a very individual issue, and some practitioners will say "keep coming until you
feel better". This is problematic, however, especially if you feel that a therapy may just
not be the right one for you.
In the case of exercise therapies, although improvement is often felt almost immediately,
they usually must become a part of your lifestyle in order to reap maximum benefits.
Many people who have turned to exercise therapies, whether it's gym workouts, yoga,
Feldenkreis or the Ring Muscle method, say that they just don't feel good without their
regular exercise regimen.
Where hands-on or healing treatments are involved (healing and Reiki can be carried out
without any actual touch), a basic rule of thumb is the 4-12 rule. If you feel absolutely no
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improvement after 4 treatments, you may want to try something else. However, if you
feel some improvement, you should feel significant improvement within 12 treatments.
Usually one treatment alone is not enough to make a difference, although sometimes one
treatment will work miracles! You should be aware however that the longer you have
had a problem, usually the longer it will take to resolve. Some practitioners suggest a
month for every year that you have had the problem.
Treatments involving taking supplements, remedies, herbs and their ilk sometimes may
take a while, but often when the practitioner hits on the perfect prescription, results can
be rapid and dramatic. In these kinds of treatments you will be required to come for
several follow-up sessions after the initial diagnostic, in order for the practitioner to
monitor your progress, and adjust your prescription as necessary. When doing these
kinds of treatments it is essential to make follow-up appointments. An initial
improvement does not always mean that the root of the problem has been addressed, and
it is irresponsible both on your part and on the part of the practitioner not to make sure
you have at least one follow-up appointment. Some practitioners will even take a fee up
front for two appointments to ensure follow-up more than to get extra money for
treatment.
How much does it cost?
On the subject of money, fees for alternative medicine can vary drastically, within a
range of NIS 100 to NIS 700 or more. Those charging higher fees are not automatically
charlatans. Often, in cases where there is a high fee the practitioner recommends a very
limited number of sessions and follow-up is carried out by phone or fax. In addition to
fees, you should take into account that the therapist is likely to prescribe supplements or
remedies, which will also cost money. Prescriptions given by a naturopath are likely to
be most expensive, as they involve vitamins, minerals and other supplements which may
be very costly. Co-Enzyme Q10 (given for strengthening heart muscle and improving
circulation, and also found to significantly improve cases of gum disease) can cost
NIS150-270 for a two -month supply on doses of 30-60mg a day, and Glucosamine
Chondroitin (given for joint problems) can cost approximately NIS 350 for a two-month
supply. If you have a good source abroad for vitamins and other supplements, you can
save a lot of money on these items. Prescriptions given by classical homeopaths can
come to NIS30-60 for a two month supply, although there are homeopathic remedies that
cost more.
Can an alternative medicine practitioner tell me exactly what's wrong with me?
The question of diagnosis is a complex issue for alternative health practitioners. A
patient recently came to me and asked if I could diagnose her disease through
reflexology, as her doctor wanted her to do several x-rays and a gastroscopy. Although I
see one of the important goals of alternative medicine as preventing the need for invasive
procedures, if it is necessary to achieve an exact picture of what seems to be the problem
the diagnostic methods of conventional medicine are the best means available. I
recommended that the patient should check with her doctor if it's OK to wait a while
before carrying out the tests, and that in the meantime she should start treatment.
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Many alternative health practitioners will not give an exact diagnosis, and will rather
refer to an excess or absence of yin or yang, of heat or cold. In some cases practitioners
will ask whether you have had any problem with a specific organ or joint. Where a
practitioner gives a definitive diagnosis of problems within specific parts of the body, ask
your doctor if you can do a blood test or simple non-invasive procedure to verify the
diagnosis. Specific diagnoses received from an alternative health practitioner can be
problematic, and in my view the practitioner who says "why don't you go to your doctor
for a checkup, and pay specific attention to ..." is more credible than the practitioner who
says "you are definitely hyperthyroid, but I can cure you", especially when this
practitioner doesn't even refer you to blood tests to double check the diagnosis.
Are there any side effects?
Yes... and no. "Side effects" in alternative medicine is really a misnomer. Especially at
the beginning of treatment, you may feel that your situation is worse for several days
after treatment. You should then feel improvement. This is in addition to feelings of
dizziness and drowsiness, which are common immediately after treatment.
The aggravation of your condition can be likened to when a physician is trying to find out
what hurts in your abdomen. When he finally reaches the right place and presses, you
may feel intense pain. But now the physician can go ahead and work with the
problematic area. As the treatment pinpoints the problematic areas, the aggravation is
often proof that the treatment is going in the right direction.
So don't be too shocked when you tell your reflexologist, acupuncturist or homeopath "I
felt terrible for several days after the treatment", and they respond, smiling broadly, with
a congratulatory "that's wonderful!".
I have found that specifically when using Bach Flower Remedies, because they work so
strongly on the emotional level, the side effects can involve an intensity of emotion,
weeping fits and mood swings during the first week of treatment.
How to spot a charlatan:
The question of credibility is a crucial one when trying to decide on a practitioner. There
are so many adverts about wonder-working miracle healers, about specialised mysterious
treatments, rumours about mystics who just look at you and all your woes are healed, that
it is difficult to know what to believe. The following are several suggestions as to
pointers, to help you come to a decision:
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Money: a fee of several thousand shekels should definitely make you think
again. Although the field of alternative medicine has definitely become a
commercial one and many therapy philosophies state that a fee is an essential
part of the healing process, there has to be some limit. If presented with an
exorbitant fee, don't be shy - ask why!
Number of treatments: This issue usually goes together with the exorbitant
fee. I recently heard of a practitioner who demands very high sums of money,
and insists that patients come for many treatments. He states that if a patient
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comes for one treatment less than the amount he specifies, the whole
treatment process cancels out.
Promises of a cure: Neither alternative nor conventional practitioners can
promise a cure, and those that do so are being irresponsible and unfair to their
patients. If a practitioner promises a cure, it puts you in a very difficult
position. You want to believe, since you know you need treatment. You look
for improvement when in reality it is possible that your situation has not
changed. The process of gradual awareness that the promises were empty
ones is traumatic in itself, and extremely painful.
Definite diagnosis without recommending medical check-ups: I have
mentioned this issue earlier - sometimes it is less a mark of the charlatan and
more the mark of an inexperienced and excessively enthusiastic practitioner.
Faced with what seems to be a textbook case, he blurts out his conclusions
without looking for solid evidence. I have found that definite diagnoses are
most common at opposite ends of the fee spectrum - they are either given by
those charging very low fees, or by those charging very high fees and
operating from fancy clinics with an array of impressive machinery.
There are questions that you can ask the practitioner in order to get a better sense of the
person you are approaching to take care of your "temple of the soul", as the body is
referred to in many religious and mystical sources. First of all, it is worthwhile to try to
talk to the practitioner on the phone, just to get a sense of the person himself. Ask about
qualifications, where he or she studied, whether she is familiar with your condition, and
ask more details about the treatment itself and what to expect.
A final word:
There are many, many more alternative health methods out there than those mentioned
above. If you're interested in trying something new, it's worthwhile looking for more
information before committing to treatment. The Internet is an excellent source of
information for this kind of research. The more informed you are, the better equipped
you will be to assess the treatment you are given.
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