Alternative Cures An overview

Alternative healing methods - an insight into natural remedies

The term "alternative healing methods" (or alternatively: alternative medicine, natural healing, natural medicine, complementary medicine, gentle medicine, holistic medicine) are generally referred to treatment methods that represent other treatment and diagnosis concepts than conventional medicine.

Characteristic of these healing methods is the individual treatment and care of patients, no or only minor occurring side effects and interactions and the use of manual techniques and remedies and medicinal plants. Unlike conventional medical treatments, the use of natural remedies does not necessarily have to be done by a doctor, but is also very often done by naturopaths. There are a variety of alternative therapies in current practice, with acupuncture, homeopathy and osteopathy likely to be the most well-known in Europe due to their prevalence, and will be discussed in more detail below:

acupuncture
Acupuncture (from Latin acus = needle and punctio = the sting) is a treatment concept of traditional Chinese medicine. In the application, sterile needles penetrate the millimeters into the so-called "acupuncture points", which helps to heal illnesses, alleviate pain or increase general well-being. Spread over the entire body are approximately 700 possible puncture points on so-called meridians or "energy channels", in which the traditional Chinese medicine after the body's own energy - the "Qi" - flows, which is influenced by the insertion of the needles. Acupuncture is used in almost all diseases, especially rheumatism, nerve pain, headache, toothache, back pain, fatigue, stress, addiction and indigestion and also promotes general relaxation and concentration. A treatment usually takes 30 minutes, during which between one and ten needles are stung and is used by either doctors or naturopaths.

Osteopathy
Osteopathy is an alternative diagnostic and treatment method that was developed by the US physician Dr. med. AT. Still was founded and worked with manual techniques. The aim of this method is to restore the physical, symptom-free functioning by means of special manual techniques.

Osteopathy involves the functional and anatomical connections of the human body. That it is believed that body structures (e.g., bones, muscles, nerves) and bodily functions (e.g., blood flow, digestion) will interact and accordingly should always be considered together in the treatment. In addition, emotional influences are also considered within osteopathy, which results from the assumption that the origins of an acute illness may be to be found in a completely different part of the body (e.g., shoulder pain caused by stress). According to this understanding of the "human being as a whole", a treatment always begins with an intensive discussion with the patient. The osteopath then palpates the tissue and tests motion sequences, trying to find out how to resolve the malfunction and to activate self-healing powers. In Germany, the term "osteopathy" is not protected by law and training is not regulated by law. Only physicians and non-medical practitioners are allowed to work independently. Physiotherapists and masseurs are allowed to work in the delegation procedure. (sb, 03.02.2010)