Orthodox medicine and Complementary and Alternative medicine (CAM) are used widely across the globe today. Acupuncture is a complementary medical practice which is used to improve many health conditions and its origins, method and uses in health care are explored and outlined. Although orthodox medicine is the dominant model in the United Kingdom (UK) the popularity of CAM is increasing as more and more people begin to choose CAM instead of, or along with orthodox medicine. There are many reasons for this and this is resulting in CAM being taken more seriously as more doctors and nurses are being trained in complementary and alternative therapies such as massage and acupuncture. Although people do use CAM it is evident that more research and trials need to be done to prove the efficiency and reliability of CAM as a treatment.
2. Introduction
This report will explore the alternative health therapy acupuncture, which is a complementary medical practice used to promote, restore and maintain good health. It will discuss the origin and method of acupuncture and outline the different uses it has in healthcare. Orthodox healthcare and the reasons why this is the dominant model in the United Kingdom (UK) will be examined and compared to Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). The inter relationship of orthodox
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By inserting fine needles into specific acupuncture points on the body the aim is to re-balance the energy and trigger the natural healing response by re-establishing the free flow of energy throughout the body. Acupuncture is also believed to minimise pain by increasing the release of chemicals in the body that block pain, called endorphins. Acupuncture does not involve any poisons or foreign elements and it does not conflict with any other treatment. (Soulie De Morant, 1994,
Ross defines and differentiates between the terms healing and curing. She recognizes the fact that healing and curing are very intertwined and it can be hard to distinguish between the two terms. There are differences between the definitions in scholarly and general settings. She references an ethnographic study of healing versus curing conducted by anthropologists Andrew Strathern and Pamela Stewart in 1999 with native groups in New Guinea. The results of the study looked at how energy used by the different types of tribal healers to either cure or heal a patient. Eastern medicine focuses on how energy interacts with the healing process in connection within the mind. Whereas Western medicine is focused on the mind and the body separately. The practice is considered a holistic approach to finding cures. According to Ross (2013), healing is more a therapeutic process targeting the whole body and specific illness including emotional, mental, and social aspects in the treatment. The act of curing is a pragmatic approach that focuses on removing the problem all together. The life experiences of a person playing into how well certain treatments will heal or cure what is ailing them. These aspects can not be defined with textbook definitions. The interaction that the healing process has with energy is a variable in the success rate. Uncontrolled emotions can have a greater impact on the inside the body than a person can realize. The exploration of energy interaction within the body can be used for greater analysis of health care systems. (21-22). Are Western healthcare facilities purposely “curing” patients just so that they return are few years later? Is Western Medicine built upon a negative feedback loop? The terminolo...
It is essential that when using evidence-based practice guidelines to choose a treatment, that variety of research methods are applied so that the best relevant data can be produced. Such methods include qualitative/quantitative research, randomised controlled trials and systematic reviews. Both qualitative and quantative methods produce valuable data. Quantative research produces numeric evidence that is necessary for practice and can be measured and qualitative research produces descriptive data about the subject by using patients views etc. which can also be applied to clinical practice (Broeder et al, 2010)
All things found in the universe are thought of as a balance of the two opposite but complementary forces yin and yang. Organs in our body can be predominantly yin or yang but the body still manages to maintain the overall balance because of the total sum of yin and yang in the body. Traditional Chinese medicine states that diseases are caused by an imbalance of yin and yang. When trying to restore the balance and the person’s health, practitioners look for the nature of the imbalance and use acupuncture as a method to correct the imbalance.“However, despite more than 3,0000 studies into acupuncture since the 1970s, there is no evidence that any force qi ( yin and yang) exists or that it flows along invisible energy lines.” ( “Why acupuncture is giving sceptists the needle”, David Derbyshire)Therefore the whole system acupuncture is based on can’t be reliable.
The aim of acupuncture to heal explicit pathologies has not been determined but it does reestablish systemic equilibrium to the patient’s reservation of Qi. For the body’s system to be recalibrated with its Qi, needles are implanted at certain meridians in order to
Public Health Reports (Interagency Team at NIMH and NIDA Studies How Acupuncture Works.) (1974-) , Vol. 95, No. 5 (Sep. - Oct., 1980), pp. 503-504
Mendelson G, Selwood TS, Kranz H, Loh TS, Kidson MA, Scott Ds. (1983). Acupuncture treatment of chronic back pain. A double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Journal of Medicine, 741), 49-55.
Nowadays, complementary alternative medicine is very popular in the United States. It is widely used by adults and children. National health statistic reports done in 2007 shows that 38.3% of adults and 11.8% of children use some form of alternative medicine (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016). But why is this happening? Why is it becoming so popular? Why are more people turning to it? Many times, this is because conventional medicine has not work and they want to try an alternative. That is the case of the author of this paper.
Acupuncture originated in China and it has been practice for more than 2000 years now. This modality is considered the main treatment within the traditional Chinese medicine. Its main concept is the conviction that the body possesses hidden channels identified as meridians. These channels allows for the flow of energy which is considered a vital life force through all the body. Acupuncture modality believes that when this energy becomes obstructed or imbalanced, sickness and symptoms can build up. It is only when this energy becomes unblocked by stimulating focal points in the meridians that health can be achieved again (Cherry & Jacob, 2010).
Although many people may be hesitant to use acupuncture as a first-line treatment for [various] issues, this can often provide come, if not complete, relief when other traditional forms of medicine are found to be lacking. People can continue taking their medication and follow all the medical advice of their primary care physician while also receiving acupuncture care at the same time. Many. . . find that the combination of the two treatment types together brings about the largest amount of relief. It generally requires 3-4 years of study in order to obtain the knowledge and practical skills that are required to become a practicing acupuncturist” (18 pros,
These alternative treatments include acupuncture, meditation, and therapy among many others.There is growing evidence that the desire for alternative medicine is expanding because people undergoing procedures in today’s health care system has had unmet needs as well as feelings of being uncared for (Acari & Flanagan, 2015). Alternative medicine is able to provide patients with treatments that provide relief for hard to cure problems such as back pain, neck pain, and arthritis. Many of these alternative treatments have been shown to be successful for various problems. The use of complimentary and alternative medicine as well as the open ended communication that holistic nursing provides is gaining popularity from patients who are fed up with traditional care and hospital
Complementary and alternative therapies are relatively new and essential options in health care, they help to increase the quality of life of patients and provide them with numerous possibilities to ensure growth of their health, beyond current medicine. Recently, these therapies, such as massage therapy and acupuncture, have become more prevalent in research. Consequently, their substitution with standard medicine in the healthcare system has been supported by the literature. The literature that supports these methods has explored why complementary therapies are needed, the different and distinct features of each therapy, and they also examine the education and knowledge those implementing the services must have. To accurately analyze if complementary and alternative therapies are valuable to the health care system, this paper will aim to learn why they are becoming predominant and why nurses should use these therapies’ to assist in improving the health of individuals. To determine the main attributes of these therapies, a variety of resources that extensively discuss complementary and alternative therapies will be examined and the paper will also examine the benefits and weaknesses they have on improving health. Lastly, this paper will aim to determine if these services should be implemented by nurses as alternative options for their patients, as nurses should have substantial knowledge pertaining to implementing these therapies.
In today’s world, many people assume that the latest medical technology and treatments are always the best option. However, all over the world, different techniques for curing diseases and aliments are being used. These methods fall under the category of complementary and alternative medicine.
Acupuncture doesn’t allow people to get ahead of themselves like Victor did; the way of thinking brought about is that of a natural sense. The techniques of the alternative medicine allow people to remember how magnificent and sacred the human body is and realize that it cannot be created through lab work or perfected through medicine. With Western medicine, patients can take up to four or five medications before finding one that suits their needs and most can have many life threatening side effects. With acupuncture, it is one procedure and one attempt to heal a patient with NO major side effects. Acupuncture is a unique ancient art that is backed by thousands of years of Chinese thought and research and has been proven affective for many people and their illnesses.
Complementary is usually used along with prescribed treatments and Alternative only alone to help heal faster and stay much healthier. Does this really help and is it something reliable? How safe is it? Why use it? Based on the research it is, maybe not all but most. It helps and it is safer than prescribed Western Medicine, it helps effectively and reduces symptoms. A lot of herbal medicine is hard to find but it is sometimes more affordable than modern medicine. There is a lot of research done about it. “The similarities and the differences between herbal ingredients and western drugs were deeply explored” ( Peng 10). There is still more to be explored about CAM, a lot of the effects of CAM are not well known. Therefore doctors hesitate to use it and tell their patients about it. The science is making its progress and more research is
Shaunna L. Roth Strategies for University Writing October 22, 2015. Alternative Medicine vs. Traditional / Conventional Medicine Alternative medicine has its perks over conventional medicine and makes for a healthier being. Many think alternative medicine is not new to society. It actually started long before conventional medicine was founded. Before there was an FDA and is still used today all over the world, it is still used by many people all over the world.