What is the relationship between alternative therapies and overall health

The current general consensus in the health industry is that standardized alternative therapies that have been verified by evidence are an optional supplement to overall health management, but they are by no means a substitute for conventional clinical medical care. The boundary and adaptability of the two have always been the core of controversy in the industry.

I have been working in the health management industry for more than 7 years. I have been exposed to too many related cases and heard completely different voices from both sides. For example, last year I met a 42-year-old junior high school teacher who suffered from chronic pharyngitis for five or six years. He had been seen by Western doctors countless times, and each time he was prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs and throat lozenges. The pain was so painful that he couldn't make a sound even after many classes. Later, he followed the doctor's advice and cooperated with acupuncture points application and mindfulness breathing training at a regular traditional Chinese medicine clinic. After half a year, the frequency of attacks dropped by 70%, and even the insomnia he had suffered with pharyngitis was much better.

Of course, many colleagues sneer at alternative therapies, thinking that 90% of them are placebo effects, methods that are not supported by large-scale double-blind experiments, and should not be linked to overall health at all. I have also encountered a case where I have stepped on the trap. The year before last, there was an early-stage diabetic patient who stopped hypoglycemic drugs after listening to the words of a so-called "natural therapy master". He drank fruit and vegetable juice every day and fasted. He went to the emergency room for ketoacidosis in half a month. Do you think this is a problem with alternative therapies? In fact, some people deliberately blurred the boundaries of its application and promoted the auxiliary method as a miracle cure.

In fact, fundamentally speaking, the core of overall health is not to just focus on treating a certain disease, but to take into account the full-dimensional state of physiology, psychology, and social adaptation. Many alternative therapies, such as acupuncture, yoga rehabilitation, mindfulness stress reduction, and clinical aromatherapy, are themselves based on the logic of overall adjustment. We set out to meet the demand for overall health - after all, too many people are not feeling well now and cannot detect organic problems, such as shoulder and neck pain caused by long-term stress, poor sleep, and low mood. Conventional medical treatment can provide limited solutions, and standardized alternative therapies can just fill this gap.

I often give examples to users. Conventional medical treatment is like going to a 4S shop for overhaul if your car breaks down. There is no room for ambiguity when it comes to replacing parts and repairing the engine. And compliant alternative therapy is like the vehicle maintenance you usually do. , adjust the tire pressure, clean the carbon deposits, and remove the smell of the interior. You cannot rely on maintenance to repair a broken engine, nor can you say that maintenance is completely useless. Only by combining the two can the car run more stable and longer. This is actually the most appropriate relationship among the three.

Many pain departments and psychosomatic medicine departments in tertiary hospitals have now incorporated acupuncture and mindfulness-based stress reduction into auxiliary treatment plans. In fact, they are setting the tone for the relationship between the two: no one replaces the other. As long as it can help people achieve a more comfortable physical and mental state under the premise of safety and compliance, it is a valuable part of the overall health system. I am afraid of extreme judgments in black and white, either deifying or beating to death. In the end, ordinary people with health needs will suffer.