What comes to mind when you say "alternative medicine"? Smoke and
mirrors? Candles and chants? Hippies, perhaps? (by the way, I have
never seen a Hippie with type II diabetes but that is a whole new
article for another time) Seriously, though, when you think of
alternative medicine you probably think of herbal medicine, massage,
chiropractic, acupuncture and a few other things.
Unfortunately, there is something about the term "alternative medicine" that says "not real," "quack," "must be some kind of mind trick" or give the impression that you should seek something other than "alternative" first.
As a chiropractic physician, I cannot really speak for acupuncturists, herbalists, massage therapists, etc., other than to say that there certainly is hard, scientific, peer-reviewed, and main-stream journaled evidence supporting each of these professions. What I can speak to is both sides of chiropractic medicine since I started out as a patient and continue to get chiropractic care as well as practice care for others.
Because of my overall experiences, I am going to argue that chiropractic should be considered as main stream, not alternative, as it relates to the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions. In medical school doctors could not alleviate the extreme pain I had in my back so I sought the care of a chiropractor. I was amazed at what happened! It weeks, my pain was manageable.
Because of this experience, I changed my practice from general medicine to chiropractor and have never looked back. That is not to say that I don't recommend other types of medical care other than chiropractic care because we need all types of medicine to help and heal people from the so-called "alternative" to main stream.
We need to establish a holistic approach to healing in all areas so we are working in concert with one another. For example, a patient recently came in with severe neck pain. After examining her, I diagnosed her with lung cancer, a diagnosis that a general MD missed just a week earlier. Of course she was recommended to a cancer specialist who could help her map out the correct treatment to give her the best chance of fighting and living with this horrific disease.
Should chiropractic medicine really be considered alternative?? I think not! This should be the mainstream choice for dealing with musculoskeletal complaints such as back pain, neck pain, joint pain, and certain headaches. For those who automatically dismiss anything considered "alternative" as unscientific, quackery, snake-oil, do some real research. This is by no means an all-inclusive list but here are a few resources to get you started.
Waddell, MD. Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Acute Low Back Pain. RCGP 1996. Chapter 15
Eisenberg, MD et al. "Perceptions about Complementary Therapies Relative to Conventional Therapies among Adults Who Use Both" Annals of Internal Medicine. 2001; volume 135 pages 344-351
Cassidy, JD, DC, PhD, DrMedSc. "What do we know About Diagnosis, Relative Risks and Benefits of Nonsurgical Management of Patients with Neck Pain?" The Bone and Joint Decade 2007.
Unfortunately, there is something about the term "alternative medicine" that says "not real," "quack," "must be some kind of mind trick" or give the impression that you should seek something other than "alternative" first.
As a chiropractic physician, I cannot really speak for acupuncturists, herbalists, massage therapists, etc., other than to say that there certainly is hard, scientific, peer-reviewed, and main-stream journaled evidence supporting each of these professions. What I can speak to is both sides of chiropractic medicine since I started out as a patient and continue to get chiropractic care as well as practice care for others.
Because of my overall experiences, I am going to argue that chiropractic should be considered as main stream, not alternative, as it relates to the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions. In medical school doctors could not alleviate the extreme pain I had in my back so I sought the care of a chiropractor. I was amazed at what happened! It weeks, my pain was manageable.
Because of this experience, I changed my practice from general medicine to chiropractor and have never looked back. That is not to say that I don't recommend other types of medical care other than chiropractic care because we need all types of medicine to help and heal people from the so-called "alternative" to main stream.
We need to establish a holistic approach to healing in all areas so we are working in concert with one another. For example, a patient recently came in with severe neck pain. After examining her, I diagnosed her with lung cancer, a diagnosis that a general MD missed just a week earlier. Of course she was recommended to a cancer specialist who could help her map out the correct treatment to give her the best chance of fighting and living with this horrific disease.
Should chiropractic medicine really be considered alternative?? I think not! This should be the mainstream choice for dealing with musculoskeletal complaints such as back pain, neck pain, joint pain, and certain headaches. For those who automatically dismiss anything considered "alternative" as unscientific, quackery, snake-oil, do some real research. This is by no means an all-inclusive list but here are a few resources to get you started.
Waddell, MD. Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Acute Low Back Pain. RCGP 1996. Chapter 15
Eisenberg, MD et al. "Perceptions about Complementary Therapies Relative to Conventional Therapies among Adults Who Use Both" Annals of Internal Medicine. 2001; volume 135 pages 344-351
Cassidy, JD, DC, PhD, DrMedSc. "What do we know About Diagnosis, Relative Risks and Benefits of Nonsurgical Management of Patients with Neck Pain?" The Bone and Joint Decade 2007.
Dr. John Olsen specializes in an overall treatment plan that addresses all types of pain. However, back pain
seems to be prevalent during tough economic times and he is seeing many
patients with chronic back problems. He also loves to teach how chiropractic works and is a believer since it first helped him.
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