Alternative Medicine Review
April 12th, 2009
A skeptic examines what works and what is quackery in alternative healing and eastern medicine
by Richard Markosian
Eastern medicine, herbalist, naturopathy, homeopathy--all of these words are becoming more common in our Western lexicon. But are they all legitimate forms of medicine? How can we tell true healers from quacks?
Just 10 or 15 years ago, if you told somebody you were going to see an acupuncturist most people would think you were nuts. But today, a search for Salt Lake City acupuncturists produces 150 results in the Google Business Directory.
Western Medicine Limitations
As part of an ongoing series, Utah Stories is going to examine the various forms of alternative medicine. We will compare common illnesses and treatments performed in Western medicine with alternative, non-traditional treatments. You should care about such therapy because it seems more and more possible that many of the customary treatments for disease are neither the simplest nor even the least harmful. Many of the accepted medical options create more problems than they solve. Pain killing medications are often extremely addictive. Going "under the knife" and having the recommended surgery for everything from backs, shoulders and knees to obesity can cause all sorts of complications. On the other hand, Eastern medicine doesn't always have the same stringent certification processes, scientific clinical trials and testing Western medicine has. I'm a born skeptic and I would probably have never accepted any of the "hocus-pocus" non-traditional medicine utilizes if I hadn't have seen some incredible results with my own eyes.
Shortly after we were married, my wife had chronic neck and back pain--this was in addition to her migraine headaches. Using her company HMO, she visited a recommended health provider through IHC (Intermountain Health Care). She visited a chiropractor/physical therapist who prescribed pain killers that she couldn't take because they increased the severity of her migraine headaches. Next, her doctors connected her to a TENS machine. It's a relatively new chronic pain treatment device that shoots (non-lethal) electric jolts into a person to disrupt the pain process. When that didn't succeed, she was taught multiple exercises designed to relieve the strain and pressure. All to no avail. After three weeks of treatment she was in more pain that when she started.
My 83-year-old Grandma recommended that my wife try acupuncture and she agreed--but only if I came along to comfort her through her mild fear of needles.
A Skeptic Tries Acupuncture For Headaches & Neck Pain
We waited in the small office that smelled of strange fragrant oils. A trickling indoor water feature with a bamboo plant rested on a black Chinese bookcase. When a non-Asian guy named Brent came in and started explaining the treatment, I was extremely skeptical. While Brent began delicately inserting the acupuncture needles in my wife's head, I realized there was nothing to fear and I zoned out to the new age music. But once Brent had inserted about the 15th needle I felt her hand clench down and was awoken from my cat nap to see she was uncomfortable looking like a porcupine. Afterward she said she was still in some pain but felt better.
By the next day we were overjoyed to find that her pain was far less severe. Eventually her fear subsided completely, and after another four sessions, her pain was gone. We were amazed and both became believers. She would continue to be treated with various forms of alternative treatment over the years.
Is Acupuncture An Occult Practice?
I told some people at my church how amazing the acupuncture treatment had been for my wife and one woman informed me that acupuncture and most forms of Eastern medicine are occult practices. She said that using needles and invisible energy from unknown sources to stop pain is ungodly and we must repent for our sins. I was amazed. So addictive painkillers and treatment that often causes complications is preferred over something much more simple that has no side effects? I actually wresled over her comments. She was someone I respected in my church. I did some research online to see the various opinions.
Christians Websites Condeming Acupuncture
Acupunture is Occult because it relys on "false Gods"
practice may not be occult but "I advise great caution about the therapist"
"The most fundamental tenets of acupuncture and Christianity are in conflict in many ways"
Christians Websites Endorsing Acupuncture
"acupuncture can be practiced in a Christian manner"
"western medicine tends to ignore the role of the spirit in health and illness"
The Christian, Energetic Medicine, "New Age Paranoia"
I've concluded that acupuncture is an occult practice. While there may be some occult practitioners of acupunture, there are also some occult practitioners of Christiantiy but this doesn't stop Christians from going to church. I don't believe that tapping into the body's chi using needles is making Satan happy and God mad. I believe the concept of Yin and Yang speaks to the importance of balance in life. It's too bad that more people can't see the wisdom in these lessons. It turns out that many Christians are now accepting acupuncture as a legitimate form of medicine that doesn't conflict with religious beliefs.
A Skeptic Tries Myotherapy For Whiplash
After a bad car accident, my wife and I both suffered from mild whiplash: she was especially in pain. We were recommended another doctor by my Grandma. After just one session with Michelle, who was one of the founders of the Myotherapy College of Utah, her pain was gone. Michelle is an incredibly talented healer who has a gift for using her hands to relieve all kinds of pain (no needles required). Michelle's treatments are so successful that she no longer takes new patients. It's clear from talking to friends and relatives that Eastern medicine is becoming more accepted into the mainstream.
One indication of alternative medicine's growing popularity is that the Utah State Legislature recently passed a law giving Naturopathic Physicians--NDs--the the ability to prescribe testosterone to patients. As the bill was discussed on the floor, the bill's sponsor, Rep. Douglas Aagard, said that naturopaths go through rigorous medical training and their board certification process and residency program offer assurance that they are well equipped to prescribe testosterone. Naturopathy is an alternative medical field that is based on the belief that exercise, massage and diet can be used successfully to prevent or treat disease without resorting to the use of medications.
With the rising costs of health care in this country, there are many people looking for the less expensive health care choices that are often considered unconventional, unusual, or even strange. There are some great alternatives that may be an excellent way to stop spiraling health care costs.
Without rigorous certification and standardized testing of this gigantic array of alternative doctors, it's difficult to separate the quacks from those who can really help. In the coming week we will interview various doctors and find their ideas about treatments, legitimacy, effective sickness prevention. We will look in more detail in the following areas.
- acupuncture
- herbalism
- quantum healing
- naturopathy
- myotherapy
- shiatsu massage
- homeopathy
Please send us your comments and recommendations to help direct our coverage so that we can help those who suffer find help while steering clear of dangerous or ineffective treatments.
