An Introduction To Holistic Medicine
Holistic medicine is comprised of a variety of alternative medicine practices that are not necessarily recognized as valid by traditional western medicine. A lot of holistic medicine comes from practices of other cultures, including Asian and Middle Eastern culture, as well as Native American culture. Still other aspects of holistic medicine are simply built on alternative medicine concepts that are derived from western practices. Things like acupuncture, herbalism, massage therapy, chiropractics, homeopathy, reflexology and nutrition-based treatments fall under the umbrella of holistic medicine. Patients of holistic medicine here in North America tend to turn to it when they have exhausted all possible avenues of traditional western medicine and are still suffering.
The basic philosophy behind holistic medicine is that its practices are designed to address and eliminate core ailments, which in turn result in relief of a wide variety of symptoms, whereas western medicine tends to treat and mask symptoms for temporary relief rather than dealing with root causes. Holistic medicine believes that outward symptoms we experience cannot be permanently alleviated until the deep-rooted cause is identified and treated. As a result, many holistic medicine practitioners and patients tend to think that the focus of western medicine on pharmaceutical treatments is misplaced and is doing more harm than good, in that is addressed and relieves only symptoms and not root causes.
For example, if a patient complains of recurring headaches and the need for glasses as well as more serious medical problems like tumors have been ruled out, western medicine would tend to prescribe strong painkillers that the sufferer could take whenever a headache presented. The holistic medicine discipline of chiropractics, however, would think that the headaches were the result of a misalignment of the spine and would therefore work toward realigning the spine and watching the headaches disappear as a result of the corrective work.
Prospective patients of holistic medicine should be made aware that holistic medicine is not a quick fix the way drugs are a quick fix. Holistic medicine requires long term commitment before results manifest, sometimes months. Holistic medicine must become a part of a patient's overall lifetime health regimen and mindset. Holistic medicine believes that a person's mental well-being and their emotional health are as important to overall physical health as exercise, nutrition and avoiding harmful behaviors like drinking and smoking.
Unfortunately, many workplace health benefits programs, HMOs and health insurance plans do not recognize holistic medicine as legitimate treatment options, which means they won't cover such treatment. Hence, the patient is responsible for incurring the costs of their own holistic medicine treatment.