The key to making alternative medicine work

I was asked the other day if trying alternative therapies was a waste of time.

After all, the person lamented, it gets a bad rep from mainstream medicine, and it seems like patients have to go back again and again and spend money and more money to feel better.

My response was that people who have a chronic illness normally continue seeing their primary care physician for decades, even longer, too. And that the cost of these therapies and surgeries and never-ending prescriptions is also quite costly.

But it appears either alternative medicine is held to a higher standard or people don’t understand the key to making it work.

Unfortunately, it’s the latter that I believe to be true — and here’s why…

A case in point

I had a call the other morning from a colleague a Harvard, who also worked for 10 years at the largest single-site pain clinic in the country.

He called, seeking health advice for an associate of his who is a well-respected scholar in the areas of meditation and altered states of consciousness. This man, now in his late sixties, had been suffering chronic headaches and was in need of some natural solutions.

I offered the very sound advice about how to prevent his chronic migraines via my tested and true 30-Day Headache Relief Action Plan.

Well, the advice was shared and later in the week I found out the scholar still had headaches and decided to take more medication for it. I wondered why and asked and as it turns out, the man did not want to have to “do anything” to help himself. He thought there was an alternative medicine “quick fix,” like taking drugs — which what most mainstream doctors would prescribe. And when the program did not act on his headaches like an analgesic, he decided it didn’t work.

How distressing. And yet, this behavior (even among respected scholars) is common among Americans. We want things now, fast, and instant. We don’t want to have to work for them, or change our lifestyle. If we eat 10 bags of peanut candies a day and want to lose weight, we would rather take a pill or have liposuction so we can still eat our candies. It’s mind boggling.

I have struggled with this

It must have been 35 years ago that I had my first experience with so-called “alternative medicine.” I was 13 and had been suffering chronic daily headaches and mid-back pain for half-a-dozen years. I was already seeing Philadelphia’s best mainstream medical professionals, taking a plethora of prescription meds, being put through dozens of tests, scans, protocols…. to no avail.

My father (an osteopath) then took me to see a chiropractor, and do you know what happened? Within minutes my back and neck felt so much looser! My restricted movement was returned within normal ranges. And I also started taking natural supplements. Over all, it was an amazing feeling…

I went back several times that week for adjustments and, at home, attempted the exercises I was instructed to do. But the pain, and my suffering, returned and continued on. So I gave up on the treatment and stopped my office visits. This is not surprising. In fact, it is a common occurrence when people try alternative therapies.

Why this happens

The problem is that many people turn to alternative medicine as a last resort. They have had little success with mainstream medicine, have become desperate and now are expecting a miracle cure or at least a fast turnaround of their signs and symptoms.

Let me explain why some patients experience great success while others simply have little to no change in their signs and symptoms and find alternative therapies to be a waste of time.

A different model

In general there is a vast philosophical and procedural difference in the approaches of mainstream medicine and alternative therapies. Mainstream bio-medicine uses a disease-based model of health. That is, patients see their primary care physician when they are ill, the doctor diagnoses the illness (disease) and then prescribes a protocol of curing that disease. Often there is no cure… but pain and other signs and symptoms are “managed” by prescription medication and/or surgery.

Alternative medicine, on the other hand, works from a wellness model. That is, the focus is on returning the body to homeostasis (balance) and maintaining that balance to ensure good health and long life. Practitioners proactively accomplish this through diet, exercise, mind/body techniques, herbs and supplements, massage and so on. All are methods of alleviating pain, illness and disease by restoring balance to the body. If you have back pain and take a supplement, the pain will probably remain… for a while. But if you follow a protocol of regular supplementation with safe stretches and perhaps acupuncture or chiropractic care… the body will rebalance and the issues will resolve. But this takes time.

Generally speaking, many alternative therapies aim at rebalancing the body to restore health. Chinese medicine uses herbs to balance blood, energy, body fluids and organ function. Acupuncture uses needles to open meridian lines and correct energy imbalances. Chiropractic uses manual adjustments to realign the spine to allow correct functioning of the nervous system.

Don’t try… do!

So why does the title of this article claim that alternative therapies are a waste of time? Well, actually, they are not. But the “trying” of alternative therapies most certainly IS. You see, there is a difference between “trying” and “doing.” Trying means “you didn’t do” something.

Trying means not doing. And if you are not fully engaged in the doing of alternative therapies… seeing them through to the end… following the protocol… doing what you have been instructed to do… then they will not “work.” Not because they failed you, but because YOU failed you.

You see, the therapies themselves are not the problem (unless you have chosen to follow the wrong therapy for your health issue). They are also not time-consuming. Rather, it is the body that takes time “to allow” the method to take hold and effect change and reestablish balance. But this takes time because the body likes to stay where it is, as it requires little effort to do so. After repeated treatments or a period of time spent doing exercises or taking herbal supplements, the body finally realizes that it is actually easier to be in a state of homeostasis (balance) than to exist in a state of imbalance. It then “lets  go” of its old unhealthy holding pattern. Now it can fully embrace a healthy pattern, and positive change can take effect.

Think of it like working out at the gym. If you are out of shape and lift weights you will be sore. But little by little you will be less sore after the exercise. If you only lift weights once in a while, your muscle size, shape and density will not visibly change.  But if you stick with it (“do” it), you will notice your body changing in positive ways.

Internally this is what is happening with alternative treatments. Each day, each treatment, each bottle of supplements, each breathing exercise and dietary change brings you one day closer to the body allowing them to take hold and the body stepping out of its own way to effect a cure.

They aren’t a last resort

The worst part is, people still look to alternative medicine as a last resort, and mainstream pharma drugs and surgery as a first choice. This is perverse. Using the big guns for the beginning of a problem (depending on severity) is ridiculous. My feeling on maintaining a balance between mainstream and alternative medicine is this: Everyone needs to get a physical each year, including blood and urine tests. If a problem is found they should seek alternative, non-toxic, non-invasive methods to balance the body. After a period of time they should have more tests run to see if the problem is better or worse. If better, continue with alternative medicine. If worse, and in the red zone of health, then turn to mainstream medicine for help. Not the other way around.

As it stands, alternative practitioners tend to get chronic cases, who after years or decades of toxic drugs and surgeries at the hands of conventional physicians, present with damaged bodies. And we are left to balance these bodies, in short time, at low costs and with high hopes.

It’s time people reframe our minds on this issue. So the next time you feel un-well, seek out alternative medicine therapies first. But you must DO it and not simply TRY it. It takes time, effort, discipline, but in the end being balanced means being healthy.

And taking personal responsibility to do what needs doing — and not depending on a doctor to do it for you — is the greatest gift you could ever give to yourself.