If we talk about medication or illness management we always take into account only the science or commonly known as allopathic medicine. By fact, however, the world has a wide range of therapies and treatments that do not require the use of any chemicals, and are considered safe. Such methods or treatments represent a second medicine group, known as Alternative Medicine or Alternate Therapies.
All alternative therapies in Australia are being practiced for the purpose of healing. It is the conviction of those who practice it that through such alternative treatments the body experiences less harm overall. We cannot support this assumption because there is no empirical evidence that these alternative therapies combat illnesses as effectively as general medicine.
Let us now take a look at some of the most common alternate therapies:
Acupuncture
It is a type of alternative Chinese therapy in which very thin needles are inserted into specific points in the body (acupuncture). It is most widely used for calming pain. It is also not used solely, rather with the normal course of a procedure. It is recommended to take acupuncture for lower back pain, muscle stiffness etc.
Ayurveda
Ayurveda, one of the oldest types of medicine practiced anywhere in the world, originated in Civilization of the Indus Valley, around 5000 BCE. Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word, meaning the knowledge of life (Ayu-life, Veda-Knowledge). This basically involves the patient’s diagnosis by testing the Nadi or pulse and various other factors such as tongue, eyes, etc. Medication involves crushing different herbs, believed to have medicinal properties, using natural oils, etc. No chemical element is permitted into the drug, as it is considered a toxin.
Reiki
Reiki is a well-known, alternative method of healing which originated in Japan. This uses what is called’ Palm Treatment.’ The healer, using his palm, radiates universal energy on the patient and this energy transfer, in turn, causes a healing process that begins inside the body.
Alternative medicines in Australia, used to be much more common and embraced earlier in general medicine, before the advances. Patients also turned to medicine, even in the earlier parts of the 20th century, when they were advised that their illness was not curable. Yet, when some remarkable advances were made in the field of science and medicine, allopathy gained prominence in the mid-century, and medical practitioners or doctors became gods. Which is not true, given how many lives they save each day.
