Alternative versus traditional medicine
Alternative medicine refers to nontraditional healthcare practices that may include therapies like acupuncture, chiropractic care, and herbal remedies, while traditional medicine, often termed allopathic or conventional medicine, is based on established scientific principles and practices predominant in Western cultures. The distinction between these two approaches can be culturally sensitive, as what is considered traditional in one society may be seen as alternative in another.
Both alternative and traditional medicine have their own merits and criticisms; alternative medicine is praised for empowering individuals and emphasizing holistic care and preventive health but criticized for lacking rigorous scientific backing. Traditional medicine, while effective in treating symptoms, is often accused of over-relying on pharmaceuticals and not addressing underlying health issues.
To bridge the gap, integrative medicine combines elements of both approaches, focusing on the whole person and promoting a collaborative patient-practitioner relationship. This growing field seeks to provide evidence-based treatments while respecting diverse healing practices. As integrative medicine gains acceptance, health consumers are encouraged to communicate openly with their practitioners about all forms of treatment they pursue, ensuring a comprehensive and safe healthcare experience.
Alternative versus traditional medicine
DEFINITION: Comparing and contrasting nontraditional medicine with conventional, or Western, medicine.
Overview
Alternative and traditional medicine have a great deal to learn from each other, and health practitioners and consumers have much to gain in bringing the two fields closer together. Alternative medicine is defined in many waysmedicine that is “complementary,” “alternative,” “nontraditional,” “nonconventional,” and “unorthodox,” and as those “practices that are not in conformity with the beliefs or standards of the dominant group of medical practitioners in a society.”
Traditional medicine is defined as “allopathic,” “conventional,” “orthodox,” and “Western.” The term “traditional,” although used quite commonly, is somewhat inaccurate, given that many alternative medical disciplines have been practiced for thousands of years, while many conventional types of medicine have been practiced for one century or less. Also, most of these terms are relevant only in the context of Western culture. In some cultures, the so-called traditional approach is considered alternative, and a particular alternative approach is considered traditional.
The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)uses the phrase “complementary health approaches" to refer to these therapies and techniques collectively and "integrative health" to discuss the incorporation of alternative medicine into mainstream Western medicine.
Alternative Medicine’s Appeal
Although the approach and focus of various alternative therapies may differ, they share characteristics that make them appealing to health consumers and practitioners willing to try alternative approaches. Some of these characteristics include empowerment of the individual to participate in and take responsibility for their own health, recognition and emphasis on lifestyle issues, treatment of the individual as a whole person, and an emphasis on preventing disease and maintaining health.
Criticisms of Traditional Medicine
Traditional medicine is commonly criticized for treating symptomssuch as pain or feverinstead of the underlying causes of the pain and for overprescribing medications to try to mask symptoms. However, this criticism is not entirely fair. Although it is true that doctors of traditional medicine often prescribe drugs or use other approaches to control symptoms, they also search for causes of symptomssuch as infection or inflammationto be able to treat them allopathically.
Criticisms of Alternative Medicine
Alternative medical practices are commonly criticized for sensationalizing the merits of a particular nontraditional medical approach. For example, books about certain dietary approaches claim to cure a whole host of ailments, and similar claims are sometimes made about particular dietary supplements. Manufacturers of such supplements often make fantastical claims about the efficacy of their product, citing anecdotal evidence or poorly conducted, biased research.
Alternative practitioners are also criticized for the way they report the outcomes of patient cases, which are often unstandardized or based on preliminary data. However, this practice is not limited to alternative practitioners—any medical doctor, traditional or nontraditional, can relate a story about a patient who did quite well or quite poorly with one or another treatment method.
To counter some of these criticisms, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and allopathic medicine are moving toward an evidence-based approach to treatment. Evidence-based medicine is the application of a scientific process to distinguish chance outcomes from outcomes that are reproducible and, therefore, presumably more reliable. Reproducible outcomes often apply to the general public or a large group of individuals, making the findings useful for the healthcare community. Claims that support a product or therapy not based on scientific evidence decrease the public’s and the medical field’s confidence in alternative medicine practices and are increasingly shunned and rejected in the alternative medicine community.
Joining the Disciplines: Integrative Medicine
Integrative medicine was created to bring alternative and traditional medicines together. Victoria Maizes, who served as the Executive Director of the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, stated that “integrative medicine honors the innate ability of the body to heal, values the relationship between patient and physician, and integrates complementary and alternative medicine when appropriate to facilitate healing.”
Integrative medicine refocuses medicine on health and healing. It insists on patients being treated as whole persons—as minds and spirits and as physical bodies—who participate actively in their own health care.
Many modern medical schools in the United States teach the principles and practices of integrative medicine. Clinics and private practices are embracing its philosophy. Also, integrative medicine research studies have been published in peer-reviewed medical journals.
Skeptics in both CAM and traditional medical communities blame integrative medicine for being either too scientific or not scientific enough. For health consumers who would like “the best of both worlds,” integrative medicine may be a good choice. Health consumers should share with their practitioners any other treatments they are receiving, including taking vitamins and supplements, as some medications may interact poorly with these substances, and other medication dosages may need to be adjusted.
Conclusion
In 1847, the American Medical Association was established to regulate medical care. This governing body controls state medical boards and determines whether doctors can receive or maintain hospital privileges and whether they can keep their medical licenses. A medical license can be revoked for a reason secondary to incompetence, which is essentially defined as “deviating from what is known as the standard of care.” As long as Western medical practice is considered the definitive standard of care, alternative medical practices will continue to face the challenges of recognition, acceptance, and respect. Nonetheless, many health insurance plans began covering expenses for complementary medicine in the early twenty-first century. As more evidence-based CAM practices emerge and less baseless, potentially harmful claims prevail, alternative and traditional medicine will continue working toward a middle ground, offering patients the best possible care.
Bibliography
Al-Worafi, Yaser. Handbook Of Complementary, Alternative, And Integrative Medicine: Education, Practice and Research. Volume 2, Professional Practice & Regulations. Boca Raton, CRC Press, 2024.
Bell, I., et al. “Integrative Medicine and Systematic Outcomes Research: Issues in the Emergence of a New Model for Primary Health Care.” Archives of Internal Medicine, vol. 162, 2002, pp. 133–40. doi:10.1001/archinte.162.2.133.
Gale, Nicola, and Jean V. McHale. Routledge Handbook of Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Perspectives from Social Science and Law. Routledge, 2015.
Gannotta, Richard, et al. “Integrative Medicine as a Vital Component of Patient Care.” Cureus, vol. 10, no. 8, Aug. 2018, p. e3098. doi:10.7759/cureus.3098.
"What Does NCCIH Do?" National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, nccih.nih.gov. Accessed 30 Sept. 2024.
Pinzon-Perez, Helda, and Miguel A. Pérez. Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative Health: A Multicultural Perspective. Jossey-Bass, 2016.
Song, Eunhye, et al. “Increasing Trends and Impact of Integrative Medicine Research: From 2012 to 2021.” Integrative Medicine Research, vol. 11, no. 4, 2022, p. 100884. doi:10.1016/j.imr.2022.100884.
Synovitz, Linda B., and Karl L. Larson. Consumer Health and Integrative Medicine: Holistic View of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practices. 2nd ed. Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2020.
"You Belong at the AAFP." American Academy of Family Physicians, www.aafp.org. Accessed 15 Sept. 2024.