The Bigger Picture - Examining Health and Well Being Alternatives

Alternative treatments in the medical world have grown in popularity over the years, as patients seek additional options for treating everything from lower back pain to the common headache. With healthcare costs rising many times alternative medicines can offer a less expensive and equally effective treatment for basics ailments.

It is no wonder that in addition to your general practitioner there are other health professionals available to assist you with your overall health and well-being. Alternative medicines and treatments can compliment a medical plan when all practitioners work together for the common good of the patient. Most people are accustomed to their doctor telling them to stick out their tongue, but this routine gesture is also quite often one of the first requests when performing Traditional Chinese acupuncture. This treatment is based on energy flow in the body through meridians and is based around Qi.

In the United States, there are over 70,000 Physical Therapists. PTs are traditionally thought of in the scope of injury recovery, but with their extensive medical training they can serve as an excellent resource to assist with wellness, treatment and prevention. There are alternative medicines and then there are mainstream practitioners who work in hospitals in the Chicago area and employ similar techniques and practices when writing their treatment plan. A prime example of this would be a physical therapist using a dry needling technique to treat pain muscle dysfunction. This entails performing the standard physical therapy assessment to determine the structural or muscular dysfunction.

After discussing with a GP for menopause-related symptoms, a patient at the Momence hospital might opt to consult with a Naturopath who uses supplements to treat patients in lieu of prescription drugs. These practitioners use natural supplements to balance inner health. For the menopausal patient isoflavone-rich soy-based products, multivitamins, evening primrose oil, flaxseed oil and many other supplements might all be incorporated into the patient's overall treatment plan to alleviate symptoms.

A physician at a Kankakee hospital might include massage therapy as a part of a patient's treatment in addition to traditional medical intervention. Traditionally a patient with lower back pain would see a physical therapist or a chiropractor after consulting with their doctor, but massage therapists offer another alternative treatment. Depending on coverage, some insurance companies will even cover massage therapy as a part of a patient's treatment.

This more customized, holistic approach offers patients a wide range of treatments and maximizes the knowledge and expertise of both traditional and alternative medicine.