Defining Alternative
Friday, September 10, 2010 at 07:41AM | 4 Comments This past weekend saw the first of one of a series of articles the Health Center is submitting to the Daily Local News.
Written by massage therapist Bill Bryan, and with an excerpt reprinted here, this piece points out what the term 'alternative' truly means, and how our Holistic Health Center stands out from others.
"For those seeking health care outside of the conventional medical paradigm (ie., pharmaceuticals and surgery) the alternative health movement offers many options.
But how many of these therapies are actually 'alternative'?
The answer to that question depends on how you define 'alternative'. If 'alternative' means 'different', then any modality not offered by hospitals or mainstream medicine would qualify. The seeker is confronted with choices such as chiropractic, nutritional counseling, herbal medicines and supplements, along with tarot card readings, past life regression therapy, feng shui, reiki, etc.
They're all essentially different, but are they 'alternative'?
The problem is no other industry employs so loose a definition of 'alternative'.
In other fields, before a procedure can be labeld 'alternative', it must first pass the experimental stage. This ensures that the new method is actually a viable option to the conventional method.
In short, if the holistic health movement would adopt the industry standard definition of alternative, it would produce a more results-based model.
One holistic health center in Chester County is trying to do just that. The Lionville Holistic Health Center in Chester County... was established in 2004 as an addition to the Lionville Natural Pharmacy and Health Food Store.
Operating under the banner, "Healthy Beings, Healthy Earth", they seek to provide alternative therapies using a results-based model."
Look for more articles to appear soon, featuring each of the modlities practiced at the LHHC, and how they can help common conditions.
Reader Comments (4)
I think generally most people would consider anything outside of what's offered in hospitals or at their GP to be "alternative". Saying that so called alternative therapies are now starting to become more mainstream and as awareness increases this can only increase popularity.
The Holistic Hut - Holistic Therapy in Edinburgh
I really agree that for something to be called alternative it should pass certain tests and experiments to ensure it does actually work. There are so many so called alternative things out there that don't even work! Those should not have the right to be called alternative. For example, when people want to know How to lose weight fast they usually follow standard tips but alternative options also work very well.
I agree with you, Rick. Its use of natural solutions and traditional techniques is also the reason why most pharmaceutical companies don't dare test them. It cannot be patented, which means no profit for them. Still, I'm not denying that some techniques work. It's just that some alternatives are still "untested."
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