I recently met a retired allopathic doctor (Western medicine), and we had a lively conversation about navigating alternative healthcare. He expressed frustration with alternative medicine practitioners who promise the world to patients without a proven track record of success. When I told him that I was an acupuncturist, he paused and then asked, “Honestly, does acupuncture work?”
I told him that acupuncture worked for many people, but it was not a miracle cure. Many people come to acupuncture as a last resort after trying everything else. For example, a typical new patient with hip pain might say, “I’ve had three cortisone shots, six months of chiropractic treatments three times a week, two rounds of physical therapy, including dry needlings, and a constant supply of anti-inflammatory pain medications. And I’m still in pain!!”
Checking Out Alternative Care
“How do you know if acupuncture will work on a particular patient?” my new friend asked. I explained that we conduct an intake exam for every new patient. Afterward, if we believe acupuncture can help, we create a treatment plan and then tell the patient we’d like to treat them once a week for four weeks. We will evaluate their progress following these initial treatments to see if acupuncture makes a difference.
If their condition is improving, we can typically get them better, to some degree, depending on their receptivity to treatment. We can resolve pain 100 percent in some instances, 80 percent in others, and 20 percent in still others. However, if there is no progress during the first four sessions, we direct them to another therapy. This assessment is part of responsibly navigating alternative healthcare.
“Well, that seems reasonable,” he said. “But,” he continued, “many patients are desperate for help and will believe almost anything – only to be disappointed when a new fangled therapy doesn’t pan out.” I agreed that healthcare practitioners need to promote their services responsibly, not promising the moon.
Does Research Support Their Claims?
My doctor friend was surprised to hear that the field of acupuncture has more research than all of the other alternative health fields combined. The Chinese government began researching the benefits of acupuncture in the 1950s and has continued for the past 70 years. Today, high-quality acupuncture research is conducted all over the world. Our website currently has summaries of 115 research studies investigating more than 80 conditions, and we add new studies every week. There is substance to Chinese medicine that you can see for yourself.
Navigating Alternative Healthcare
Today there are dozens of alternative medicine modalities, all trying to get the attention of Americans suffering from pain and disease. How can consumers successfully navigate alternative healthcare to find a suitable modality for their condition and then identify the best practitioner? These are daunting questions with no easy answers. Here are a few suggestions:
- Make sure the alternative medicine is legitimate. Chiropractic, physical therapy, mental health therapy, acupuncture, and massage are all well-established fields with national certifying and state licensing boards. Beware of supplements sold over the internet – especially if they are not regulated.
- Find a practitioner you feel comfortable with, someone who is professional, well trained (ask about their training), has good experience (ask how long they’ve been a clinician), and is a good listener.
- Make sure the therapy delivers good results. Are treatments helping? Don’t let anyone pressure you to sign up for a package of treatments ahead of time. That may be good business for the provider, but it’s not good healthcare.
- Find out how much the treatment will cost beforehand – that goes for mainstream medicine as well. I know someone who recently went to a new primary care provider for a wellness check-up. She had no insurance and paid out-of-pocket. A 20-minute visit cost her $450. That’s not good healthcare.
Western Medicine Can’t Do It All
I’m confident my doctor friend would acknowledge that Western medicine does not have all the answers. There is a need for alternative approaches to managing disease and healing pain. But right now, the field of alternative medicine is like the wild West – vast, disorganized, and unruly. The good news is that many fields, like acupuncture, are highly regulated, with certified training programs, rigorous licensing, and national board certification.
In An Ideal World
In the best of all possible worlds, a person could efficiently navigate alternative healthcare in the following way:
- Arrive at a holistic medical office.
- Undergo an initial assessment.
- Be directed to the most appropriate treatment modality.
Chiropractors would adjust misaligned cervical vertebrae, acupuncturists would treat plantar fasciitis, depressed patients could talk with a therapist, and nutritionists would counsel newly diagnosed diabetics on proper diets.
An integrated system like this would quickly assign patients to the proper treatment. Of course, it would not be perfect – the first therapy may not work – but it’s better than randomly selecting an alternative medicine based on internet advertising.
Next Steps
If you’re reading this blog post, chances are you have a health condition that’s not responding as well as you’d like to standard treatment. You may be navigating alternative healthcare options and be curious about acupuncture. Please review the list of conditions we treat and read some case studies and research studies (see links below) pertaining to your health issue. Then, if you like what you see, book an appointment and give acupuncture a try.
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Learn about all the conditions we treat.
Focus Keyphrase: Navigating Alternative Healthcare