Many of us who grew up in the Western world have quite a suspicious attitude when it comes to alternative health therapies.
After all, there are absolutely no scientific studies backing them up, right?
In many cases yes, the health benefits people feel may be nothing more than just the positive effects of the brain, or placebo effect.
But there are some methods that have very strong scientific backup. In today’s feature article I’m going to tell you about some and how they work.
1) Acupuncture
Although acupuncture is used for almost any kind of health issue, one of the most referenced results comes from chronic pain such as arthritis and back pain. Many Westerners, however, write it off as nothing more than placebo effect.
However, a new study published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine has proven the skeptics wrong.
Two groups of people were ‘treated’ with acupuncture. One got real treatment while the other just had needles placed randomly.
Both groups actually reported less pain, which indicates partial placebo effect. The group that received real treatment, however, reported significantly less pain.
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2) Bio Feedback
Although Bio Feedback is more of a ‘modern magic’ it still has its skeptics. Doctors would rather prescribe dangerous medications than first attempting simple and risk-free alternatives like bio feedback.
Yet, there are many scientific studies that prove the effects of bio feedback.
One of them was a study done on high blood pressure lead by nurse Carolyn B. Yucha, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Over 50% of the people in the study lowered their blood pressure using bio-feedback.
What’s even more impressive, half of those that lowered their blood pressure kept it down months after the treatment ended without any further support.
Check out an even more powerful mind/body technique to cure high blood pressure…
3) Massage / Reflexology
Anyone who has received a professional massage knows it’s an extremely pleasant experience. But it also provides an endless list of health benefits.
The most obvious benefit of massage is healing of neck and back pain. A recent study including 400 people who suffered back pain revealed that 39% of those receiving the so-called Swedish Massage (the most common method of relaxation massage) weekly for 10 weeks reported most or all of their pain gone. Imagine the amount of pain killers we could save by prescribing massage instead.
Physical touch as tremendous sociological benefits. Regular massage has been proven to reduce stress and depression and boost the immune system.
Reflexology is more focused on specific health problems than traditional massage. The therapist triggers nerve endings, usually on feet, hands, ears or face, that are connected to the disease.
Do you suffer neck pain? Discover easy exercises that eliminate neck pain as soon as today…
4) Yoga
Yoga promotes physical strength and flexibility more than most other physical exercises.
But yoga has also been proven more effective than most other physical activity to improve mood, reduce stress and even eliminate depression. Since so many modern diseases are at least partly caused by stress, yoga must be beneficial for most health problems.
5) Meditation/Prayer
With so many different methods of meditation, this word has been used for anything from simple relaxation techniques to powerful visualization and in most cases it has been proven improve healthy on many levels.
Doctors and scientists often write placebo effect off as almost a dirty word. Placebo is the health benefit people receive just by believing in a method. For example, if you conduct a study of a drug and give half the subjects the real drug and the other half a sugar pill, some percentage of the sugar-pill group will report health benefits. This is the placebo effect.
However, I’ve always been fascinated by the placebo effect. If our mind has the power to cure health problems just because it believes in something, shouldn’t we capitalize on that? Shouldn’t we rather try to strengthen this positive power of the brain than pop pills that alter the brain and cause side effects? This is the power of meditation.
In the same way, repeated studies have proven that people who pray are more likely to receive what they pray for. And it doesn’t matter what your religion is or to which god people pray. (Note- in this case I’m only approaching this from a scientific point of view, please don’t take this as any disrespect for any religion).
Remember that most drugs (not all) do not have direct effects on the body. What they do instead is trigger centers in the brain to release more of the natural hormones the body already possesses. We actually already possess all the drugs needed to heal ourselves.
6) Music Therapy
Some of the most fascinating studies I read about are about sound/music therapy.
One study, conducted by Jean Tang, an assistant professor at the College of Nursing at Seattle University in Washington, had people with mild hypertension listen to either relaxation sounds (sound of the ocean, rain or a soothing voice) or Mozart for 36 minutes a week.
The results were nothing short of amazing. People dropped their blood pressure on the average 7-9 points. This alone was enough to bring many of them below the 120/80 marker without any other lifestyle changes.
Just imagine how many people could completely avoid the side effects of blood pressure medications by putting on the headphones for 12 minutes, three times per week.
Check out even more powerful mind/body technique to cure high blood pressure…
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There are, of course, hundreds of other alternative health methods. I just pulled these six out as examples of things that are often met with prejudice because they are not believed to be scientifically proven to work.
I’ll love to hear your input on today’s subject. Please leave your comment below.
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I have just read your article and wish to make some comments.
Acupuncture
Dont ask me how, but i had a severe left cuff muscle pain in my left shoulder, I saw my GP because I thought it might be the something to do with my heart. He said it was tendinitis of my cuff tendon, he prescribed pain killer tablets and ointment, That worked but only until I ran out. Then a friend suggested acupuncture, I found a skilled Chinese acupuncturist. He su8bmitted me to 3 half hour sessions a week after 5 weeks the pain was gone.
Bio Feedback.
Logic tells me that there are some plant materials I must not put in my mouth because they are poisonous and some are fatal, this lead me to the conclusion that some may be beneficial all you have to do is find out which ones. A lot of research has been done so we can find most of those without much hunting.(Google help). Celery for heart health and arthritis, it also helps you sleep; cinnamon as a calmative; Fenugreek, cinnamon, tomatoes, sweet potato for diabetes, Lemon balm leaves on a wound will help it heal, it is also a good tonic when made up as a tea. Parsley tea is good for hangovers. Etc, Etc Etc..
Reflexology
A session about once every two weeks followed by a neck and Indian head massage make you feel so good.
Yoga
This is a complete body work out, I do it at my gym before I eat breakfast otherwise I throw up, all your muscles are stretched. You will feel better.
Meditation / Prayer.
A few years ago i went on Kehoes course on mind power, Plus reading “the secret” and similar books, the act of visualizing what you want often leads to the accomplishment, however is not prayer to whatever God not the same thing, it does work but it requires some concentration, you cannot ask for the impossible. For example you cannot visualize marrying a film star unless of course she visualizes marrying you. (stalking wont help) But it may give yoy an idea about how to get the girl next door. Never ask for too much, you will find after a while you stop visualizing the material things and start visualizing personal behaviours like good health, lower blood pressure, calm temperament etc. etc.. etc..
Music
There is little to said on this but go to Sabadell on Google and got to Som Sabadell its youtube video. Yoyu can only feel better after hearing them
I would like to see hypnotherapy added to this list. There is plenty of research on the effects of hypnosis, especially with IBS and other chronic symptoms. Hypnosis takes people into deeper states of trance than meditation and whilst in hypnosis, the therapists can use suggestions that are beneficial for that client.
I fervantly believe in alternative therapies, although at present I have been advised to take some blood pressure capsules. I have used Acupoint (acupuncture) for sciatica and it really did work wonderfully well! I also have spondylosis in the neck and it has worked for that as well. What about Homeopathy, this seems to be overlooked by all doctors and they say that it does not work. I believe that it does. As far as convential medicine is concerned, I have a friend whose husband has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimers and the stuff he was prescribed has in fact made him worse! Need I say more?
I was introduced to Bowen Therapy for severe upper body muscular skeletal damage. I thought at 52, I was about to be written off,but after nine months I am back to good health with none of the previous symptoms I had. I have returned to work and feeling great. I thoroughly recommend Bowen, and so does my GP of 27 years.
Well…I would rather enjoy the placebo effect cure, than suffer the vile side effects of many Western modalities, such as radiation and chemotherapies.
Many Western cures amount to dishonest experimentation which does little to alleviate suffering or even prolong life.
Am a great believer of many of these but especially massage, both giving and receiving!
If I have an ailmenent my GP is about the last place I would go. I have an accupuncturist lady who worked for20 years in a Chinese hospital and can cure just about anything.
For our protection, the FDA has not approved any alternative therapies. Thus, in order to avoid litigation, medical schools teach doctors that there are only two approved methodologies to address health issues: surgery and drugs. Thus, since the studies for the FDA are primarily funded by those who manufacture and distribute surgical tools and the pharmaceutical companies, we have a conflict of interest culture when it comes to medical treatment. A small illustration was my trigger finger. Went to physical therapy after a specialist (MD) recommended surgery. Did not work. Then I started taking Vitamin B6 and it went away. If that didn't work, acupuncture was next. The responses below attest that these alternative DO work. I am a firm believer that alternative therapies work much better than surgery and drugs.
I am 62 and I have used many alternative techniques including acupuncture for my shoulder as a result of a rotator cuff injury and Carpal Tunal, worked wonders. I stay away from all drugs because they do more harm than good and I am a firm beleiver that our body has the power to heal itself naturally without drugs.
For skeletal and muscular, things like that, great. But when you consider
Mind body as a replacement for chemo, I warn you, that’s exactly whaT
Steve Jobs thought til it was too late
Re MarkEvans comments, how can we find a good acupuncturist, like the acupuncturist lady mentioned by MarkEvans
I think it is rather insulting to call Acuouncture and Meditation / Yoga "Mumbo Jumbo", even though you sort of recommended it in the article. With all due respect to the Westerners "know it all" – Chinese medicine has been around for 4000 years CURING many millions of people long before this chemical industry called "conventional medicine" has even appeared on the face of this earth. In our Chinese medciine clinics we actually CURE diseases such as diabetes, high Bp, arthritis and gout, liver diseae, thyroid diseae, cancer and many many more. As for meditation and yoga – better respect is warrented as again, many millions of people benefited and continue to benefit from it humbly (this is usually the result of practicing these ancient wisdoms) but extremely effictively for body and mind. So pls, in future, just watch the language and show some respect to wisdoms which outshine the "medicine" (if u could call it that) and "News Age" of the western culture. You might be able to learn there a thing or two that could even save your lives. And by the way, I am also a born westerner in case anyone wonders………
The article is headed 10 Mumbo-Jumbo Health Therapies That Really Work yet I can only see 6.
Anyway, good article and I firmly believe in all those things mentioned.