Why is alternative medicine so popular?

What is Alternative Medicine

Alternative medicine means that it differs from standard and conventional medical treatments. The methods and practices that are being used are nothing like conventional medical treatments, and they are alternatives to them.

Some of the most famous and known ways of alternative medicine are acupuncture, ayurveda, and homeopathy. Apart from these, there are more ways of alternative medicine. In recent years various ways of alternative medicine have gained a lot of popularity.

Nowadays, people seek various ways to treat certain disorders and diseases, and they are not afraid to seek treatment from alternative medicine. There are a couple of known reasons why alternative medicine had become so popular.

The Reasons for the Popularity of Alternative Medicine

One of the main reasons for alternative medicine's increasing popularity lies in the fact that it is not at all complicated and treats all sorts of diseases without trouble or pain, unlike most conventional medicines. Alternative medicine is more popular with older people because they are facing inevitable pains, aches, and illnesses that come with age.

In most cases, people will first go for the standard therapies but if they fail to bring results people will turn to alternative medicines. A majority of people prefer alternative medicines because of the personal autonomy and control over health that they offer.

Another very important reason why people turn to alternative medicines is that they cost less than conventional medicines. Apart from being expensive, conventional medicines have a great chance of causing some side effects. Alternative medicines cost almost nothing because a person uses natural ingredients and things that can be found in almost every home like honey, garlic, ginger, coriander, black pepper, aloe vera, and such ingredients. These ingredients will not cause any side effects.

Herbs are also used in alternative medicines. For instance, a person can cure a cold or cough, or fever with some herbs and spices.

The third good reason why people use alternative medicines is that scientific medicine uses drugs and surgery to treat any disease. Drugs cause side effects, and surgeries are unpleasant and cause pain. People tend to avoid them. When there is no hope, people like to go somewhere where at least some hope is given to them.

Another reason why people prefer alternative medicines is because of the personal treatment a patient will receive when he or she looks for an alternative treatment. Unlike traditional practitioners, alternative practitioners encourage patients in hopeless situations and treat the mind, body, and soul of the patient. In addition to this, alternative practitioners have more time to spend with patients.

Three primary hypotheses were tested. People seek out these alternatives because (1) they are dissatisfied in some way with conventional treatment; (2) they see alternative treatments as offering more personal autonomy and control over health care decisions; and (3) the alternatives are seen as more compatible with the patients' values, worldview, or beliefs regarding the nature and meaning of health and illness. Additional predictor variables explored included demographics and health status.

A total of 1035 individuals randomly selected from a panel who had agreed to participate in mail surveys and who live throughout the United States.
The response rate was 69%.The following variables emerged as predictors of alternative health care use: more education (odds ratio [OR], 1.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-1.3); poorer health status (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.5); a holistic orientation to health (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1-1.9); having had a transformational experience that changed the person's worldview (OR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.3-2.5); any of the following health problems: anxiety (OR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.6-6.0); back problems (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.7-3.2); chronic pain (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.1-3.5); urinary tract problems (OR, 2.2; 95% CI, 1.3-3.5); and classification in a cultural group identifiable by their commitment to environmentalism, commitment to feminism, and interest in spirituality and personal growth psychology (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.4-2.7).
Dissatisfaction with conventional medicine did not predict use of alternative medicine. Only 4.4% of those surveyed reported relying primarily on alternative therapies.
Forty percent of respondents reported using some form of alternative health care during the past year. The top 4 treatment categories were chiropractic (15.7%); lifestyle diet (8.0%); exercise/movement (7.2%); and relaxation (6.9%). The most frequently cited health problems treated with alternative therapies were chronic pain (37%); anxiety, chronic fatigue syndrome, and "other health condition" (31% each); sprains/muscle strains (26%); addictive problems and arthritis (both 25%); and headaches (24%).
Perceived benefits of alternative therapies were considered as potential determinants of use (eg, if someone reports receiving some benefit from a given treatment, this could in turn serve as an important determining factor in future health care decisions). The 2 most frequently endorsed benefits were, "I get relief for my symptoms, the pain or discomfort is less or goes away, I feel better," and "The treatment works better for my particular health problem than standard medicine's."

✓ Fact confirmed: Why Patients Use Alternative Medicine Results of a National Study John A. Astin; May 20, 1998

Alternative Medicine Exercises

Yoga, massage therapy, meditation, and relaxation are some of the exercises that are included in alternative medicines treatments. These exercises are known to be able to treat over 500 common diseases and disorders a person may suffer from.