# Alternative medicines you recommend **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 2, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402 "2009-10-02T22:39:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/21 "2009-10-03T13:29:38Z")
I hve been seeing a chiropracter for nearly 17 years and, after the first couple years, I have not had any more trouble with my back. Now my question is whether it is his treatments that matter or the flexibility exercises he prescribed that I do every morning. They take 1/2 hour. A couple of caveats. My chiro will not say anything about anything except backs. He feels that most chiropracters are quacks and has not found anyone in all of Montreal that he allows to treat him. My father-in-law, also a chiro, said exactly the same thing. So how did I find him? My family physician, with great hesitation, recommended him and said he uses him himself. I remain doubtful whether his treatments have any effect, but I am not about to experiment. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/22 "2009-10-03T14:17:21Z")
I recommend chiropractic care, but only for spine-related issues. People who claim it can cure deafness and sh!t like that freak me out. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/23 "2009-10-03T17:24:49Z")
It seems reasonable to have a poll on “alternative” medicines. What’s being sought are personal testimonials on various modalities, and most of what’s claimed is dependent on said testimonials and not on solid evidence. That said, the poll is confusing because respondents would have to issue a blanket recommendation for any given modality. For instance, a great deal of herbalism is based on folklore and testimonials and is thus unreliable. There are however some facets of herbalism backed by adequate research, and I support those. I can’t say I feel the same way about herbalism as a whole. Chiropractic has a rational application for a small minority of the conditions for which it’s employed, but as **KneadToKnow** pointed out, it’s touted for lots of things without any rational or evidentiary basis. > [@](#): > > I recommend chiropractic care, but only for spine-related issues. People who claim it can cure deafness and sh!t like that freak me out. It’s noteworthy that the founding father of chiropractic, J.D. Palmer, claimed he had his first big success adjusting the spine of a deaf janitor whose hearing supposedly returned - though this was never documented and was nonsensical, seeing that the cranial nerves that affect hearing do not travel through the spine. ---
**Author:** ![Never\_Say\_Dice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee59a6/32.png) [@Never\_Say\_Dice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Never_Say_Dice)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/24 "2009-10-03T17:40:18Z")
Maybe that janitor cleaned the hard wax out of his ears to impress the chiropractor. That was my hearing problem. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/25 "2009-10-03T17:57:30Z")
> [@Never\_Say\_Dice](#): > > I forgot to add none of the above, but that scarcely matters, as we all know most people prefer regular medicine, or those wouldn’t be called alternative. Slight correction-It is not a case of which is more popular, it’s just that medicine is based on scientific theory and proper testing, and “alternative medicine” is based on stories and rumors. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/26 "2009-10-03T23:38:47Z")
I voted for chiropractic, but I would add the same qualifications as others here: for spinal adjustment, chiropractors often work just fine. My hubby suffered _horrible_ headaches for several years. Finally, he went to see a chiropractor, who took X-rays, told him he had a couple of herniated disks (discs?), and said he thought he could fix it. After a few visits, the headaches disappeared. Further X-rays revealed the discs more aligned. That was over 20 years ago, and just about two months ago, he ended up in the ER, thinking he was having a heart attack. Turned out, the discs had herniated again. Unfortunately, that chiropractor is retired. ☹ I am _extremely_ wary of chiropractors who claim to be able to cure “menstrual cramps, hangnails and dyslexia”. ---
**Author:** ![StaudtCJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@StaudtCJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StaudtCJ)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/27 "2009-10-04T04:20:19Z")
Biofeedback works. At least, if it’s the same thing that I use/used for pain starting at 13. With that method, I was/am hooked up to a machine that measures brain waves, and I alter my thoughts, take deep breaths, whatever, to learn how to alter those brain waves. Once I learned how best to alter/focus my own brainwaves, I was able to use those techniques to calm down, etc. Is that what the “modern” biofeedback is? I’ve never heard of it as an “alternate” therapy before. I always thought it was mainstream science. I learned biofeedback in a military hospital 20 years ago, so I just figured it had to be real, not woowoo. And it works, of course. (Even in childbirth!) ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/28 "2009-10-04T04:31:27Z")
I didn’t realize that osteopathy was considered ‘alternative’. Why is it that spinal structural issues are considered, ‘alternative’? Sort of odd to me. You didn’t put Massage Therapy, which I put down under, ‘other’. **Never Say Dice** Vacuum Cups (Cupping) are very effective at reducing myofascial adhesions, I support them and recommend them, it’s like getting a deep tissue massage. I love em, it’s a very strange experience but man you are loosened up so much by them. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/29 "2009-10-04T04:34:31Z")
That is the basics of biofeedback. Though, it can be used for much more than just calming down. For those unfamiliar, the idea behind biofeedback is that the body does many things we cannot observe without the aid of science. Once we do observe these processes, we can learn to control them. One of my personal favorite applications is the use of rectal and vaginal sensors to retrain the pelvic floor muscles of the incontinent. Yes, you can do kegels without biofeedback but it’s very difficult to know exactly which muscle you’re exercising or how hard you’re doing it. With an EMG sensor you can isolate the right muscle and get a measure of just how hard you’re working it. The company I worked for did have some military clients. I learned this when a Y2K coordinator called me and I, thinking he was a telemarketer, hung up on him. He immediately called back, gave me his rank and location and asked about the Y2K readiness of the Commodore 64 based Biopro system. If necessary, and I have a feeling it will be, I’ll call my old boss and get a hold of some peer reviewed biofeedback studies published in appropriate medical journals. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/30 "2009-10-04T04:37:14Z")
What about Colonics? I’ve heard a lot of things about them. One of the things is that they flush out beneficial enzymes which is a bad thing. Anyone know anything about this? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/31 "2009-10-04T04:42:13Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > What about Colonics? I’ve heard a lot of things about them. One of the things is that they flush out beneficial enzymes which is a bad thing. > > Anyone know anything about this? Colonics are based on false premises. They are supposed to flush out ‘toxins’ (which don’t exist and are a hold over from the theory of four humors), ‘mucoid plaque’ (which also doesn’t exist), undigested red meat (of which there is none) and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/32 "2009-10-04T04:53:40Z")
> [@](#): > > Biofeedback is a relaxation technique that can help people learn to control various autonomic functions. The patient is connected to a machine that continuously signals the heart rate, degree of muscle contraction, or other indicator. The patient is instructed to relax so that the signals decrease to a desirable level. The patient may ultimately learn to control the body function subconsciously without the machine. Biofeedback was popularized before it had scientific support, and it is still abused by fringe practitioners. Nevertheless, it has gained a measure of respectability . It has been used to help patients control pain, anxiety, phobias, hypertension, sleep disorders, and some stomach and intestinal problems. Specialized techniques have been used to treat abnormal heart rhythms, epilepsy, Tourette syndrome (multiple tics), fecal incontinence, and Parkinson’s disease. Most people who go through biofeedback training use it to acquire relaxation skills that could also be learned without electronics. Most qualified practitioners are psychologists, but some have backgrounds in other health disciplines. Biofeedback. Harvard Medical School Health Letter 15(10):1\4, 1990. Quackwatch does say the claims of neurofeedback have only been tested by ‘poorly designed studies’. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/33 "2009-10-04T04:55:30Z")
What about ‘Master Cleanse’ fasting diets? Do they help in any way that just fasting would not? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/34 "2009-10-04T05:12:14Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > What about ‘Master Cleanse’ fasting diets? Do they help in any way that just fasting would not? I’ve never heard of them. But your second sentence intrigues me. You imply that fasting is somehow beneficial. I don’t see why it should be. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/35 "2009-10-04T05:13:39Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I’ve never heard of them. But your second sentence intrigues me. You imply that fasting is somehow beneficial. I don’t see why it should be. Putting things in your body affects your body chemistry. It’s pretty simple. If our diets were well-balanced it would probably not be beneficial, but as they are not, it can be. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/36 "2009-10-04T16:22:37Z")
> [@Sebastienne](#): > > Aren’t leeches now being used by mainstream Western medicine to help draw blood through reattached tissues? Welcome to the delicious world of medical maggots and leeches! > **[Maggots and Leeches: Old Medicine is New](https://www.livescience.com/203-maggots-leeches-medicine.html)** > > If you can stomach the thought (and the pictures), creepy crawlers might save your life. (Photos not for the squeamish.) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/37 "2009-10-05T00:10:42Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > What about ‘Master Cleanse’ fasting diets? Do they help in any way that just fasting would not? Nope. The idea behind “cleansing” has no merit. And I’ve yet to see research demonstrating that fasting of any kind offers health benefits equivalent or superior to a balanced, calorie-wise diet. ---
**Author:** ![TheMadHun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@TheMadHun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMadHun)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/38 "2009-10-05T00:19:50Z")
I’ll bet aromatherapy causes more illness than it heals. So many unstudied plant are likely to trigger allergies and asthma. Most incenses drive me nuts, make my eyes water, as do most strong perfumes and talcs. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/39 "2009-10-05T01:56:12Z")
I voted based on the premise that which techniques would not harm you, assuming you ALSO went to a doctor and followed his natural instructions and such things. If you see your doctor regularly and such, I see no reason why you can’t use a lot of these techniques to try to “help” you in your recovery or such things. But if the OP is implying which of these should you pursue INSTEAD of seeing a doctor, then my answers would DRASTICALLY change. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402/40 "2009-10-05T13:01:11Z")
By the way - if you’re taking any kind of herbal medication it’s a very good idea to let your doctor know. Some herbal drugs interact with prescription drugs, and any effective herbal medication (and some ineffective ones) will have associated side effects which may affect the liver or other organs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternative-medicines-you-recommend/512402.md?page=3)