Alternative vs. conventional medicine; what is the difference?
“I often hear patients request “alternative” treatment,” says Dr. Jacob Mirman. “Many people are confused on the differences between “alternative” and “conventional”. I’d like to shed light on this issue and better define each term.”
Alternative medicine
“I personally don’t like the term “alternative”, because it gives the impression that “other” methods should be used instead of the regular conventional modalities. This paints one approach to healthcare as good and another as bad.”
“Here is a great way to look at healthcare, illustrated in the Venn diagram below:”
“The largest circle represents all of medicine. Inside there are many smaller circles representing different healthcare modalities, some overlapping, some not.”
“For example, the domain “Biochemical Medicine” contains all methods working by manipulation of molecules in our bodies. This includes pharmaceutical drugs which are considered “conventional medicine”, as well as supplements, herbs, dietary manipulation and other methods used by naturopaths, functional medicine doctors, and other types of practitioners.”
The definitions are always changing
“We usually define “conventional medicine” as the group of medical modalities approved of by the “powers that be”. These modalities usually get better coverage by healthcare plans. Other modalities are typically referred to as “alternative” or “complementary”. This distinction is rather arbitrary and can be subject to change. For example, acupuncture used to be very alternative, but is now being widely accepted by the conventional establishment and covered by many healthcare plans. The same change happened years ago in regards to chiropractic care.”
Conventional medicine
“In today’s medical word,” continues Dr. Mirman, “conventional medicine has been very successful in treating certain conditions. However, it has many limitations. For instance, chronic diseases are often not well-managed using conventional methods. Many drugs are over-prescribed and offer only temporary symptomatic relief. Many experts say that surgery is overused, and the desire for physicians to enrich themselves through surgery is often called into question. Expensive tests are often over-ordered without clearly identified reasons.”
What role does research play?
“The “conventional” medicine proponents will tell you that they have science behind them, which makes their method the only legitimate one. They are only partly correct. Science has indeed played a huge role in medicine and helped it develop many amazing methods and save many lives. However, what they always fail to mention is that most other methods lack such rigorous scientific backup for a very specific reason”
“Good research is extremely expensive and is paid for by newly-developed treatment modalities, getting used and paid for by patients. If a method does not have a promising new drug or something similar which is likely to make the company a great deal of money, no such studies will be done. Therefore, most studies in “alternative” modalities are small, not well powered, and are ridiculed by the conventional establishment.”
Medical cannabis is effective but has had comparatively little research
“Lack of research does not prove ineffectiveness. For example, research in use of cannabis in medicine is quite restricted for several reasons, but the users of this herbal medicine are 100% sold on its effectiveness in a variety of conditions. Should we listen to the conventional “experts” telling us it is useless and dangerous or to the users, so happy it is available to them? Well, the voices of these “experts” are drowned out by the voices of the proponents more and more, and it is a good thing!”
Integrative medicine is always the best approach
“In conclusion, the best approach to medicine is the way we do it at Life Medical. Our practice integrates a multitude of healing modalities for the benefit of the patient. This means that more effective modalities from other domains can be added to others used that might not be effective enough. This requires awareness of the “other” methods and willingness to open one’s mind to learning, and gives the patient the highest level of medical care.”