“Medicine is not only a science; it is also an art. It does not consist of compounding pills and plasters; it deals with the very processes of life, which must be understood before they may be guided.”
—Paracelsus
It all started with my first visit to the Chinese physician because of a sport-related ankle injury years ago. After simple acupuncture and some gentle rotation, the swollen joint was wrapped in a thick slab of heady herbs that had been stewing during the session, and I was told to have it on for a night before being sent on my way.
No, it all started with my editor suggesting that I write an article on alternative therapies, and my subsequent wonder of their persistence in an age of modern medicine and technology. Of course, the ankle sprain and TCM visit did happen, and you might be wondering what happened to the swell in the end. Not to sound like a TV episode that exploits sequence jumps—but we’ll get to it.
There are, needless to say, plenty of alternative or complementary therapies out there, many of which are not recognised by medical studies. From hypnotherapy to reflexology, they can be divided into alternative medical systems, mind-body interventions, biologically based treatments, manipulative and body-based methods, and energy therapies.
As Western medicine is primarily founded on ancient Greek theories and practices, it is logical for its ‘unorthodox’ counterpart to outnumber. You have Ayurveda from the Indians, Reiki from the Japanese, and the list goes on.
ALL THAT SPARKLES
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