Assignment Guidelines: Discuss each parts separately. Do not link or compare part 1 and part 2
-Give your views on each thorougly(agree / disagree)
– Should be done in APA 7th edition style format
– Should be in essay format. no numbered list or bulletin points
Topic that was given:Research one of the alternative therapies and share with your classmates your finding. Identify the therapy, Provide history, list and describe at least three advantages, and list any disadvantages or concerns.
PART 1
The Alternative Therapy I researched was Acupuncture. The seems to be a consensus that it is safe as long as it is practiced legitimately by a licensed practitioner. The main problem it seems helpful for is pain. However the research for it’s effectiveness seems mixed. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health’s meta analysis on acupuncture states “A 2012 analysis of data on participants in acupuncture studies looked at back and neck pain together and found that actual acupuncture was more helpful than either no acupuncture or simulated acupuncture. A 2008 study on acupuncture for low-back pain found strong evidence that combining acupuncture with usual care helps more than usual care alone. The same review also found strong evidence that there is no difference between the effects of actual and simulated acupuncture in people with low-back pain.” (NCCIH, n.d) It seems that it is hard to test the effectiveness of Acupuncture because it is hard to create a control group. Anecdotally I have heard a lot of positive things about acupuncture and have met a lot of people who claim it works wonders for them. Since there seem to be less potential negative side effects it seems a promising avenue for people suffering from chronic pain especially if it can reduce reliance on traditional pain medication which have lot’s of negative side effects and potential for abuse.
NCCIH. (n.d.). Acupuncture: In depth. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Retrieved November 19, 2021, from https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/acupuncture-in-depth.
PART 2
Herbal medicines are one type of alternative treatment made from plants. They can be manufactured and sold as tablets, capsules, powders, teas, and extracts or just consumes as fresh or dried plants. There are many people who prefer to use herbal medicines to try to maintain or improve their health more than the conventional medicine. I came from Africa and many people are able to make their medecine from plants. They acquired the knowledge from others members of the family or friends. Herbal medicines are effective for people who posses the proper knowledge on how to handle the plants.
I can resume the advantages of the herbal medicine in one word, “accessibility”
For many people conventional medicine is more difficult to access than herbal products available within their communities.
Some prefer herbal medicine because they are
more affordable
more familiar, or easier to understand
more consistent with a person’s views or culture
closer to where a person lives
easier to practice independently
The biggest disadvantage is that the dosage of herbal medicine are difficult to estimate. I saw people overdose on herbal medicine.
https://medlineplus.gov/herbalmedicine.html
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/alternative-medicine#standard-vs-alternative-medicine
