alternative medicines
 

Are alternative medicines popular in Japan?

Do you believe that some of them can be beneficial.

Have you ever tried any?


It seems to be big business-- Is a healing down to believing that something will work or do they actually work.

Acupuncture seems to be very ancient practice now popular in the West.

REIKI---
various herbal medicine or homeopathy.


Shiatsu Massage and similar types of massage for healing.


What experience have you?

I'd like to believe in them but unfortunately I think no amount of plants and meditation can cure what formal medicine cannot. Still, I would give it a try if my meds failed me and I had no choice, it can do no harm afterall so why not.

I changed my medication for mild asthma with what I found out from the elders, from history books and from monks (weird? not really, they have this knowledge "stored" for ages in the monastery) . With tea (from various plants, and onion), propolis and honey, I am the same as with the medication, but without the side-effects, like dizziness, full time tired sensation or stomachaches.
But with the other methods, like acupuncture or massage or other "chakra" changing, I don't know and I can't say.

I think there's a bit of a difference between complimentary medicines (which massage often/herbal remedies often are) and ~alternative~ medicine, which is more things like reiki, spiritual healing etc. I think some complimentary medicines can be certainly beneficial; plenty of people take st johns wort, evening primrose oil or cod liver all without even considering it unusual, and with the exception of homeopathy (which I think is unsound nonsense), there are measurable effects and I think there are some good uses for it. It's by no means a replacement for conventional medicine though.

As for alternative therapies... I have mixed feelings. I know a lot of people who I like and respect who practice and believe in it, and I actually did my dissertation on spiritual healers, but I myself think it's little more than a placebo. Whether or not it actually works or the source of whatever it is is real and exists is open for debate, but i'm happy to admit that for some people it does helps instill a strong sense of relaxation and well-being, which is pretty key to promoting recovery for anything anyway, so if it has merit, that is where it lies.

For lots of Japanese Western medicine IS the "alternative". Herbal medicine is mainstream.

Many modern day western medicines are just refined derivatives of traditional medicines so there's certainly some evidence that some herbal medicines can be effective.
A big problem as far as I'm concerned though is that there is a real lack of credible clinical trials to show the efficacy of such treatments. And most of the clinical trials that have been done have shown little more efficacy that what you would expect from a placebo.
A huge clinical trial on accupuncture for instance completed in the US a year or so ago had a couple of groups being treated for back pain. One group had traditional accupuncture and another group had needles stuck in them but not in any of the propper spots associated with the practice of accupuncture. The group not receiving traditional accupuncture reported the best results. Showing that if you believe it's doing you good then in a certain percentage of people it will do you good (placebo effect).
The biggest problem of course if that many of the worlds traditional medicines on the market come out of China and we all know how much you can trust quality control of products coming out of that country. There's been many products over the years claiming to contain certain ingredients and a check in a lab has found they actually have virtually none of the ingrdients they claim to have.
Another big issue is that with exactly the same symptoms you can go to 10 different practioners of traditional medicines and end up getting 10 completely different treatments. There's no real oversight of things like dosage of each ingredient or even what ingredients are used for particular symptoms.

Overall I don't dismiss traditional and alternative treatments out of hand, of course some of them are clearly utterly ridiculous with no proof whatsoever that they work, but I believe there needs to be a lot more regulation and clinical trials to check that they actually can do what they claim.

I think herbal medicines are really good for small complaints, myself. They may not cure anything chronic, but I often turn to them at the start of a cold or something and only start on conventional meds if it really persists. I usually find some relief. And compared to some people in my family who always go rushing for the proper cold meds, I seem to be more resilient to illness.

There's plenty of anecdotal evidence that alternative medicines can work but there really just isn't enough clinical trials to prove they work. I'm just not too keen on spending money on stuff for which there is little evidence it's going to do me any good.

I could be wrong, but I think the US is one of the only countries in the world where prescription medicine companies have multi-million dollar advertising campaigns.

It is interesting how Westerners (or is it just North Americans?) have severe skepticism for natural herbal remedies that have been used for over 1000 years, but quickly feel faith in the "newest and latest" remedies they are told to talk to their doctor about.

I wonder if we would feel differently if traditional herbal medicine had an advertising budget.

I remember watching an American TV show on video in Japan, and an ad for some sleeping medicine came up. The Japanese person I was watching with reacted, "Only in America would you sell a medicine for symptoms of being human."

I do believe they work. This doesnt mean I give up complelty on modern medicine. As an athlete I do take some pain relievers and such but I do try to relive many of my problems with natural herbal remedies. It may be a placebo, but I personally dont think so. As someone stated earlier I get the same results as other medicine without many of the side effects like drowziness.

The reason I like herbal medicine is becuase my mom has brought me up this way. She is a massage therapist and is knowledgeable in over 15 different massage techniques, as well as reiki. She has been taking herbal medicine for only about 15 years but it has helped her tremendously. She has gotten rid of her asthma, which she had had for her whole life, by taking herbs and receiving massage. I also know first hand the validity of massage as an actual medical practice. I would have never survived sports if it wasn't for massage.