Alternative back pain treatments have become inherent parts of the modern medical system. This is because many traditional therapies fail to deliver positive outcomes for patients, forcing many to look outside of standard medical practices for relief. Years ago, alternative therapies rarely operated in conjunction with traditional medicine. In fact, the medical establishment generally looked down upon anything was not an accepted part of mainstream healthcare system. However, times have really changed. Today, doctors have teamed up with alternative healing practitioners to bring a combined care approach to the back pain treatment arena. This synergy of treatment can be a blessing or a curse for the patient, depending on many variable factors.
This discussion provides important information on the availability and effectiveness of alternative back pain treatments.
Alternative Back Pain Care Pros and Cons
Many combined care practices are a blessing for the patient. A medical coordinator runs the practice and patients have access to many different types of treatment options all in the same facility. This gives patients the ability to try out several forms of treatment without having to travel or locate different care providers on their own. The entire process of therapy is streamlined and all parties benefit, in theory.
Back pain injury mills are the flip side to a combined care practice. At these facilities, a medical coordinator is using the various treatment options as tools of greed, fraud and pain perpetuation. Injury mills take advantage of the patient, keeping them in unnecessary treatment for extended periods of time. The patient is made to feel that they are permanently wounded and will never be the same after the injury. This nocebo effect is very powerful and sets the stage for years worth of pain and suffering.
The reason for this protocol is simple: $$$. This type of practice is very profitable, even though many are committing insurance fraud and malpractice.
Injury mills often work very closely with personal injury attorneys. Between the crooked doctors and the greedy lawyers, they cost our insurance system billions every year. Just open the newspaper and you will surely read lots of stories about these types of practices being shut down daily. It is my firm belief that doctors or lawyers committing insurance fraud should receive far more severe penalties. White collar crime is often dismissed as less serious than violent crime. However, the cost to individual patients, and society as a whole, is huge. Penalties should include substantial financial fines, mandatory extended prison sentences and the revocation of all rights to practice any form of medicine or law ever again. In professions where the earnings potential is already sky-high, only the most base and depraved sorts will commit these heinous acts. They deserve to be treated according to their character.
Alternative Back Pain Treatment Choices
There are so many varieties of non-traditional back pain relief systems. Practitioners of these arts are enjoying more and more acceptance by both the medical community, as well as the general public. Good treatment results can not be denied for many modalities, so it is a positive step for traditional medicine to embrace the potential healing powers of these alternative treatments. Below are some of the common alternative methods of treating back ache:
Acupuncture is an great alternative to drug use for pain management. The practice is safe and effective for many types of pain.
Reiki is a spiritual alternative, tapping into particular areas of the mind to enact healing within the body.
Chiropractic is the most widely used alternative to medical care. Vast numbers of back pain patients rely solely on chiropractors to treat their spines.
Bowen therapy is another touch healing system much in the same types as reiki.
Alexander therapy provides postural and breath therapy as an alternative to the more common physical therapy used in the traditional medical establishment.
Massage therapy is a great alternative to pharmaceutical pain relief and also comes with many other proven health benefits.
Magnet therapy is one of the more alternative product-centered remedies that has a loyal fan base who claim excellent results from treatment.
Knowledge therapy is the most alternative solution for back pain, since it bypasses the body completely in order to treat the causative source of pain in the psychoemotional self.
Alternative Back Pain Treatments Summation
I am a firm believer in the possibilities for efficacy offered by many varieties of alternative medicine. Some of these therapies are thousands of years old and have been very successful at treating many forms of disease and injury.
Many patients have opened their minds and hearts to the chance for achieving true relief from one of these non-traditional healthcare systems. There are usually far less side effects to most of these treatments, compared to surgery or pharmaceutical methods of care, so there may be nothing to lose by trying. You might just discover that the path to health is the road less traveled.
Back Pain > Treating Back Pain > Alternative Back Pain Treatments
