Complementary therapy in health and social care. Compare the role of two complementary therapies with those of more orthodox treatments

by miya123456789 (student)

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Unit 23 M2 D1

Complementary therapy in health and social care

M2 Compare the role of two complementary therapies with those of more orthodox treatments D1 Evaluate the role of two complementary therapies in contemporary society

Complementary therapy is a very new and fundamental treatment within society. In relation to orthodox treatment there are many advantages and disadvantages seen between conventional and non- conventional treatments. When looking at treatments there have been debates on whether orthodox or complementary therapy is better or whether they are both needed within today’s society. When looking at the role of complementary therapies it is clear that they are in place to help, treat and even cure illness.

Orthodox treatments are sometimes referred to as ‘conventional treatments’. These treatments are used by doctors as part of medical care. There are many forms of orthodox treatments such as surgeries, medications and radio/ chemo therapies. These treatments are usually tested using scientific reasoning and research methods to prove their benefits and possible side effects. Whereas complementary therapies are treatments but have not been tested or trailed. But many of the complementary therapies have shown the same or even better results compared to orthodox treatments. According to health talk.org.uk (online: 2012).

Many people in the UK use complementary therapies regularly to help in maintaining their health. In some hospitals and hospices in the UK, complementary therapies are used alongside conventional treatment. Putting both of their roles together help in creating the most effective treatments however one form of treatment may suppress the other. For example a person who is undergoing cancer treatments of radiotherapy may not be able to have complementary therapies such as acupuncture due to the risk of infections. Within this criterion the two therapies that will be compared and evaluated are osteopathy therapy and acupuncture.

Osteopathy therapy

This form of therapy follows the holistic approach in being able to detect, treat and prevent health problems by moving and massaging an individual’s muscles. Osteopathy looks in to the way the bones, joints and muscles in the body are all connected. It is a branch of complementary therapy that puts a strong emphasis on the musculoskeletal system. It is believed that osteopathy treats and allows the body to heal itself. Therefor conventional medications are not needed in regards to the structure of the body. This was found on the NHS Choice website (online: 2012). The main role of osteopathy is pain relief and the reduction of tissue inflammation due to this therapy looking at the whole person rather than just a certain area it is able to heal illness from neck pains, back pains to asthma, stress and depression.

Osteopathy and orthodox treatments do have some similar characteristics. As they have both been proven by medical science to be effective in what they claim orthodox treatment more than osteopathy. According to the University of Maryland Medical Centre (online: 2012). However the safety of acupuncture and orthodox treatment can differ hugely. Most orthodox treatments for illness within the joints, muscles and bones are surgery and medicine related. This can cause huge harm to an individual if they are not given the right dosage or if a small problem occurs in surgical procedures. Whereas osteopaths concentrate on treating the external part of the body which feels pain. For example massaging the back, which has a chain reaction in helping the internal parts in easing and curing illness. For example arthritis is a common illness that is treated through osteopathy. The osteopaths practice certain movements on the body which helps in reducing the pain within their bones. (Arthritis care 2011: online)

Orthodox treatments would prescribe medication such as Abatacept which is a biological form of treating arthritis that would treat the person only as long as they take the medicine. Therefor this form of treatment is not long treatment and has side effects such as weakening of the immune system. ArthritisResearchUK (online: 2012) Orthodox treatment also include surgical procedures, for example spinal fusion. This procedure is very risky in its side effects of spinal stenosis, tumours, fracture an infection. Therefor the effectiveness of osteopathy is seen once the disadvantages of other treatments are realised. Osteopathy is a safe and effective treatment ...

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Another advantage of osteopathy is that it can work alongside conventional treatments without causing harm. According to rueckenbuch (online: 2012) many illnesses in regards to muscles bone and joints need certain surgical and medical procedures that need to be put in place to cure the individual. For example when an individual is having medicine for arthritis an orthodox treatment due to the serve pain they have all the time. Osteopathy can work alongside the conventional treatment. It has also been proven to help the recovery stage of patients who may be experiences side effects of medications. Evan though orthodox treatments are compulsory for certain illness osteopathy can still be benefited as a treatment as it is efficient in working with other treatments such as medications, surgeries and even other forms of complementary therapies.

In comparing the role of osteopathy in relation to more orthodox treatments it is clear that there are also disadvantages to using this form of treatment rather than other more orthodox treatments. According to university of Maryland medical centre (online: 2011) certain illnesses such as broken bones, dislocation, bone cancer and people on medications causing thinning of blood such as aspirin should not have treatments of osteopathy because they will cause more harm than benefit for the individual.

Due to orthodox treatments being a lot more trusted within society the role of complementary therapies such as osteopathy is rarely seen to work, mainly based on the risks that it could potentially be cause illness due to the lack of research. Risks of osteopathy vary from slight headaches, fatigue to much serious side effects of stroke and spinal injury have been reported following manipulation of the neck. Evan though these complications are extremely rare there is still a chance of them occurring. According to BUPA (online: 2012)

While many mainstream medical approaches, such as surgeries and pain medications, are known for their fast-acting relief, the time it takes osteopathy to prove effective is variable. According to Better Back (online: 2011) the time it takes osteopathy to work depends on a number of factors including age, overall health and the particular disease or condition being treated. Therefore this shows that osteopathy is not as efficient in short term treatments and this would lower the chances of individuals within modern society to see the effectiveness of osteopathy. Also due to it taking up to 5-10 sessions and 30 minutes to 1 ½ hours for each session for the individual to feel the effectiveness of the therapy it would deter a lot of patients as a majority of people have busy lifestyles.

This also means that it is very expensive. For individual who are suffering with lifelong disorders they cannot be expected to pay for osteopathy treatment for the rest of their lives. Whereas orthodox treatments such as surgery would fix the problem and also be funded by the NHS. Finally the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) (online: 2012) recommends manual therapy such as osteopathy can be used as a treatment option for conditions related to any part of the body. However the research is often conflicting and although symptoms of some illnesses improve, the best evidence generally fails to prove that osteopathy cures illnesses. Although osteopathy is accepted by many conventional medical practitioners, more research is needed to prove whether it's effective.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is another form of complementary therapy that seen within society a lot. As mentioned in previous assignments acupuncture is based on the belief that an energy, or 'life force', flows through the body in channels. This life force is known as Qi. Practitioners who adhere to traditional beliefs about acupuncture believe that when Qi cannot flow freely through the body, this can cause illness. They also believe that acupuncture can restore the flow of Qi, and so restore health. The role of acupuncture is based on the individual illness. For example it can have the role of pain management through to the role of integrating fertility for women. According to About.com (online: 2012)

Effectiveness of acupuncture has also been declared by the World Health Organisation (online: 2012). As they sate that acupuncture is effective for treating 28 conditions, while evidence indicates it may have an effective therapeutic value for many more. In comparison to orthodox treatments acupuncture again follows the holistic approach which many orthodox treatments fail to. Also acupuncture has been proven to help cancer patients in overcoming the side effects of orthodox treatments according to About.com (2012: online). Cancer patients do need orthodox treatments such as radio and chemo therapies however they have serve side effects that can be fatal.

But the most research to date has been done to evaluate the effect of acupuncture on chemotherapy-induced nausea. According to the National Cancer Institute (online: 2012) there is strong evidence that acupuncture can relieve the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy. While some oncologists recommend avoiding acupuncture after chemotherapy due to an increased risk of infection, acupuncture may be done before a chemotherapy session to help prevent nausea.

A study shown on clinical control trials showed how acupuncture was more effective within society rather than orthodox treatments. These studies have provided unquestionable scientific evidence that acupuncture is more successful than orthodox treatments. For example, the proportion of chronic pain relieved by acupuncture is generally in the range 55-85%, which far outweighs the orthodox treatments of (30-35%). There is also studies that show acupuncture can be provided for individuals in a quicker way because the individual does not need to be referred and there is also minimal paper work. This is very effective as orthodox treatments require health professionals to get through procedures and structures that allow them to be legally covered if the individual is put in harm. This could be too slow for people who are at risk of death.

Disorders related to cardio-respiratory treatments do need to have quick and efficient. Evan though patients may need to have a number of sessions not having to in-role and be referred allows the treatment to start a lot quicker than orthodox treatments. Orthodox treatment would involve the individual would need to self-refer to their GP and then the doctor would refer them to a certain department within the hospital that specialise in the patients illness.

According to Wilson. N medical educationalist and researcher has found a huge amount for data that shows western medication is failing because the amount of pressure that is being placed on them due to the growth of the world population. Acupuncture does not have this problem due to it not being funded and therefor people who are able to pay only use it. This could be seen as a disadvantage but having a system where the patient is required to pay for their treatments would allow them to sustain the form of therapy rather than weather it out like orthodox treatments.

Where the effectiveness of acupuncture is reduced is to the lack of proof that can be provided about the training the acupuncturist has undergone. Also there have been several cases where acupuncture has caused death due to a puncture in to the heart and even the lungs. The pressure points of the body are linked to all the main organs and central nervous system that is linked to the rest of the body. But the main cause of death through acupuncture is infections.

Due to being self-regulated this can also pose harm on an individual and therefore orthodox treatments do become a better choice for patients to undergo. Infections are another potential risk of acupuncture if there is a lack of hygiene used on the equipment. For example re-using the same needle for all the patients. According to Exopedie (online: 2011) infection is an important, and avoidable, risk that need to be assessed after and before every treatment.

Within society the effectiveness of acupuncture is not seen as much as orthodox treatment purely due to the cost that is needed to get that form of treatment. The world is in an economic recession. Treatments of acupuncture are becoming unaffordable. The New York Time (online: 2012) have also found that acupuncture is nothing more than a placebo effect that is not effective in the long term. Therefor complementary treatments such as acupuncture do become a lot less favourable then orthodox treatments that are funded by the government within the UK. Acupuncture is growing as a treatment for many illnesses within contemporary society but orthodox treatment will always have the upper hand due to being used a lot more and having gained trust through the amount of individuals it has helped.

Overall in this criterion there has been a comparison on the role of complementary therapies in those of more orthodox treatments. Both orthodox and complementary therapies have the same role but achieve them in different ways. Therefor this shows how one may be more effective than the other. Orthodox treatments does have disadvantages from scaring to infection issues but complementary therapies hold problems of being time consuming and too expensive. Comparing the advantages and disadvantages of osteopathy and acupuncture in contrast to orthodox treatments they balance to a level where they both need improvements and both help and care for society. Also in evaluating the role of the two therapies within today’s society it is clear that the use of complementary therapies is beginning to grow. As there has also been proof that the use of acupuncture and osteopathy is growing shown on BBC news (online: 2003). Therefor as the use of the therapies grow the funding and overall role of the therapies eventually making it a necessity within society similar to how the NHS is relied on.

Bibliography

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Arthritis research UK (2012) arthritis (online) available at: http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/drugs/abatacept/possible-side-effects.aspx accessed 16/11/2012

University of Maryland medical centre (2012) osteopathy (online) available at: www.umm.edu accessed 16/11/2012

Healthtalkonline.org (2012) Complementary therapies and alternative treatments available at: www.healthtalkonline.org/nerves_and_brain/motorneuronedisease/Topic/3433/ accessed 16/11/2012

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (2010) Spinal Fusion (online) available at: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00348 accessed 16/11/2012

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The better back company (2012) Back Problem (online) available at: http://www.betterback.co.nz/ accessed 16/11/2012

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Iqra Ahmed 733872