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Introduction

________________ 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. ...read more.

Middle

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. ...read more.

Conclusion

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. ...read more.

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