Different systems of medicine

DIFFERENT SYSTEMS OF MEDICINE

Allopathy: A Scientific Approach - The system of medical practice which treats disease by the use of remedies which produce effects different from those produced by the disease under treatment. MDs practice allopathic medicine. The term "allopathy" was coined in 1842 by C.F.S. Hahnemann to designate the usual practice of medicine (allopathy) as opposed to homeopathy, the system of therapy that he founded based on the concept that disease can be treated with drugs (in minute doses) thought capable of producing the same symptoms in healthy people as the disease itself.

Acupressure: Safe Relief from Aches and Pains - Acupressure essentially means employing massage techniques by applying pressure of various types over specific points on the body to stimulate energy points. The idea is to make available to all parts or the organs of the body an adequate amount of chi, the energy that flows in the network of different meridians or their collaterals.

Acupuncture: Classical Chinese Treatment  - Acupuncture is part of the ancient Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), a philosophy that developed into a medical system entailing examination, diagnosis, and treatment. Acupuncture uses very fine needles to stimulate points on the body's surface to improve the physiological functioning of the body.

Alexander practice: Better Posture, Better Health - The Alexander Technique is a method of re-educating the body and mind to overcome bad habits of posture and movement and to reduce physical and mental tension.

Aroma therapy: The Magic of Essential Oils - Aroma means fragrance or sweet smell, whereas therapy refers to treatment. Aromatherapy is a gentle and soothing way of helping to restore the body and mind to a balanced, healthy state, by using certain essences extracted from plants, shrubs, and trees.

Ayurveda: Fundamentals of Healthy Living Ayurveda is a traditional health care system of India, based upon Indian philosophical, medicinal, and psychological concepts. Ayur in Ayurveda means 'life' and Veda, 'knowledge'. Ayurveda is a science of living a healthy, long life. Its development over the past four thousand years encompasses the following branches of medicine: general medicine, geriatrics, gynecology, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, pediatrics, and surgery.

Bio feed back training: Mastering Body Reflexes - Biofeedback training is a technique in which the subject learns to monitor and gain control over automatic reflex body functions, by using information obtained from various types of machines. These body functions are translated into auditory and visual signals through electrodes attached to the subject. Biofeedback is mostly used for learning to relax in conditions and diseases caused by stress.

Chiropractice: Spinal Manipulation for Health - After medicine and dentistry, chiropractic is the world's third largest health care system. The word chiropractic finds its etiology from the Greek words cheiro (hand) and prakrikos (done by hand). The chiropractor manipulates the backbone with his hand to bring back into alignment the vertebrae that are partially misaligned or misplaced. This restores the normal flow of neuro-hormonal secretions in the spinal cord and the attached nerves, so that the body recovers from pain and the diseases causing that pain.

Colourtherapy: Revitalizing Your Energy - A part from the aesthetic beauty of color that is visible all around us in nature, plants, and animals, colors contribute a great deal to the mind and emotions. Color healing or therapy consists of certain molecular reactions that take place in the organs of the body through different color rays.

Emchi: Tibetan System of Healing  - The Tibetan system of medicine called Emchi is essentially based on Ayurvedic principles. It is practiced in Ladakh, Lahaul, Spiti, Darjeeling, Sikkim, and also in some of the metropolitan cities of India. Tibetan medicine lays more stress on healthy living. It is inseparable from Buddhism. It is an amalgamation of art, science, and spiritualism.

Faith healing: A Non-Medical Approach - The widespread popularity of religious and non-medical faith healers bears witness to the fact that people have deep-seated faith in cures brought through faith healing. Such people attribute supernatural causes to disease and for them it is important to know whether a particular disease in a patient is due to the wrath of a goddess, the work of an evil spirit, sorcery, witchcraft, or the breach of a taboo. Once this has been found out, obtaining a cure is a matter of following the advice given by a faith healer.

Flower remedies: Restoring Natural Harmony - Flower essence is a broad description for a liquid preparation, which is created by immersing a flower into water and exposing the preparation to sunlight or heat. This infuses the preparation with healing properties that are derived from the life energy and spiritual elements contained in the flower. Flower remedies are products made from these essences.

Homeopathy: Gentle, Long-term Benefits - Coined from the Greek words homois, meaning,’ similar', and pathos, meaning 'sickness', homeopathy received its name from its German founder, Samuel Hahnemann. Based on the principle of similia similibus curentur (like cures like), homeopathy proves that the agents that bring about symptoms of sickness can cure the cause of those very symptoms when used in extremely diluted form. This phenomenon, though originally scoffed at by practitioners of modern medicine, is more and more, being accepted as credible due to the continuing success of laboratory experiments.

Hahnemann: The Founder of Homeopathy

Hypnosis: Healing Psychosomatic Disorders - Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness into which a person enters voluntarily. It is usually accompanied by feelings of deep relaxation. When the mind and body are calm and relaxed and the subject is in a trance like state, the suggestions given by a hypnotist pass directly into the subject's consciousness and are much more likely to be accepted.

Iridology: Reflecting Your Health - Iridology is a study of how the health of the body and its organs is reflected in the iris of the eye. Iridologists claim to identify diseases by examination of the iris of the eye, and then treat them with proper food, physical exercise, and living according to the laws of nature.

Magnetotherapy: A Drugless Therapy - Magnetotherapy is a system in which diseases are treated through the application of magnets to the human body. No drugs are, administered under this therapy.

Massage: Hands That Comfort - Massage is the rubbing, kneading, and therapeutic stroking of the muscles and joints of the body to stimulate their action and cure strains. The word comes from the Greek masso (to knead) and the Arabic mass (to press gently). A massage can sedate or stimulate the body, depending on the nature or style of strokes applied.

Martial arts: T’ai Chi and Other Martial Arts, Tranquil Spirit, Calm Body - Martial arts are systems of physical and mental training used for self-understanding, expression through movement, and self-defense. Nowadays individuals are taking to martial arts as a health practice for life.

Naturopathy: Healing from Within - Nature Cure, also known as naturopathy, is a combination of a variety of natural therapeutics and methods of healing. Passed down through the ages, this system leans upon the wisdom of the ancients as well as modern science. The curative properties of Nature's elements - the sun, air, earth, and water - are employed as natural cures.

Osteopathy: Dynamic Healing - Manipulation has been used to heal disorders of the musculo-skeletal system in all ancient cultures. Osteopathy, like the other manipulative therapies such as chiropractic, focuses on keeping the body in structural balance so that it can heal itself.

Physiotherapy: The treatment of disease, injury or weekness in the joints or muscles by excercises, massage, and the use of light, heat, etc.

Psychoanalysis: Uncovering the Past, Healing the Present - Human behavior and emotions are largely influenced by unconscious wishes. By bringing these unconscious wishes into consciousness, and listening to and analyzing them, the analyst can, subsequently, help the patient solve his problems.

Reflexology: Foot Massage for Self-Healing - Reflexology is a specific body work technique which involves stroking or applying pressure to one part of the body in order to effect changes in another part of the body. It also helps to relax muscles and stimulate the body's own natural ability to heal itself.

Reiki: The Healing 'Touch' - Reiki is an energy-healing system, which can be used for mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual balancing. Reiki practitioners trained by Reiki Masters, channel universal life energy to other people by a light touch or simply by placing their hands gently on specific positions on the body.

 Rolfing: Restoring the Body's Balance - The Rolf Method, also known as Rolfing or Structural Integration, is a form of physical re-education. It aims at helping the muscles and soft tissue to return to their optimal length and position, thereby returning the body to its optimum balance.

 Siddha: Healing with Metals and Minerals - Siddha medicine is based largely on Ayurvedic concepts. It is likely that the intermingling of ideas and culture between the Aryans in North India and the Dravidians in South India resulted in a synthesis of philosophy, and pharmacological and therapeutic procedures. Siddha medicine, written entirely in Tamil, is still practiced largely in Tamil Nadu.

Unani: Treating Individual Temperaments - Unani Tibb is part of the culture of the Indian subcontinent, and is practiced widely in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and other countries. Based upon the concept of the humors and vital forces, which control the functioning of the body, the principles of Unani Tibb are not very different to those of Ayurveda. Besides the curative aspect, Unani medicine is used for the promotion of health and rejuvenation of vigor.

Yoga: Holistic View of Life - Yoga is an ancient Hindu system of philosophy and spiritual practice. In broad terms, it aims at deliverance from suffering and pain through meditation to effect a reunion with the Universal Spirit. In more specific terms, it includes the practice of various postures - static and moving, breathing exercises, a disciplined diet, and meditation - all of which tone up the body, mind, and spirit. Yoga is, therefore, not a system of medicine; it is more a discipline - a means to the end, which is samadhi, a state of union with God.