Very little research has so far been conducted on the Alexander technique. Some promising findings have emerged in terms of improvement of respiratory function, reduction of anxiety, reduction of disability in Parkinson’s disease, and improvement of chronic back pain. However, for none of these conditions is the evidence sufficient to claim that the Alexander technique is of proven effectiveness. There are no serious risks associated with this method.
Conclusion
Alexander technique is not well researched, so the evidence is not conclusive. It might generate benefit for some health problems, provided patients are sufficiently committed and wealthy.
Alternative Diagnostic Techniques
Diagnostic methods not used in conventional medicine but employed by practitioners of alternative medicine.
Background
Before administering a treatment, alternative therapists will often assess the patient’s condition using a variety of diagnostic techniques. Some of these are entirely conventional, but others are not. Some of the more unusual diagnostic techniques are specific to a particular therapy. These are therefore discussed in the relevant sections of this book. The following list includes many of those diagnostic methods that are used in several disciplines:
Bioresonance: electromagnetic radiation and electric currents from a patient’s body are registered by an electronic device and used to diagnose everything from allergies to hormonal disorders. In treatment mode, the electrical signals are ‘normalized’ by the instrument and sent back into the patient’s body.
Iridology: each point on the iris is said to correspond to an organ, and irregularities are supposed to indicate problems with the corresponding organ.
Kinesiology: muscle strength, tested manually, is claimed to be indicative of the health status of inner organs.
Kirlian photography: high-frequency electrical currents applied to a patient’s body generate electrical discharges which are turned into impressive, colourful images. These are in turn supposed to be indicative of human health.
Radionics: a technique based on supposed energy vibrations in the body that can be detected with pendula, divining rods or electrical devices.
Vega-test: an electrodiagnostic device, used by many alternative therapists, which can supposedly detect a range of conditions from allergies to cancer.
What is the evidence?
In nearly every case, these methods and the concepts behind them are not plausible, so their ability to diagnose accurately must be treated with great scepticism. Moreover, when these methods have been rigorously tested, the most reliable results of such investigations show that they are not valid. Finally, they typically fail the test of reproducibility, which means that ten practitioners generate ten different results.
Conclusion
Alternative diagnostic techniques are dangerous as they are likely to generate false diagnoses. They can be misused by fraudulent practitioners to cause unwarranted fears in patients and to convince them to pay for ineffective or harmful treatments of conditions they did not have in the first place.
Alternative Diets
Regimented plans of eating and drinking with health claims that are not in line with accepted knowledge.
Background
In alternative medicine, unsubstantiated health claims are being made for dozens of special diets. Many of these are ‘flavour of the month’ approaches. To name but a few: Ama-reducing diet (Ayurvedic diet to burn off accumulated ama, which are supposed toxins); anthroposophic diet (lactovegetarian food with sour-milk products); Budwig’s diet (fruit, juices, flaxseed oil and curd cheese); Gerson diet (fresh fruit juices, vegetables, supplements, liver extracts and coffee enemas to cure cancer); Kelly diet (anti-cancer diet including supplements and enzymes); Kousmine diet (anti-cancer diet with ‘vital energy’ foods, raw vegetables and wheat); macrobiotic diet (aimed at balancing yin and yang); McDougall diet (vegetarian diet, low fat, whole foods); Moerman diet (anti-cancer lactovegetarian diet with added iodine, sulphur, iron, citric acid and vitamins A, B, C, E); Pritikin diet (vegetarian diet combined with aerobic exercise); Swank diet (low amounts of saturated fat to combat multiple sclerosis).
Each of these diets has its own unique concept and is promoted for specific circumstances. Some must be followed long-term, others only until the condition in question is cured. Alternative diets are promoted by a range of alternative practitioners and health writers, and via the internet.
What is the evidence?
Clearly one would need to assess each diet on its own merits, yet little data has been gathered on any of those mentioned above or in general. Where evidence does exist, it is usually seriously flawed. For instance, the Gerson diet is relentlessly promoted as a cancer cure, but the only positive evidence comes from an analysis which is now widely accepted to be fatally flawed and which should therefore be ignored.
Several alternative diets can lead to malnutrition, particularly in seriously ill patients for whom it is important to consume a balanced diet with sufficient calorie intake. Feeding a highly restricted diet to a cancer patient, for instance, hastens death and reduces quality of life. Some proponents of these diets make patients feel guilty if they cannot follow their often tedious regimens. This can further reduce quality of life.
Conclusion
Alternative diets are burdened with the risk of malnutrition and have not been shown to be effective for any condition. Our advice is to stay well clear of them.
Alternative Exercise Therapies
Approaches that employ regular movements for improving health and wellbeing, and which are not normally used in conventional healthcare.
Background
The health benefits of regular exercise cannot be valued highly enough. Knowledge about exercise developed in all cultures, so unique exercise regimens emerged in different parts of the world and are often embedded in the specific concepts about health and disease of that region. Examples are t’ai chi (China) and yoga (India). Both include meditative aspects, need to be practised regularly and place a strong emphasis on disease prevention and wellbeing.
In addition to these traditional forms of exercise, there are modern variations on the theme. An example is pilates, developed relatively recently by Joseph Pilates (1880–1967). This approach integrates breathing, proper body mechanics and strengthening exercises, as well as stabilization of the pelvis and the trunk. It is estimated that there are now over 10 million people who practise pilates worldwide.
Exercises are best learned in small groups and then have to be practised regularly — once or twice a week, or even daily.
What is the evidence?
Although there is far less research into alternative exercises than into common sports or physiotherapy exercise, some encouraging conclusions have started to emerge. For example, yoga, which encompasses a whole lifestyle including diet and meditation, has been shown to be effective in reducing cardiovascular risks.
T’ai chi has also been studied quite thoroughly. It improves balance, prevents falls in the elderly, enhances cardiovascular fitness, increases joint flexibility, prevents osteoporosis in post-menopausal women and improves quality of life in patients suffering from chronic heart failure. There is, however, no significant evidence that alternative exercise therapies convey any additional benefits compared to many forms of conventional exercise.