Included in this section are our evaluations of:
Alexander Technique
Alternative Diagnostic Techniques
Alternative Diets
Alternative Exercise Therapies
Alternative Gadgets
Anthroposophic Medicine
Aromatherapy
Ayurvedic Tradition
Bach Flower Remedies
Cellular Therapy
Chelation Therapy
Colonic Irrigation
Craniosacral Therapy (or Cranial Osteopathy)
Crystal Therapy
Cupping
Detox
Ear Candles
Feldenkrais Method
Feng Shui
Food Supplements
Hypnotherapy
Leech Therapy
Magnet Therapy
Massage Therapy
Meditation
Naturopathy
Neural Therapy
Orthomolecular Medicine
Osteopathy
Oxygen Therapy
Reflexology
Reiki
Relaxation Therapies
Shiatsu
Spiritual Healing
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Alexander Technique
A process of relearning correct postural balance and coordination of body movements.
Background
Fredrick M. Alexander was an Australian actor whose career was threatened by a recurring loss of voice. Doctors were unable to diagnose any problem with his throat, but Alexander noticed that his silence was linked to his poor posture. In the early twentieth century he developed a cure for his problem which focused on relearning correct posture.
Alexander teachers encourage their patients to move with the head leading and the spine following. These patterns of movement and posture are rehearsed repeatedly with a view to creating new motor pathways and improving posture, coordination and balance. Essentially, the mind is taught to modulate the autonomic nervous system through regular, supervised exercises.
The Alexander technique quickly became popular with performing artists. It was then noted that, apparently, it was also useful for a wider range of medical conditions. Today Alexander teachers claim that it is effective for treating asthma, chronic pain, anxiety and other illnesses.
Alexander teachers instruct their clients in a series of one‑hour exercise sessions. They guide the process of relearning simple postures and body movements through a gentle, hands‑on approach. As plenty of repetition is needed, 30–100 such sessions are usually required to master the technique. This obviously demands a considerable level of commitment from the client, in terms of both time and money.
What is the evidence?
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).