Hello, everyone.
In today’s blog we are going to continue to discuss those unfortunate situations where the treatment offered by modern medicine is not up to scratch. We’re going to examine Asthma, Migraines, and Musculoskeletal pain.
In all of these conditions I don’t think that the treatment offered is completely useless – it does have some effectiveness. However, we can again see the familiar pattern of treating the symptoms and not the cause, and of damaging side effects. “Isn’t that a general pattern with modern medicine?”, I hear you ask. Yes, generally speaking it is, but I have chosen the particular conditions in this post, and in the former one, because there are very safe and effective alternatives to the conventional treatment on offer.
Asthma Treatments
It is painful to see the amount of Salbutamol and steroid inhalers dished out to patients (particularly to children) these days by the Doctors. Any Doctors who bother to read the studies regarding this popular combination know that, on a long term basis, it can cause:
- a worsening of the condition;
- long term side effects from the use of steroids (diabetes, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis and others) are inevitable.
Asthma is a condition occurring when the medium-size breathing tubes in the lungs contract, or fill with phlegm, or both. This causes narrowing of the tubes which leads to shortness of breath, coughing, and wheezing. The condition is very common and is getting even more common in industrial nations over the last 30 years.
The reason for this increase in asthma cases is not clear. Theories to explain the phenomenon range from a worsening of air pollution, to an increasing presence of allergens, to a weakening of the human Immune System’s ability to cope with allergens due to an overly hygienic lifestyle. In any case it is on the rise and, naturally, so is the amount of medicines given to patients to help them cope.
The problem with the modern medicine approach to the treatment of asthma is that it sees the phlegm and the constriction of the airway as the cause of the condition. The treatment is therefore aimed at relieving them. The most common prescribed medicine is Salbutamol (Ventolin) inhaler which aims to stop the tubes from constricting by blocking the neurotransmitters that facilitate the contraction.
The next is steroid inhalers, and the most commonly-prescribed is Beclomethasone. Steroids are a powerful anti-inflammatory and relieve asthma by reducing the hyper-immune response and therefore the secretion of phlegm into the breathing tubes. This combination is very widely prescribed, particularly for children. It tends to be effective in most cases for fast relief of symptoms. The problem here is, as I mentioned before, the long term serious side effects and worsening of the condition. Long-term use of these meds is basically a slow poisoning of the patient. The situation is worse in those cases where the inhalers do not seem to be enough. Oral steroids will then be prescribed. A short course of oral steroids is acceptable, but long-term use will cause dangerous and potentially lethal side effects.
The regrettable thing here is that it is mostly avoidable. Chinese herbal medicine and Acupuncture, in the hands of an experienced practitioner, will cure, or at least significantly improve most cases of, chronic asthma. Other therapies such as Homeopathy or even just dietary changes can be very effective as well. All without a hint of dangerous side effects.
Musculoskeletal Pain
This refers to any pain originating from a problem in our muscles, joints, bones, tendons or ligaments. It is probably the most common type of pain people are suffering from. Examples include lower back pain, neck pain, knees, hips and shoulder pain. It is in particular a mystery, then, how modern science has failed so spectacularly to find an effective treatment for these conditions.
It is the familiar tune here: medicines are focused on cancelling the pain instead of looking at the cause. I have to say here that painkillers are important but, if used on their own without looking at treating the root of the problems, we are unfortunately, again, looking at addiction and long-term side effects.
Some other treatments can sometimes be offered, such as steroid injections, nerve blockers or operations. Regarding musculoskeletal pain, the success of these procedures is fairly limited. We can see the problem of a potentially heavy price to pay if you take the modern medicine treatment offered for your musculoskeletal pain. Luckily, in the majority of cases this is not strictly necessary. Physiotherapy, Osteopathy, Chiropractic and Acupuncture are all forms of treatment which can be very effective in treating musculoskeletal pain without any of the side effects or the addictions. In the case of Acupuncture, this statement is true for all types of pain.
Migraines and Chronic Headaches
Modern medicine is failing the patient with these appalling conditions by – as usual – an ever-stronger array of painkillers with no regard as to the cause of the problems. Sound familiar? As I am risking starting to bore my readers and myself through repetition, I will just quickly say that Chinese medicine has a much clearer understanding of migraines and chronic headaches and it can, in most cases, help and even cure the conditions.
To sum up the issue: I often say that modern medicine is very good in some areas but very poor in others.
In the case of the conditions we have discussed in these posts, the treatments on offer are often heavy-handed, have a limited positive effect, or are potentially dangerous. I hope, therefore, that more and more people will understand that there are alternative treatments like Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine which are safe and mostly effective in treating these conditions.
Best of Health,
Dr Ilan Shahor