The Irony of Alternative Health

The Irony of Alternative Care

As a chiropractor and LENS neurofeedback practitioner for many years, I have observed an interesting, and bizarre, irony related to many patients making a first time foray into alternative health. Fed up with years of invasive medical testing and procedures, unsuccessful care, and a plethora of drug cocktails (and their side effects), they enter the office apprehensive and skeptical.

And therein lies the first bit of irony.

I embrace their apprehension and skepticism, and wonder why it didn’t kick in years ago relative to their ongoing complaints and years of failed medical care; not to mention the more significant risks they accepted associated with that care.

But the real irony lies in their expectations of alternative care. They tend to hold alternative care in very low esteem (hence its last resort status), but at the same time, they expect it to fix them quickly; as in a matter of days, at most. In short, they expect a miracle. This always makes me wonder…if they thought it would help them that quickly, why didn’t they try it first?!

However, the ultimate irony, as I see it, must be from the patient’s perspective because a large number of them, with these chronic complaints, respond extremely well to a short course (within 4-6 weeks for chiropractic patients, and 4-6 visits with LENS patients) of non-invasive, extremely low risk conservative care in combination with practical self-help measures (with acute cases, most often, responding faster)....and leave wondering: "why didn't I try this a long time ago?"