There has been an increase in nontraditional healthcare practices in the united states and other states worldwide to support or complement conventional medicines. When using nontraditional healthcare practices, various techniques get incorporated. These include osteopathy, natural materials, and physique techniques that make healing quick (Mattson & Purnell, 2013). Furthermore, medical research and practices have supported the efficacy of nontraditional health care practices in acting as alternative measures in treating some health conditions. The medical practices applied by doctors are different from those applied by nontraditional healthcare practices; hence, many cultures endorse nontraditional healthcare practices. Nontraditional healthcare practices begin at the family level, where various family members get taught how to address various health conditions (Mattson & Purnell, 2013). The primary purpose of these practices is to produce similar treatments to present-day medicines whose purpose is to heal people effectively. The cultures that use nontraditional health care practices are the Native Americans, Asians, and the Chinese.
Cultures Practicing Nontraditional Healthcare Practices
China
Nontraditional healthcare practices have been practiced in China for a long period, with most techniques still being used today. The Chinese nontraditional healthcare enactments view a person’s body as a miniature universe where their primary obligation is to bring equality between the darkness and light (World Health Organization, 2010). The main components of Chinese medicine include acupuncture, cupping, and herbal medicines. Some of these practices have been seen in the Olympics, where their athletes had bruises on their bodies, indicating that they had been practicing nontraditional healthcare activities (World Health Organization, 2010). However, these nontraditional healthcare practices have had side effects resulting from herbal products being contaminated with harmful compounds and manufacturing errors. Even though sufficient research has not been conducted, most Americans have incorporated Chinese medicines to address various health challenges, combining them with modern medicine. Additionally, these Chinese medicines have proven their effectiveness by curing some challenging health conditions.
Asians
The use of nontraditional health care practices is not only used by the Chinese but also American Asians. According to national health research, sixty percent of Asian Americans use alternative procedures and complementary medicines such as prayer, meditation, massage, and yoga to address some health conditions (Yoo et al., 2012). Despite that, some of these practices are yet to be incorporated in modern medicine because they are highly dependent on certain factors based on distinct cultures indicating that they may not work for every individual. The application of nontraditional health care practices by these cultures has increased immigrating populations to America, where various cultures in America have adopted the norm. Moreover, there is a concern that an increase in the use of nontraditional health care practices can result in environmental degradation, destroying and damaging plants used in the production of modern medicine (Yoo et al., 2012).
These people have been using different nontraditional healthcare practices used by other cultures to treat various health conditions. There is no sufficient research on medicines used by Native Americans even though natural; they have some characteristics and consequences as present-day medicines (Kirmayer, 2013). There are products found in natural remedies that are also found in modern medicine. According to the native Americas, all things on the planet have an objective, and every illness has an herb that can heal it (Kirmayer, 2013). They also trust that natural resources are the main factor in sustaining and maintaining a person’s health via natural herbs from the plants to cure infections. Therefore, some of these activities have been passed from one generation to another orally. Due to their effectiveness, they are now being integrated into modern medicine.
Importance of These Practices
Native Americans have used nontraditional healthcare practices to address critical health conditions and prevent some diseases. The processes include mixing roots, natural plants, and herbs. Besides, Native Americans practice some rituals to improve the healing process because, according to them, health is an assertion of physical, psychological, and spiritual growth (Kirmayer, 2013). Additionally, these techniques are significant in enhancing various features of human well-being compared to present-day medicine that is only aimed at enhancing physical well-being. On the other hand, Asian Americans have been using nontraditional health care practices to treat some health conditions that cannot get entirely cured by modern medicine. At the same time, geographical factors have a huge impact, especially in accessing modern medicines making Asian Americans use nontraditional medicines and treat some health conditions effectively (Nontraditional Health Care Practices, 2020).
The use of nontraditional healthcare practices has consistently increased among these cultures because of the positive results experienced after using these medications. The Chinese natural medicines are mostly used to treat terminal conditions such as respiratory problems, heart conditions, and mental issues (Yoo et al., 2012). Besides using these remedies to improve their quality of life, the Chinese also use them to address chronic pain. This comprises of enhancing the mind and body condition. When individuals undergo pain resulting from underlying health conditions, the Chinese use acupuncture on particular points in the body to produce natural painkillers and ease the pain.
Nontraditional Health Care Practices in My Area
Different individuals have adopted distinct nontraditional healthcare practices in my hometown. These nontraditional practices in my hometown include using natural medicines to mitigate blood pressure and treat other health conditions (Kirmayer, 2013). According to scientific and health care views, some of these health challenges do not have a cure; however, some nontraditional medicines have been shown to have the capability of curing these chronic infections. Most people in their hometown who suffer from these chronic conditions have revealed that they use these natural remedies either once or regularly to enhance their health conditions. Besides that, they also use yoga and massage to improve their mental and physical well-being. These activities have made people prefer nontraditional medicines to present-day medications resulting in an increased number of participants who have proved the efficacy of these practices.
Massage and yoga have gained massive recognition, with the participants being the old and the young because of the knowledge of the significance of these two nontraditional health care practices. Moreover, older people cannot engage in vigorous exercise; hence, they engage in yoga and massage to relax their minds and body (Oleson et al., 2012). Most people prefer natural remedies to manufactured medicines because they believe the manufactured medicines get contaminated with toxic compounds in the manufacturing process. Therefore, the primary reason for accepting these nontraditional healthcare practices is their efficacy in treating some health conditions. Also, traditional medicines have been a challenge to cure chronic conditions, making people prefer consuming these natural remedies.
Furthermore, people have been using nontraditional health care practices for a long time, hence proving their efficiency in treating some health challenges. At the same time, the family has had a significant impact on nontraditional health care practices by passing down the knowledge to the entire generation (Oleson et al., 2012). Furthermore, there are adverse effects associated with traditional medicines that result in severe health challenges because of the compounds utilized in the manufacturing process. These complications have played a key role in discouraging people from using traditional medicines and incorporate nontraditional medicines. Additionally, the cost of traditional medicine is high because of the research conducted and the manufacturing cost. The nontraditional medicines are cheap and readily available, making people choose them (Mattson & Purnell, 2013). At the same time, they have been in use since creation, and people have been using them to treat various health conditions, hence the increase in consumption of nontraditional medicines.
