Health experts say alongside conventional medicine, one can use alternative therapy to speed up healing. Practices may base themselves on traditional medicine, folk knowledge, spiritual beliefs, or newly conceived approaches to healing.   

Some alternative therapies have proved to be effective. These include Chinese and Indian traditional complementary treatments.
 
Acupuncture

Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most commonly used systems of healing in the world. Originating in China some 3,500 years ago, only in the last three decades has it become popular, mostly in the West. It is a system of complementary medicine that involves pricking the skin or tissues with needles, used to alleviate pain and to treat various physical, mental, and emotional conditions.

Several theories have been presented as to exactly how acupuncture works. One theory suggests that pain impulses are blocked from reaching the spinal cord or brain at various ‘gates’ to these areas. Since a majority of acupuncture points are either connected to (or are located near) neural structures, this suggests that acupuncture stimulates the nervous system.

Another theory suggests that acupuncture stimulates the body to produce narcotic-like substances called endorphins, which reduce pain. Other studies have found that other pain-relieving substances called ‘opiods’ may be released into the body during acupuncture treatment.

Unlike hypodermic needles, acupuncture needles are solid and hair-thin, and they are not designed to cut the skin. They are also inserted to much more shallow levels than hypodermic needles, generally no more than a half-inch to an inch depending on the type of treatment being delivered.

While each person experiences acupuncture differently, most people feel only a minimal amount of pain as the needles are inserted. Some people reportedly feel a sensation of excitement, while others feel relaxed.
When practiced by a licensed, trained acupuncturist, acupuncture is extremely safe. Because the treatment is drug-free, patients do not have to worry about taking several doses of a medication or suffering a possible adverse reaction.

The World Health Organisation recognises the ability of acupuncture to treat nearly four dozen common ailments, including insomnia, dizziness, and neck/shoulder pain); emotional and psychological disorders (such as depression and anxiety); circulatory disorders (such as hypertension); addictions to alcohol; respiratory disorders (such as allergies and bronchitis); and gastrointestinal conditions (such as food allergies, ulcers, chronic diarrhea, constipation, indigestion, intestinal weakness).

Interlight therapy
Treatment sessions that last for 10 to 20 minutes combine ancient Indian healing science called ‘Ayurveda’ with the vibrational healing frequencies of colour and light to target the underlying causes of an illness or pain.

Colour therapy has existed since the time of the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians (and later, the Greeks, Indians and Chinese) discovered that certain colours affected the mind and body. They installed panes of coloured glass in the ceilings to colour the light that entered.

It’s based on the belief that sunlight comprises a range of colours combined together. These colours are specific ‘frequencies’ of light, and each affects our bodies and minds in different ways.If your body, mind, or spirit is out of balance, exposure to specific colours and durations will help to restore balance, strengthen the immune system and allow natural healing to occur.

Therapies are carefully formulated to target the underlying root causes of specific situations and ailments. Colors appropriate for each ailment are selected, along with the optimum duration of exposure.

Over the centuries, many cultures have studied the effects of colour and light, leading to today's modern practices of light and colour therapy (also called Phototherapy and Chromatherapy).It’s said to be non-invasive and non-toxic, and can be used as an alternative therapy to conventional medicine to enhance its effectiveness.

Meditation
Meditation has been defined as self-regulation of attention, in the service of self-inquiry. It is a holistic HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discipline"discipline by which the practitioner attempts to get beyond the reflexive, ‘thinking’ mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness. It’s a component of many religions, and has been practiced since antiquity. It is also practiced outside religious traditions.

Various techniques of meditation can be classified according to their focus. Some focus on the field or background perception and experience, often referred to as ‘mindfulness’; others focus on a preselected specific object, and are called ‘concentrative’ meditation.

Scientific studies identified relaxation, concentration, an altered state of awareness, a suspension of logical thought and the maintenance of a self-observing attitude as the behavioural components of meditation; it is accompanied by a host of biochemical and physical changes in the body that alter metabolism, heart rate, respiration, blood pressure and brain chemistry.

It has been used in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine#Practice"clinical settings as a method of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_(medicine)"stress and HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pain"pain reduction. Meditation has also been studied specifically for its effects on stress.

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