Alternative medicine

What is Herbal Medicine?

Herbal medicines are plant-based medicines made from differing
combinations of plant parts e.g. leaves, flowers or roots. Each part
can have different medicinal uses and the many types of chemical
constituents require different extraction methods. Both fresh and
dried plant matter are used, depending on the herb. 
 Massage therapy

Massage therapy is a type of treatment in

which a trained and certified medical
professional manipulates the soft tissues of
your body — muscle, connective tissue,
tendons, ligaments and skin — using varying
degrees of pressure and movement.
Traditional Chinese medicine explains that health is the result of a
harmonious balance of the complementary extremes of "yin" and "yang" of
the life force known as "qi," pronounced "chi." Illness is said to be the
consequence of an imbalance of the forces.
Acupuncture is a form of treatment that involves inserting very thin needles
through a person's skin at specific points on the body, to various depths.
Research suggests that it can help
relieve pain, and it is used for a wide
range of other complaints.
However, according to the National
Center for Complementary and
Integrative Health (NCCIH), there is 
limited evidence for its effectiveness in
areas other than pain.
How acupuncture works scientifically
remains unclear. Some people claim it
works by balancing vital energy, while
others believe it has a neurological
effect.
Acupuncture remains controversial
among Western medical doctors and
scientists.
 A brief history of acupuncture 
Acupuncture is generally held to have originated in China, being first
mentioned in documents dating from a few hundred years leading up to the
Common Era. Sharpened stones and bones that date from about
6000 BCE have been interpreted as instruments for acupuncture treatment, but
they may simply have been used as surgical instruments for drawing blood or
lancing abscesses . Documents discovered in the Ma-Wang-Dui tomb in China,
which was sealed in 198 BCE, contain no reference to acupuncture as such, but
do refer to a system of meridians, albeit very different from the model that was
accepted later. Speculation surrounds the tattoo marks seen on the ‘Ice Man’
who died in about 3300 BCE and whose body was revealed when an Alpine
glacier melted. These tattoos might indicate that a form of stimulatory
treatment similar to acupuncture developed quite independently of China.
Aromatherapy is a holistic healing treatment that uses
natural plant extracts to promote health and well-being.
Sometimes it's called essential oil therapy. Aromatherapy uses
aromatic essential oils medicinally to improve the health of the
body, mind, and spirit. It enhances both physical and emotional
health
 Leeches therapy
Since the time of ancient Egypt, leeches have been used in medicine to treat
nervous system abnormalities, dental problems, skin diseases, and infections.
Today, they’re mostly used in plastic surgery and other microsurgery. This is
because leeches secrete peptides and proteins that work to prevent blood clots.
These secretions are also known as anticoagulants. This keeps blood flowing to
wounds to help them heal.
Answer the questions.
1.What types of alternative do you know?
Choose one and speak about it.