When surveying the forms of alternative medicine practiced in the Coulee Region, the first thing you have to do is agree upon a definition. By design, the term is broad. It can cover acupuncture, herbal supplements, massage, diet, tai chi, aroma therapy or chiropractic work — or none of those treatments, depending on an individual’s perspective.
One can receive alternative medicine in a wilderness setting. It can be brought to the home, practiced individually or shared when likeminded people gather to channel energy. You can also find alternative medicine at gleaming private practices, and here in La Crosse both hospitals are increasingly likely to employ “complimentary” techniques, which further blur the line between alternative and mainstream. What is certain is that alternative medicine is a personal decision. And here in the Coulee Region, there are many paths to personal health.
“Alternative medicine to me is generally something other than the Western style of medicine that we see in our society today,” said Phil Adamczyk, a 22-year-old certified reiki master teacher (see glossary, Page 6). “When I think of that I usually think of Eastern medicine, things other than pill popping.”
That’s a good start, as many “alternative” medical techniques have a foundation in traditional Chinese medicine — a 5,000-year-old form of health care — and from other herbal and body work remedies developed in India, Japan, the Americas or even from Christian traditions.
“Alternative medicine, I guess, is an alternative to going into a physical building where it’s very important that everything that happens there be billable,” said Louise Keenan, a massage therapist who opened La Crosse’s latest “alternative” practice, The Heart Song Center, on Pearl Street last week.
Billing is also a defining trait, as many alternative medical practices aren’t covered by insurance, so an individual pays out of pocket for his treatments. As Congress debates a massive overhaul of the health care industry, these elective treatments could become part of expanded coverage, though no one interviewed for this story expected that to happen soon. Rather, that people elect to pay for “alternative” treatment when they could receive mainstream care at no added cost speaks to the effectiveness of alternative medicine.
“With the results that I’m seeing, all insurance companies should be covering it,” said Kim Dowat, a certified nurse midwife at Gundersen-Lutheran who incorporates acupuncture and herbology into her practice.
In La Crosse, both Gundersen-Lutheran and Franciscan-Skemp have introduced alternative (or “integrated”) medical techniques to their campuses. Many doctors and nurses at Gundersen practice specialties outside the traditional realm of Western medicine, while Franciscan-Skemp opened a Center for Health and Healing in Onalaska in 2006 that offers holistic therapies such as acupuncture, aromatherapy, biofeedback, healing touch, massage, Tai Chi and yoga.
“The term ‘alternative’ I’ve been trying to not have used for the last 15 years,” said Jim Lamboy, an acupuncturist who has practiced in downtown La Crosse since early 2000. “’Complimentary’ really is a better term to use describing certainly acupuncture and herbology, meaning that it can be used consistent with or alongside of conventional medicine.”
That mixing of alternative and conventional medicine seems to be the trend here. Many doctors refer patients to acupuncturists to treat pain after surgery, and chiropractors see people after car accidents. Reiki practitioners will work with cancer patients recovering from chemotherapy, and pregnant women use herbs to control morning sickness, all while consulting with their OB/GYN.
A generation ago, doctors from most mainstream hospitals wouldn’t even think about alternative medicine, let alone recommend their patients seek outside care. But a growing body of scientific research attests the effectiveness of alternative practices. Word of mouth also helps spread new treatments, as patients “demystify” Eastern techniques and vouch for their effectiveness.
“I never really thought [holistic medicine] was separate from other medical care,” said Dr. Nedira Haik, an integrative health specialist at Franciscan-Skemp’s Center for Health and Healing, one of the only mainstream American campuses devoted solely to integrated health. “I just kind of see it like I work with a bigger toolbox.”
When a patient visits Haik for a consultation, she combines Western interview and clinical techniques with knowledge of alternative treatments. If she sees a patient with high blood pressure, for example, she may recommend supplements like magnesium or fish oil or suggest breathing techniques. For more severe cases, she would prescribe paramedical medication.
Although the roots of many alternative medical practices stretch back centuries, they’ve only recently entered American popular culture. The first widely disseminated account of acupuncture, for example, came in 1971 when a New York Times journalist had an emergency appendectomy in China wrote about his treatment. Today alternative medicine is advocated on the Internet and makes frequent appearances on primetime television, but it’s not just the younger generation that most frequently turns to alternative medicine.
“From what I can tell and the people I work with, it’s actually very evenly distributed,” said Adamczyk, the reiki instructor who founded the Healers of Avalon, a holistic health organization that meets at the Violet Flame in La Crosse. “A lot of the students that I work with are in their 50s or 60s, which I found very shocking, but I suppose it makes sense because they have experienced the Western medicine for how many years and are open to a new technique that might be more effective and a lot less of a cost.”
Whatever patients' motivation, alternative medicine is fast approaching the threshold where it no longer can even be considered “alternative.” With more people discussing more health practices on more media, the stigma of exoticism is eroded. Scientific studies are also beginning to show the effectiveness of alternative treatments, but with a matter as personal as one’s health, the ultimate measuring stick is success-based.
“For some people, the fact than an established medical institution has embraced [alternative medicine] makes them feel like ‘well, I can try it,’” said Dowat, a specialist in women’s health who studied acupuncture at Stanford University. “And then there’s people — maybe more older people than younger — they just come in and say ‘Hey, I just want something that works. If it helps, I don’t really care where it comes from or what the theories are.' Especially if they are in pain, they just want relief.” |
