Complementary Therapies: A Comprehensive Analysis of Benefits, Contraindications, and Regulatory Systems

COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................ 4
1.1 TREATMENT PROCESSES FOR COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES..............................................4
1.2 ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGE FOR COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES..............................6
1.3 FACTORS INFLUENCING ACCESS TO COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES LOCALLY AND
NATIONALLY...............................................................................................................................7
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................ 8
2.1 ROLE OF COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES IN ORTHODOX TREATMENTS................................8
2.2 EVALUATE ATTITUDE TOWARDS COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES.......................................10
2.3 ASSESSING PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES..........................11
2.4 COMPARE CONTRA-INDICATIONS BETWEEN ORTHODOX AND COMPLEMENTARY
THERAPIES................................................................................................................................12
TASK 3.......................................................................................................................................... 13
3.1 ANALYSIS OF THE RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF INFORMATION SOURCES ON
COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES IN CASE STUDY FOR KATRINA’S TREATMENT..........................13
3.2 EVALUATE EVIDENCE WITH CLAIMS THE BENEFITS OF COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES FOR
KATRINA................................................................................................................................... 14
3.3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE USE OF COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES.............................14
TASK 4.......................................................................................................................................... 16
4.1 EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CURRENT REGULATION SYSTEM FOR THE USE OF
COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES FOR KATRINA IN THE CASE STUDY...........................................16
4.2 MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS, SUPPORT FOR EVIDENCE FOR IMPROVING THE REGULATORY
SYSTEMS FOR THE USE OF COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES IN THE FUTURE FOR PATIENTS LIKE
KATRINA................................................................................................................................... 17

CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 18
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................19

INTRODUCTION
Complementary therapy refers to a type of treatment used alongside conventional method of
treatments. People suffering from mental or physical conditions use complementary therapies
in addition to normal medical treatments. People suffering from cancer take these therapies in
order to reduce the side effects or symptoms caused due to conventional method of
treatments. Moreover complementary therapies also improve patient’s psychological behavior
as they feel much better than using conventional medical treatment. In this assignment, various
types of treatment processes available for complementary therapies are briefly explained along
with advantage and disadvantages.
In the later sections of this assignment, several factors influencing the complementary
therapies both locally and nationally are analyzed with the help of case study of Katrina. The
role of complementary therapies in relation to orthodox treatment is also briefed considering
case study of Katrina. The Psychological effects of Complementary therapies are analyzed while
comparing its contra-dictions to orthodox treatments. At last a conclusion will be derived based
on the effectiveness of Complementary therapies in context to the case study of Katrina.

TASK 1
1.1 TREATMENT PROCESSES FOR COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES
COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES
Complementary therapies are used by patients alongside their conventional medical treatments
as per the doctor recommendations. These therapies help patients in improving their quality of
life and social well being. Patients suffering from cancer use complementary therapies in order
to cope better with the side effects or symptoms caused by their cancer treatments (Vanneman
and Dranoff, 2012).
PRINCIPLES OF COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY AND THEIR USAGE
Complementary therapies are known by different names such as alternative therapies, holistic
therapies, alternative medicine etc. The normal conventional method of treatment is based on
science and evolution of science but complementary therapy has no scientific or medical
evidence and can be beneficial or harmful to patients using this therapy. It is important for
patients to use complementary therapies with caution and only under medical supervision as
these therapies may or may not be beneficial alongside conventional medical treatments
(Carmeliet and Jain, 2011).
Complementary therapies are used all over the world by patients and are actually based on the
traditional knowledge having no scientific evidence for its safety and effectiveness. There are
several forms of complementary therapies available such as acupuncture, aromatherapy, herbal
medicine, naturopathy, yoga, Alexander technique etc. People use these therapies as these are
cost effective than normal conventional medical treatments. In the context of Katrina for a
patient suffering from Cervical Cancer the best therapy that can be used is acupuncture and
acupressure which are widely used as an alternative complementary therapy.

TREATMENT PROCESS IN COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES FOR PATIENTS LIKE KATRINA
Figure: Types of complementary therapy
Source: Moran, 2014
Acupuncture and Acupressure
Use of Acupressure therapy help reduce the symptoms of nausea in patients, moreover, a
practitioner also stimulates the acupuncture points that help in reducing the muscular tensions
in cancer patients and the circulation of blood also gets promoted in Acupressure (Ling, et al.
2014). Whereas in Acupuncture the chronic pain in cancer patients gets reduced. Acupuncture