OBJECTIVES to examine the present-day knowledge formation and practice of indigenous Kaqchikel-speaking midwives, with special attention to their interactions with the Guatemalan medical community, training models, and allopathic knowledge in general. DESIGN/PARTICIPANTS a qualitative study consisting of participant-observation in lay midwife training programs; in-depth interviews with 44 pra...

Non-allopathic treatment methods still play a substantial role in management of orthopaedic injuries in Sri Lanka despite the provision of free allopathic health care in state sector. Traditional healing (‘deshiya chikithsa’/‘Sinhala wedakama’) has been practiced for centuries, well before the establishment of allopathic system [1]. These physicians are highly patronised on cultural background,...

Recent statistics indicate that the overall cancer incidence in the United States, in spite of billions of dollars spent on research each year, has not changed significantly in the last half-century. Cancers of the prostate, breast, lung, and colon, although most common in the Western world, are least common in the Eastern world. Allopathic medicine commonly practiced currently is only 100 year...

CONTEXT Empathy is fundamental to patient care. Research studies of allopathic medical students have found a statistically significant decrease in empathy levels by the third year. Levels of empathy in osteopathic medical students have not been evaluated to determine whether a similar decline occurs in this group. OBJECTIVES To determine whether there were differences according to year of sch...

The paper presents the materials of study influence osteopathic treatment on "starting pains" and volume knee joint movements in patients with bilateral stage II gonarthrosis. Forty-two aged 45 to 55 years participated study. According results against background combined (osteopathic + allopathic) an increase flexion-extension amplitude joints (by 17.5º right 20º left joint) was registered comp...

BACKGROUND The indigenous health system was perceived to be a threat to the allopathic health system. It was associated with 'witchcraft', and actively discouraged, and repressed through prohibition laws. The introduction of the Traditional Health Practitioners Act No 22 of 2007 brought hope that those centuries of disrespect for traditional health systems would change. The study examined the p...

Objectives. Korean medicine, an integrated allopathic and traditional medicine, has developed unique characteristics and has been active in contributing to evidence-based medicine. Recent developments in Korean medicine have not been as well disseminated as traditional Chinese medicine. This introduction to recent developments in Korean medicine will draw attention to, and facilitate, the advan...

Over the last 4 decades, a wide range of energy healing modalities and spiritual disciplines have surfaced in Western society. As health maintenance and therapeutic modalities, energy healing and mind-body techniques are widely recognized as essential tools of contemporary integrative medicine. While still outside the realm of mainstream allopathic medicine, many individuals in North America an...