Complementary Medicine in Swiss Clinics
Chinese medicine has traditionally been counted among the unconventional methods of treatment. Perhaps this reflects the logic of the European tradition: to appropriate the achievements of the Eastern world and then keep them apart. Perhaps Europeans prefer the most technological ways of acting on the patient’s body, methods of invasive intervention that are simple in essence. Yet the fact remains: today the Western world recognises Eastern holistic medicine only reluctantly. On the other hand, it is fair to say that some time ago an interest in Eastern practices emerged among Europeans. In fact, this trend follows a parabola: interest in it rises and falls in turn.
Today, in both Switzerland and Russia, Chinese or complementary medicine is one of the fields that attracts growing interest, both among our compatriots and among our Western partners. History, of course, plays an important part in this. It is well known that Chinese medicine has been practised successfully in the East for many centuries, and Western colleagues are therefore gradually recognising the achievements of Eastern practices. Slowly but surely, since the late 1990s, “alternative medicine”, as it is sometimes called in Switzerland, has gained recognition at state level. In 2009, Swiss citizens voted for a law providing for the reimbursement of their expenses on complementary medicine. And in 2012, the Federal Department of Home Affairs added Chinese medicine, homeopathy and phytotherapy to this list, along with several other methods.
Some experts are disappointed, believing that people are dissatisfied with conventional medicine and are therefore turning to non-standard practices. Alternative treatments sometimes also meet resistance from the medical profession. Traditionalist doctors often dismiss the work of their “Eastern” colleagues as poudre de perlimpinpin (“perlimpinpin powder”, a made-up word passed off as a miracle powder sold by swindlers).
Competition, criticism, rejection of the new, or perhaps all of these together. At the same time, an unfamiliar method cannot be considered ineffective until the opposite has been shown.
In any case, science must stand guard and prevent outright charlatanism. Many Swiss clinics are gradually introducing Chinese medical practices into their work. Privatklinik Lindberg, for example, alongside its main activities in orthopaedic and visceral surgery, gynaecology and urology, is developing fields such as acupressure and nutritional therapy, acupuncture and phytotherapy.
Specialists state that Eastern holistic medicine is especially successful in treating migraines, neuralgia, allergic reactions, asthma, acute infections and gastrointestinal disorders. These new possibilities attract up to 2,500 people to the clinic every year. What is more, the doctors combine both schools of medicine, choosing the best from each. This has given rise, for example, to methods such as laser acupuncture, or laser therapy. This form of alternative medicine is based on pulsed light, which is widely used in physiotherapy as a supporting method in the treatment and rehabilitation of patients.
Low-level laser therapy can be used on its own in almost every field of modern medicine: urology and gynaecology, gastroenterology, traumatology and orthopaedics. For several years now, Klinik Lindberg has been demonstrating the effectiveness of combining modern Western methods with classical complementary medicine. Today we increasingly recognise that there is no panacea, which is why a sensible experimental approach is exactly what medical science needs if it is to keep moving forward.
