A recent study shows that the number of people who choose to visit a complementary health practitioner has gone up by fifty percent over the course of the last decade. Who is a complementary health practitioner? Do complementary health practitioners work well with "regular" doctors? Isn't a "regular" doctor adequate? What makes a person choose to go see a complementary health practitioner?

Who are Complementary Health Practitioners?

Complementary health practitioners are professionals who offer people treatments and therapies that are often used in tandem with therapy prescribed by "regular" doctors to help speed up the patient's recovery process. Complementary health practitioners offer patients things like acupuncture, alternative medicine therapy, physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractics.

Why Would Someone Choose a Complementary Health Practitioner?

Believe it or not sometimes "regular" doctors will advise their patients to seek the help of a complementary health practitioner to help speed the patient's recovery process. Many physiotherapists, for example, work alongside regular medical professionals in hospitals and doctors offices. Patients are also referred to Osteopaths and Chiropractors for extra therapy.

Some people decide that they want to seek the help of a complementary health practitioner before seeking the help of a "regular" doctor and this is one of the reasons that the general population assumes that there is animosity between "regular" doctors and complementary health practitioners. The truth is that there are several reasons a person might choose to go the alternative medicine route instead of seeking the help of a doctor specializing in traditional western medicine.

The truth is that some people just do not trust a "regular doctor." Some people believe that alternative medicine has a higher success rate than western medicine. Sometimes a person simply does not have the funds to visit a "regular" doctor and chooses to seek the help of a complementary health practitioner whose services are more financially acceptable.

How Could the Relationship Between Complementary Health Practitioners and Regular Doctors Be Described?

Most people think that "regular" doctors and complementary health practitioners are rivals and do not get along. This could not be more false! Complementary health practitioners and regular doctors have a wonderful working relationship! This article has already mentioned that regular doctors will often refer their patients to a complementary health practitioner for extra therapy or additional treatment. Complementary health practitioners will regularly refer their patients to "regular" doctors as well. Sometimes an osteopath, physiotherapist or chiropractor will send his patient to a traditional doctor for additional testing or to determine if a different course of therapy is needed"treatment that he might not be licensed to provide.

Many patients find that they get the most benefit from visiting both "regular" medical professionals as well as seeing complementary health practitioners. They take comfort in knowing that, no matter what, they are getting the best care possible for their particular health problem.