In Australia there is a huge range of products and services available in complementary and alternative health care. These include: natural medicines (herbs, nutrition, homeopathy, Chinese medicine etc), supplementation (vitamins, minerals, oils, protein, vegetable powders etc), physiological treatment (physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic therapy, exercise physiology, remedial massage, occupational therapists, acupuncture etc), and energy based treatments (crystals, some forms of massage, acupuncture, reiki etc).
A Naturopath utilises the natural medicine approach and seeks to use natural products to strengthen the immune system and speed up the healing process. Naturopaths often treat patients by improving their diets or providing nutritional supplements, using homeopathic treatments, or herbal medicines.
An Osteopath focuses on musculoskeletal issues in order to help the body function properly. Osteopaths use mobilising techniques, joint manipulation and massage.
Shiatsu is a form of massage that focuses on the energy flow of the body. They utilise trigger point therapy where fingers, thumbs, elbows or knees are used to release specific points of the body in order to balance the energy flow of the body. These are the same points often used in remedial massage and acupuncture, which lie along the meridians (channels) of energy flowing around the body. Western practitioners refer to Shitatsu affecting the hormonal, circulatory and lymphatic systems as well as the releasing of muscles and relaxation provided all improving the body’s self-healing abilities.
These are just a sample of the range of products and services available for complementary and alternative health in Australia.