Orthodox medicine encompasses all diagnostic and therapeutic measures that correspond to the mental approach of cause and effect and that take place under recognized scientific methods. This is contrasted with alternative medicine and naturopathy, which imputes entrenched thought and work structures to conventional medicine and rejects purely scientific methodology. The term “orthodox medicine” is also frequently used when medical practitioners wish to distinguish their methods from conventional ones or present unconventional forms of treatment.
What is orthodox medicine?
Conventional medicine encompasses all diagnostic and therapeutic measures that correspond to the conceptual approach of cause and effect and that take place under recognized scientific methods. Initially, orthodox medicine is the generally accepted classical medicine taught and applied at universities, which has since been expanded to include various fields, such as the inclusion of occupational medicine, psychosomatics, sociology, or psychology. Basically, the term is hardly very precise nowadays and is rather used colloquially. In addition, orthodox medicine is often regarded as a fixation on time-honored thought structures, which, however, always uses scientific methods. It is oriented towards primary diseases and isolated factors as the cause of disease. Man is an interconnected system, his body functions through biological and biochemical processes, due to which modern research methods can take place at all. Soul and spirit or the overall concept of body, soul and spirit, which is emphasized by naturopathy, play an insignificant role. Alternative forms of treatment are based on the thesis that the human being is always initially considered healthy and struggles with illnesses as soon as the inner balance is disturbed, i.e. the body and mind are no longer sufficiently connected. Thus, in order to restore inner harmony, the self-healing powers are to be stimulated through trust, faith and the intake of various natural products, and diseases are to be prevented in this way. Compared to conventional medicine, the areas are diverse and build on different methods and care. Orthodox medicine focuses more on known pharmaceutical and technical achievements, including more on the effect of drugs and certain procedures that with probability and repetition lead to certain results and thus to a comprehensive treatment of diseases. Likewise, risks and side effects are included in the research and require education in this field. However, the proven processes of action say nothing about the fact that healing variants in the field of alternative medicine do not show success. Basically, conventional medicine is based on evidence and is thus medical care that makes treatment possible based on all scientifically available sources and data.
Treatments and therapies
Conventional medicine dates back to the early 10th century and is derived from the name of scholastic medical training schools. One of the oldest is the school of Salerno, which initially belonged to a monastery and served specifically to cure sick monks, but then developed over time into one of the first medical universities in Europe. There, for example, the anatomy of a pig was compared with that of a human being and found to be similar. The first criticism was made by Paracelsus in the 16th century. He denounced the habit of such higher schools to train doctors who were only in appearance. In the 19th century, the term “school medicine” was already used pejoratively, for example by Franz Fischer, a physician who was oriented toward homeopathy. At the beginning of the 20th century, alternative medicine and naturopathy were again displaced by conventional medicine. This was especially due to the new pharmaceutical and technical advances in the field of science and medicine, which were backed by facts and a scientific method, while alternative medicine could not provide clear results, some assumptions were also considered extremely controversial. From the middle of the 20th century, however, medicine again underwent a reorientation. Experts increasingly recognized an alternative to conventional medicine and the benefits of naturopathic healing options.This was also based on the numerous healing successes in the field of homeopathy, while the scientific explanatory models played an extremely minor role. The influence of the psyche on the body was an important factor. The body’s own self-healing powers were supposed to lead to the healing of various diseases. Equally important was faith, trust, certain effective rituals and applications that offered an essential function in the interaction of psychological and physical components in healing. Orthodox medicine, on the other hand, warned against healing processes that would not last due to a placebo effect. Nevertheless, gradually more and more fields were created that combined both directions for the well-being of the patient in order to provide optimal treatment. The importance of the naturopathic field can also be seen in new specialties at universities.
Diagnosis and examination methods
The patient himself is rather indifferent to the conflict between the two directions, since the individual treatment experience and healing is more important to him than the methodological procedures. Orthodox medicine is overtaxed especially in the field of severe and incurable diseases and cannot always show convincing solutions, so that an alternative in the direction of naturopathy becomes necessary. The same can be seen in the field of psychosomatic disorders, where various fields have opened up to research and apply alternative healing methods. In the field of alternative medicine, it is precisely the interaction of body and mind that makes the healing process possible. If this is not given or the patient is too weak to fight against the disease by hope and faith, even naturopathy can hardly help. Orthodox medicine relies on scientifically researched methods and medications whose effects are based on statistical evidence. Omitting such drugs can lead to death just as much as ineffective treatment based on scientific evidence.
