Many doctors consider alternative therapies a joke in the medical field. New ideas and procedures without surgery or drugs are presented as false, unnecessary and ineffective. Many are not considered serious medicine by specialists in the medical field. There must be another way to help heal the body instead of cutting patients open or introducing all types of medications into patients' bodies. Although doctors do not take alternative therapies seriously, they are becoming more and more popular every day. Society is looking for better and more practical ways to live a healthier lifestyle. Many patients are interested in new and safer ideas for staying healthy. Information regarding alternative therapies has become more readily available and accessible to the general public. Alternative therapies have emerged to help the general public resolve their problems, replacing the traditional medicine method currently prescribed by doctors. According to the Hastings Center, analyzing our different traditions is necessary to help recover lost ideas in health care and see new versions of old practices (Prasad). When medicine doesn't work, society must step back and discover other ways to provide health care. Despite opposition claiming that alternative therapies such as chiropractic, meditation and acupuncture are useless, these therapies help people around the world overcome stress, pain and illness. They also help society adopt healthier lifestyles by using fewer prescription drugs and surgical procedures. There are many types of alternative therapies used today and each is unique from the other. The best known alternative therapies...... middle of paper ...... Ed. David M. Haugen. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Views. Gale Opposing viewpoints in context. Internet. April 20, 2011. Prasad, Vinay. “Towards meaningful alternative medicine.” Hastings Center Report, September-October 2009: 16+. Gale Opposing viewpoints in context. Internet. April 21, 2011. Rabin, Roni Caryn. “REGIENTS: Meditation, for the Mind and the Heart.” New York Times November 24, 2009: D6(L). Gale Opposing viewpoints in context. Internet. April 20, 2011. Radiological Society of North America. "Acupuncture changes the brain's perception and processing of pain, researchers say." ScienceDaily, November 30, 2010. Web. April 20, 2011. “Some alternative therapies have been shown to work. » Alternative therapies. Ed. Debra A. Miller. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Current Controversies. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Internet. April 21. 2011.