The Difficulty With Healing Arts
Physical ailments have a variety of causes and treatments. Depending on which healing disciple is being applied, classification of type and subsequent treatment can vary widely.  This can result in treatment which is less than effective. An understanding of the different approaches to diagnosis and treatment may be helpful.

The Western Medical Perspective
This model employs science as the primary methodology of investigation and treatment. Advantages of this approach include a precise undertanding of the effects of medications and healing modalities. Disadvantages of this approach tend to arise from regarding phenomena which lie outside the scope of examination as superfluous, and the restriction of therapies to those which can be proven. For example, while a doctor may know several pain medications to prescribe for a headache, they may not relate it to a recent foot injury or a recent vist by in-laws. When coupled with the effects of cost-cutting measures imposed by many Health Management Organizations, the result is often that patients are prescribed symptom-relievers while foregoing deeper investigation and addressing of underlying causes.

The Holistic Perspective
This approach views the body as an ecosystem and proceeds from the assumption that all phenomena are inextricably related to all other phenomena, particularly in the body. When the symptomology is local and physical, the consideration of possible causes extends beyond what is immediately apparent. Possible causes for speculation could include mental, emotional and spiritual states as well as physical problems that might not seem related at first glance. The difficulty here is that  there are too many factors in play to draw scientific conclusions, so evidence is empirical at best and at worst, merely anecdotal.

The Traditional Chinese Medical Perspective
TCM is unique in that although it proceeds from an Holistic set of assumptions, it rapidly gets into a detailed process of differentiation and classification of disease processes, and has been demonstrated effective on many persons with a wide variety of disorders, particularly with respect to the treatment of chronic conditions. Interestingly enough, the Chinese people have done extensive work to integrate Traditional Chinese Medicine with recent advances in Western Medicine, resulting in a comprehensive and cost-effective approach. There is a disadvantage with regard to consistency of treatment.

The Structure-Based Perspective
This paradigm assumes that through correction of structural misalignments, function will be effectively optimized as a result. In this approach, the patient need not be showing signs of illness to experience the benefits of treatment. The health care practitioner endeavors to discover where function is less than optimum, and correct it. As a result, the total organism is better prepared to meet the challenges posed by age, environment and lifestyle. This is the domain of the Chiropractor, and in many cases effective treatment can be rendered for both acute and chronic conditions. Advantages of this perspective are that quite often disease processes are noticed at early onset. Disadvantages tend to be in the fact that not all disorders are responsive to structural correction.