In Canada, if you hurt yourself at home or work, you can get patched up for free at your local hospital if you're willing to wait a few hours in the waiting room for the privilege. In the United States, unless you have health insurance you have to pay for any medical attention you receive out of pocket. So you can see why people from all over North America are starting to look for alternative methods of health care for their minor injuries and illnesses. Here are some of the options that are popular right now.

Chiropractor

It's chronic back pain that their medical doctors are unable to alleviate without the use of drugs that befuddle the mind or make the patient sleepy that tend to send people to the chiropractor for the first time. Chiropractors use no medicines, only physical techniques that realign the bones of the skeleton, to alleviate pain. Many patients report that with regular chiropractor visits, they are able to do more things around their home which had previously been impossible for them.

Acupuncture and Therapeutic Massage

Two other methods of healing that uses no medication are acupuncture and therapeutic massage. Based on the precepts of Chinese medicine that identify certain points in the body as helping or hindering the flow of energy, acupuncture involves inserting small needles into key places in muscle and skin. It is reported by many patients to be a painless process. Therapeutic massage, on the other hand, targets muscle groups whose tension may be causing problems elsewhere in the body. It purports to help with not just physical pain but with the extra stress of job and home life as well.

Natural Remedies

A growing number of people are starting to buy organic diapers and foods because they believe that product made from or of chemical will be harmful for them in the long run. These people prefer to turn to natural remedies and homeopathy to treat the symptoms of their illness rather than take medication. Natural remedies come in a variety of forms, from putting honey in your tea to sooth a sore throat to refining herbs at home that will combat seasonal allergies.

Non-Western Medicine

It is western medicine that gives us the treatments we know from hospitals and clinics, but other cultures around the world have their own healing methods developed over centuries of experimentation with the plants, animals, and minerals found in their region. Therefore if you fall ill while on your vacation, you might consult with a healer of Mayan descent. The Chinese also have an extensive store of healing knowledge, and each First Nation has its own precepts as well.