Alternative Medicine in Amman

For Spafax-Royal Wings

Patricia Skinner January, 2005
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There are stirrings of new and exiting health trends in Amman. After decades of
relying solely on allopathic medication, patients are once again seeking treatments
from medical systems that gently enhance and nurture human health in all its
dimensions.

Return to the Ancient Ways

Some Jordanians are returning to the ways of their not-too-distant forefathers.
There is a distinct move towards more traditional foods in preference to processed
and packaged foods, as people notice that their health is not what it once was.
Practitioners of the local brand of folk medicine are again being consulted, where for
years they treated no one but the very old, or those who were too poor to afford
expensive modern medicine. You can still visit a hakeem for a very small fee
compared to that charged by medical specialists. They treat all kinds of health
problems from colds to infertility and even broken bones, using skills handed down
from generation to generation.

Interestingly, traces of many ancient health disciplines can be detected here in

Jordan, that have their origins in Ayurvedic or Chinese medicine. One that has
survived, for example, is the concept of foods having “hot” and “cold” properties.
These principles were used by early Muslims, no doubt having spread from the
Indian subcontinent where they were originally practiced. Until today foods are
commonly referred to as being “hot” or “cold.” Dates and sugary foods, for example,
are hot, while such foods as cucumbers and yogurt are cold. The concept is to
balance the diet as too much of either type of food can cause imbalance and ill
health.

Using locally gathered herbs, which would be termed “wildcrafted” in the West, and
various forms of manipulation, Jordanian practitioners work their craft. Many
patients enthusiastically recount being relieved of painful conditions after only a few
treatments, where they’d been taking prescription drugs without the desired effect.
Alternative medicine is not a magic cure, but it can restore good health effectively
when the practitioner’s guidelines are followed. It is not difficult for Jordanians to
accept the use of herbs and special foods such as olive oil because they are already
included freely in the diet to support health on a daily basis.

Suddenly, there are also a number of establishments springing up across the capital
that offer sophisticated forms of natural treatments from other parts of the world.
Acupuncture is popular, but practitioners typically use a combination of therapies
that they have spent many years studying abroad.

Holistic Wellness
All alternative therapies seek to balance overall health, raising immune function and
energy levels so that the body is in a position to heal itself. Ayurvedic and Chinese
medicine talk of raising the levels of “life force,” which they call prana or chi. This is
why the individual experience of alternative treatment repeatedly includes the
spontaneous improvement, or even cure of other health problems for which help is
not actively being sought. For example, a patient being treated for rheumatism may
find that asthmatic attacks become less severe. Someone receiving treatment for
diabetes may perhaps discover that migraines are coming further apart. There are
countless scenarios, but often the most striking result of treatment is that the
patient begins to feel a strong sense of general well being.

Tradition with a Modern Slant

At the Jordanian Center for Chinese Medicine in Um Uthaina, a number of different
treatments are available alongside traditional acupuncture. The atmosphere is
relaxing and elegant. Warm and polite attendants usher you into Doctor Barakat’s
office, where he asks many questions about diet and lifestyle. Some of the questions
may seem unrelated to health. This is because natural medicine considers the body
and the person residing in it as a complete entity. We cannot always make the
connection between our actions and the resulting health consequences. Human
emotions are acknowledged to have a tremendous impact on health in many
different ways.

On the strength of the information he gathers, the doctor will either suggest a
program of treatment for you, or you can ask for a particular treatment (Massage?
Colon hydrotherapy?), and he will decide if it’s appropriate for your condition. He
may also suggest other treatments in addition to acupuncture such as magnetic field
therapy, reflexology, or even hyper ozone.

Modern equipment is routinely employed to enhance the science of acupuncture.

Acupuncture needles, for example, are hooked up to a machine that emits an
electric pulse, amplifying the healing effect of the needles and theoretically
shortening healing time.

The patients in Dr. Barakat’s office are of all ages and from all walks of life. I spoke to
a young couple who were seeking help for their child who had severe learning
difficulties. They remarked that the acupuncture treatments had resulted in a
considerable improvement in their child’s condition.
The lady doctor who conducts colon cleansing sessions has come all the way from
China. She is charming and totally expert at her work. Putting patients at ease in
seconds, she deftly plies her trade in a manner so gentle you almost feel silly for
having been nervous.

At another acupuncture center in the suburb of Jebel Hussein, Dr. Jihad takes a
slightly different approach. Patients speak of his uncanny knack for getting right to
the heart of their health problems, and some have even described him as being
psychic. One patient was astonished when he referred to specific details of her
unhappy life situation, and of her need to come to terms with these problems before
she could hope to see an improvement in her health. Another patient was told that
her chronic anger was causing her to remain overweight. He treated her symptoms
of stress with just one session of acupuncture after which she felt incredibly relaxed,
and can’t wait to return for more treatments.

As a result of the elaborate diagnostics involved and the lengthy question and
answer session, a first session with an alternative practitioner is often about two or
three times what you’d spend with a specialist. However, there are no costs for x-
rays and blood tests and this should be factored in. Subsequent visits are always
much cheaper.