Observable vs. Intangible, and Alternative Medicine

I am sometimes caught between two ways of looking at the world; one observable, and the other intangible. Anyone with a science (me, applied physics) or engineering (Harmony, polymer engineering) degree should have learned to place a heavy emphasis on observation. A scientific breakthrough, radar signal, or a voltage measurement cannot be verified if it cannot be observed. For the scientific community, lack of observable evidence means your findings are almost completely invalid. And so Harmony and I are tempted to scoff at some alternative medicines, whose claims are sometimes debunked by clinical trials, sometimes not.

On the other hand, while we are scientists by education, we are also Christians who fully believe that there is more to the universe than what our senses can perceive. There is more to the universe than what science can confirm. So logically, we cannot automatically dismiss alternative methods or placebo treatments just because science cannot confirm their efficacy. We might inadvertently be dismissing our faith as well. Of course, I do not consider alternative medicine and God to be on equal ground, so I do not place as much faith on the former.

Expounding
I recently had my first-ever chiropractic visit. See bottom of post for optional info regarding that. Since the first visit, I’ve been thinking about various alternative medicines and practices out there, such as chiropractic, homeopathy, and naturopathy. All have their share of controversy, with studies purportedly showing that they have no real effect…or something. Yet they are still around, because apparently there is still some demand for them. Contrast with fields such as phrenology, which have fallen out of vogue. Do these alternative medicines really work, or is it just a large-scale application of the placebo effect?

Who Cares?
If they work for you, who cares whether or not it's a placebo effect? Several alternative methods make use of the body's purported ability to heal itself (in my opinion, a veiled reference to the placebo effect). Some might say that the healing effects of alternative methods are "all in your head." Perhaps it is. But you might sit there all day trying to think your problem away, and you might not feel any better at the day's end. Your problem might be that you don't believe yourself. My point is that your body might need an outside authority's coaxing and convincing before it got started on its job of healing itself.

<aside>
I find it interesting that a placebo will probably not work without the faith of the recipient. If you tell the recipient that he is receiving a sugar pill, I would postulate that the pill would have no effect. However, if you tell that same patient “This has been shown to help,” that same sugar pill could have dramatic effects because the patient believed it would work.
</aside>

A homeopathic practitioner might tell you "Drink this 10000x diluted mixture, it will help you feel better." If that $45-mixture-which-is-mostly-water does indeed help you feel better more quickly or stay better, I'd say that's money well spent, whether or not the treatment method is scientifically verifiable. If you can convince yourself to feel better, then you are in luck, because you are one of your own doctors. For you who cannot convince yourself, go to a chiropractor who will tell you that your halitosis and hemorrhoids are being caused by your misaligned 3rd lumbar and 5th thoracic vertebrae (respectively), and that this (*crack*) alignment should fix the problem.

(coincidentally or not, my torso is now straight, and the lower back pain has almost completely subsided. Perhaps the spinal adjustment helped, or perhaps my back just needed some time.)

All that said, don't think of me as a complete hippie yet. I am not 100% sold on any alternative medicine, but make efforts to keep an open mind ;) I like the idea of using food as preventative medicine and food to heal tolerable-but-still-unpleasant ailments, neither of which I believe are that alternative anyways.

So I ask you: what are your thoughts on alternative medicine? How have your experiences been? Is it all quack? Or do you think it actually had positive effects?

Optional background information: While my parents were here over the 2007 holidays, I re-hurt my lower back while putting together some IKEA furniture that they had bought us. Re-hurt meaning that my lower back had been infrequently bothering me since 2001...laying dormant only to flare up at certain points in my life. Usually I just waited for it to go away, but this time I noticed that my torso was noticeably crooked. This had never happened before, so it was time for my first-ever visit to a chiropractor.

This was, of course, wildly different than any other "medical" type visit I've ever had. The venue looked more like an artsy coffee house than a doctor's office. New age music played while we sat on a comfortable couch and perused a book on homeopathic veterinary medicine (there was a bookshelf full of these types of books). We chose this slightly-more-alternative-than-normal(?) chiropractor because she had a very affordable fee. This was doubly important, as chiropractic coverage is not covered by our health insurance (I can sort of see why).
End optional background information.