This philosophy survived for over 2,000 years in western culture, until its practitioners started subjecting their ideas to scientific analysis. It is interesting to speculate what would have happened if scientific medicine first took root in the East. Vitalistic approaches to healing adopt similar philosophies to those of medieval humoral practitioners. The concept of balance, for example, is widely used, probably because it is an easy concept to understand and visualize. For similar reasons, the concept of blockage of energy flow, and restoring flow is also widely used.
Straight chiropractors attempt to restore the flow of innate intelligence with spinal manipulation.
Connected to the concept of restoring balance and flow to the vital force is that of self-healing. Many alternative philosophies of medicine rely heavily upon the concept that the body has an unlimited, or nearly unlimited, capacity for self-healing. Therefore, as long as their is proper flow and balance, the body can maintain itself in perfect health. All disease, therefore, must result from a loss of this unlimited self-healing capacity, which can only be explained on the basis of blocked flow or disrupted balance. There is no evidence, however, for the concept of unlimited capacity for self healing.