Despite my skepticism, I do have one “success” story involving alternative medicine:
We lived in France when our daughter was born. For her first several months she had blocked tear ducts; not at all uncommon, but annoying because it led to constant infections. Some aggressive treatments involving opening the ducts with a wire probe were tried, but didn’t work.
The doctors themselves suggested we consult a naprapath. This practice involves manipulating the connective tissues of the skeleton, and claims to address a long list of ailments this way. The docs said that almost all of their claims were BS, but that they did have a high degree of success with blocked tear ducts.
The manipulation consisted of the naprapath applying very firm pressure to the roof of the mouth, maneuvering the bones of the hard palate with the fingers. That was the end of the tear duct problems.
I would generalize that experience to other unconventional medical practices. I’m willing to believe that most are effective in treating certain disorders, but it seems that all yield to the temptation to overstate their applicability.