Alternative Medicine
Contents
What is Alternative and Complimentary Medicine
Alternative Medicine consists of every medical treatment that for a variety of reasons (social, cultural, economic and scientific) has not been included in conventional or western medicine. Alternative Medicine encompasses a big array of approaches. From herbs to Reiki, to Chinese Medicine, everything is included in this group.
The claim of superiority of conventional medicine comes from the scientific approach to finding treatments. Before a treatment is accepted into western medicine, medical scientists have to proof its effectiveness and safety for a specific illnesses or specific symptoms. The lack of accepted scientific proof and testing is the reason that alternative approaches are often considered as ineffective.
The effectiveness and safety of either treatment approach is hotly debated between proponents of each side. There is some overlap between the two approaches in a field called integrative medicine which combines aspects of conventional and alternative treatments.
Groups of Alternative Treatments
- Natural Products are Botanicals (Herbs and other plant –based medicines), Minerals, Vitamins and Probiotics. Botanicals and the other natural products are sold mostly as dietary supplements which makes this the most popular group of all alternative medicines.
- Mind-Body consist of Relaxation Techniques, Meditation, Acupuncture, Yoga and Massage Therapy.
- Energy Field Manipulation includes treatments such as Magnet Therapy, Light Therapy, Reiki, Healing Touch, and Qu Gong.
- Movement Therapies consists of Pilates, Yoga, Feldenkrais method, Alexander technique, Rolfing Structural Integration, Trager psychophysical integration.
Trusted Names in Alternative Medicine
- {{{2}}} (visit) has information about Alternative Menopause Treatments.
- {{{2}}} (visit) provides easy to learn meditation techniques.
- {{{2}}} (visit) explains the benefits of acupuncture.
- {{{2}}} (visit) provides information on a range of home health remedies that have been used successfully for years.
General Information about CAM
- Pauling Institute at Oregon State University provides scientific information about botanicals, vitamins and minerals.
- Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is the Federal Government's lead agency for scientific research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
- Therapies in Health and Medicine is a magazine with the mission to promote the art and science of integrative medicine.
- The website Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Serious Illness is designed to collect information from patients and health care providers about promising therapies for serious illness. It gives you the opportunity to participate in a research project of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in collaboration with faculty members from the Center for Family Medicine, Department of Medicine, and Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
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