Alternative Medicine

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By Anna Bohl
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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


General Information about CAM


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