An Overview of Alternative Medicine
Alternative medicine is a wide term that includes any treatment or therapy that is not generally recognized by conventional medical practice. It includes everything from traditional folk remedies to high-tech biofeedback using scanners and monitors to help patients focus their minds on affecting their bodies. While alternative medicine is still viewed with a jaundiced eye in many circles, it is increasingly being taken more seriously as research proves the effectiveness of many 'traditional' treatments. It is being taken so seriously, in fact, that there is a National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), part of the National Institutes of Health.
NCCAM's purpose is to explore complementary and alternative medicine in the light of rigorous science - the same standards by which conventional treatments and medications are judged. Further, they are dedicated to making that information available to the public to help them make informed decisions about their health. NCCAM provides research grants, funding for ongoing 'centers' to explore promising therapies, and information on well-designed scientific studies of therapies that are not accepted parts of conventional medical practice.
CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) is a fluid term, with an ever-changing list of therapies. As a treatment is tested and found to be safe and effective, it becomes adopted by conventional practitioners and moves off the CAM list. Some examples of this migration include chiropractics and the prescription of folic acid for all pregnant women to prevent neural tube defects.
Currently, NCCAM divides alternative therapies into five 'domains', depending on a number of factors. Those are:
1. Alternative Medical Systems
Alternative medical systems involve entire systems of practice and theory rather than just a method or treatment. These include systems like homeopathic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, to name just a few.
2. Mind-Body Interventions
Typically called 'mind-over-illness' techniques, mind-body interventions include any method or therapy that's meant to help a patient use his mind to affect the symptoms of his illness. At one time, therapies like support groups were considered CAM. Current CAM of this type include meditation, biofeedback, prayer and art, music or dance therapy.
3. Biologically Based Therapies
Any treatment that uses substances from nature is considered a biologically based therapy. These include vitamins, diets and herbal products.
4. Manipulative and Body-Based Methods
Massage or manipulation of one or more body parts are body-based methods. These include various types of massage, chiropractic and acupuncture.
Energy therapies are based on the concept of 'energy fields' that surround the body. Some of those therapies manipulate electrical fields that are said to emanate from the body. Others involve the use of electromagnetic fields in unconventional ways.