Complementary and Alternative medicine
In complementary and alternative medicine, there are two separate types of therapies: those which " complement" an existing conventional treatment, and those which are used as an " alternative to" a conventional medical treatment. It is important to note that what constitutes complementary vs. alternative changes as more studies, data, and evidence are gathered.
The National Institute of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) classifies complementary and alternative medicine and therapies according to what it calls "practices": 1) manipulative and body-based, 2) biologically-based, 3) energy medicine, and 4) whole medical systems.
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Mind-body medicine: Yoga to meditation
From yoga and biofeedback, to hypnosis and guided imagery. -
Massage and chiropractic: Manipulation medicine
Positive therapies for pain. -
Acupuncture
More and more studies on its potential help for a variety of conditions. -
Types of complementary and alternative medicine
Mind-body medicine to nutrition and supplements.
- Including multivitamin therapy and prayer for health reasons, 62% of adults in the United States use some form of complementary and alternative medicine or therapy.
- After prayer, the most common therapies used by Americans are deep breathing, meditation, chiropractic, yoga, massage, and specific diets.
- Some of the most common conditions prompting complementary or alternative therapies are back, neck and joint pain, headaches, depression and anxiety, gastrointestinal and sleep problems.
- The most common reason selected for trying an alternative or complimentary therapy was that it would improve health in combination with a conventional medical therapy or treatment.
