by Connie Limon

Created on: February 24, 2007   Last Updated: April 20, 2007

An Overview of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

What is complementary and alternative medicine? Complementary and alternative medicine usually refers to practices that are not integrated into conventional medicine. Treatments in the category of complementary and alternative medicine are constantly changing. Treatments change when studies prove them to be effective or not.

Some of the treatments used in complementary and alternative medicine are:

Homeopathy
Ayurveda
Acupuncture
Herbs

Are the treatments safe and will they work? Educate yourself before starting any new complementary and alternative medicine treatment, and always tell your doctor which ones you are trying.

The two terms complementary and alternative are often grouped together; however, they are not necessarily the same thing.
An example of a complementary treatment would be something used along with the conventional therapies your doctor prescribes.

Alternative therapies are generally something used instead of conventional methods. An example of an alternative therapy or treatment might be seeing a homeopath or naturopath instead of your regular doctor.

Some complementary and alternative medicine practitioners use similar principles to what your conventional doctor might do. Others might be quite different. The basic philosophies of complementary and alternative medicine include:

Your body heals itself
Prevention is the most important element
Learning and healing go together. The complementary and alternative medicine practitioner sees himself or herself as a teacher and mentor to guide you. You are the one who does the healing.
There are five broad categories the National Institute of Health uses for classification of therapies used by complementary and alternative medicine practitioners, they are:
Healing Systems
Mind-Body Connections
Dietary Supplements and Herbs
Manipulation and Touch
Energy Therapies

Contrary to what you might think, most doctors are not opposed to complementary and alternative medicine. About half the doctors in the United States refer people to complementary and alternative practitioners.

On the dark side is that some alternative medicine practitioners make exaggerated claims about curing disease. They may ask you to forsake treatment from your conventional doctor to use their unproven treatments. It is true also that some forms of alternative medicine can even hurt you. It is wise to educate yourself before using treatments, and always discuss your plans to use alternative and/or conventional treatments with your personal physician. Your doctor most likely is the best source to help you sort out the good from the bad.

Source: Mayo clinic (2006)

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