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In Western culture, alternative "medicine" is any healing practice "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine", or "that which has not been shown consistently to be effective." It is often opposed to evidence based medicine and encompasses therapies with an historical or cultural, rather than a scientific, basis. The American National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) cites examples including naturopathy, chiropractic medicine, herbalism, traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, meditation, yoga, biofeedback, hypnosis, homeopathy, acupuncture, and nutritional-based therapies, in addition to a range of other practices. It is frequently grouped with complementary medicine, which generally refers to the same interventions when used in conjunction with mainstream techniques, under the umbrella term complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM. Some researchers in alternative medicine oppose this grouping, preferring to emphasize differences of approach, but nevertheless use the term CAM, which has become standard. "Although heterogeneous, the major CAM systems have many common characteristics, including a focus on individualizing treatments, treating the whole person, promoting self-care and self-healing, and recognizing the spiritual nature of each individual. In addition, many CAM systems have characteristics commonly found in mainstream health care, such as a focus on good nutrition and preventive practices. Unlike mainstream medicine, CAM often lacks or has only limited experimental and clinical study; however, scientific investigation of CAM is beginning to address this knowledge gap. Thus, boundaries between CAM and mainstream medicine, as well as among different CAM systems, are often blurred and are constantly changing." Alternative medicine practices are as diverse in their foundations as in their methodologies. Practices may incorporate or base themselves on traditional medicine, folk knowledge, spiritual beliefs, or newly conceived approaches to healing. Jurisdictions where alternative medical practices are sufficiently widespread may license and regulate them. The claims made by alternative medicine practitioners are generally not accepted by the medical community because evidence-based assessment of safety and efficacy is either not available or has not been performed for these practices. If scientific investigation establishes the safety and effectiveness of an alternative medical practice, it then becomes mainstream medicine and is no longer "alternative", and may therefore become widely adopted by conventional practitioners. Because alternative techniques tend to lack evidence, or may even have repeatedly failed to work in tests, some have advocated defining it as non-evidence based medicine, or not medicine at all. Some researchers state that the evidence-based approach to defining CAM is problematic because some CAM is tested, and research suggests that many mainstream medical techniques lack solid evidence. A 1998 systematic review of studies assessing its prevalence in 13 countries concluded that about 31% of cancer patients use some form of complementary and alternative medicine. Alternative medicine varies from country to country. Edzard Ernst says that in Austria and Germany CAM is mainly in the hands of physicians, while some estimates suggest that at least half of American alternative practitioners are physicians. In Germany, herbs are tightly regulated, with half prescribed by doctors and covered by health insurance based on their Commission E legislation. From Wikipedia under the
GNU Free Documentation License What are good alternative medicine websites? Q. I'm just now getting interested in alternative medicine forms, but I really know nothing at all. What are some websites that are reputable (no bogus info or spamming) that contain lists of ailments and how to alleve them? Thanks! Asked by ck - Thu Sep 6 09:25:11 2007 - - 9 Answers - 0 Comments A. Here is a list of some herbs and their healing properties: Or if you want to look up a specific property such as antibiotic and find examples of antibiotic herbs this website is quite useful: Or on the same website you can search for herbs alphabetically: Herbs: medicinal uses and herb pictures: The Rain-Tree website is a great one for rain forest herbs. It has an extensive database and each herb is well researched with links and covers more of the science if you are interested : For articles on Alternative Medicine: For short articles on basic ailments: For articles on any topic of interest, search this database: If you want real science abstracts: Real science abstracts specifically relating to Complementary/Alter [cont.] Answered by zene purrs - Fri Sep 7 04:11:51 2007 Alternative Medicine: What can I do to heal a broken heart? Q. Fo all those experienced with Alternative Medicine or anything related: what can I do to heal my broken heart. It has been months since my ex dumped me and I still think about him everyday. I want to move on with my life but I can't get happy. Please help! Asked by x - Mon Sep 22 14:06:22 2008 - - 3 Answers - 1 Comments A. Talk to your doctor about cardiomyopathy. Answered by Leonardo D - Mon Sep 22 17:56:58 2008 Why is it that when physical therapists use unproven methods it is not called alternative medicine?
Q. I mean the physical therapy department at the hospital uses therapeutic ultrasound and electrical stimulation regularly and they are not called alternative medicine but there is not proff documented that they really work. So what makes them not alternative medicine if they are not scientifically proven? Asked by The Professor - Sat Apr 26 19:48:38 2008 - - 4 Answers - 1 Comments A. ...I question why we use it at all. You are correct...not only are they not proven, but for the most part they've been UNproven. PTs that are on the cutting edge of evidence based practice realize this. ...there is a good body of evidence for exercise, mechanical classification, directional preference exercise etc. These are the things on which we need to continue to focus. Its things like ultrasound, electrical stim, massage, myofascial release, craniosacral therapy, strain counterstrain, and kinesiotaping which are giving the profession a bad name. I suggest that insurance companies stop paying for them until it's proven otherwise. ...I agree with you 100% ...but let's call them what they really are: The placebo effect Answered by mistify - Sun Apr 27 19:08:18 2008 From Yahoo Answer Search: "Alternative medicine"
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