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Alternative Medicine, Complementary Medicine, Difference between... holisticonline.com | Alternative Medicine, Complementary Medicine, Difference between... holistic-online.com |
Introduction | Topics | Selected Article | Selected Picture | Contemporary Use of CAM | Quotes| | Did you know? Complementary and Alternative Medicine Alternative medicine describes practices used in place of conventional medical treatments. Complementary medicine describes practices used in conjunction and cooperation with conventional medicine, while integrative medicine is viewed as the best of complementary medicine by its advocates. The list of therapies included under CAM changes over time. If and when an approach regarded as "unproven therapy" is proven to be safe and effective, it may be adopted into conventional health care and over time may cease to be considered "alternative". Definitions and descriptions"Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a broad domain of healing resources that encompasses all health systems, modalities, and practices and their accompanying theories and beliefs, other than those intrinsic to the politically dominant health system of a particular society or culture in a given historical period. CAM includes all such practices and ideas self-defined by their users as preventing or treating illness or promoting health and well-being. Boundaries within CAM and between the CAM domain and the domain of the dominant system are not always sharp or fixed." [1] The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine defines complementary and alternative medicine as "a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine". It also defines integrative medicine as "[combining] mainstream medical therapies and CAM therapies for which there is some high-quality scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness".[2] CAM has been described as comprising "a diverse group of treatments, ranging from symptomatic interventions to be used in conjunction with traditional therapies—therapeutic touch or meditation—to unique treatments meant to replace conventional chemotherapy or surgery. CAM includes complex and longstanding fields of study, such as acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine, and homoeopathy, but can also be as straightforward as taking a specific dietary supplement to lower blood pressure or blood lipid concentrations."[3] Ralph Snyderman and Andrew Weil state "integrative medicine is not synonymous with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). It has a far larger meaning and mission in that it calls for restoration of the focus of medicine on health and healing and emphasizes the centrality of the patient-physician relationship".[4] TopicsLooking for a specific topic in CAM?Any branch or form of complementary and alternative medicine can be classified into one of the following commonly used classification systems.
If you are looking for a biography or are not sure what you are looking for then you might prefer to browse the following annotated lists.
Selected ArticleTherapeutic Touch (TT) is described by proponents as "an energy modality which encourages healing". TT practitioners say that by placing their hands near the patient they can detect and manipulate the patient's energy fields, which allows them to assist the natural healing process. Dora Kunz and Dolores Krieger, Ph.D., R.N. developed Therapeutic Touch in the 1970s. Initially, nurses learned Therapeutic Touch and used it as part of patient care. More recently, lay people began learning this therapy because Kunz and Krieger realized all human beings have the potential to heal and help. Selected Picture Contemporary Use of CAMThe popularity of CAM therapies is extensive. A survey released in May 2004 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine focused on who used complementary and alternative medicine, what was used, and why it was used in the United States during 2002.
Quotes"Treatment originates outside you; healing comes from within." Andrew Weil, M.D, Health and Healing 1998 Selected BiographyPalmer was born in Pickering, near Toronto, Canada to Katherine McVay and Thomas Palmer.[5] At age twenty he moved to the United States with his family. Palmer held various jobs as a beekeeper, school teacher, and grocery store owner, and had an interest in the various health philosophies of his day, such as magnetic healing, osteopathy, and spiritualism. Palmer practiced magnetic healing beginning in the mid-1880s in Burlington and Davenport, Iowa. Palmer read medical journals of his time and followed developments throughout the world regarding anatomy and physiology. While working as a magnetic healer in Davenport, IA, he encountered a deaf janitor who he discovered had a palpable lump in his back. He theorized that the lump and his deafness were related. Did you know?The 10 most commonly used CAM therapies in the United States during 2002 when use of prayer is excluded. [Full Text pdf, table 1 on page 8]
WikiProjectsWikiProjects that may be of interest to you. Things to do
The WikiProject on Alternative Medicine and Portal A few good places to start would be:
CategoriesCategories are probably Wikipedia's most comprehensive classification system. The major sub-categories overlap each other. Alternative MedicineNCCAM classificationsAlternative medical systems
Biologically based therapies
Energy therapiesManipulative therapyMind-body interventionsOther CategoriesAlternative detoxificationConcepts in alternative medicineLife extensionNatural environment based therapiesOrthomolecular medicineOsteopathic medicinePeople in alternative medicine
Supernatural healingTraditional medicineVitalismWhole medical systemsRelated PortalsWikimedia |
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