For some, the term “alternative medicine” invokes visions of chanting witch doctors or quacks prescribing bizarre potions to relieve health problems. Others know that the loose descriptor is better defined as a diverse field of healthcare practices and products that offer an alternative or complimentary component to conventional medicine.
The U.S. government’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine exists to conduct scientific research on these options and to offer authoritative information on those findings to healthcare professionals and the public. NCCAM states that 38 percent of adults and 12 percent of children use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
Body-based practices such chiropractic manipulation and massage therapy are among the most widely used. With these, practitioners literally manipulate joints, muscles and other soft tissues. Low-back pain, which is a common yet difficult-to-treat condition, is the top reason patients seek relief through spinal manipulation, making the chiropractic industry worth an estimated $9 billion per year. Massage therapy involves multiple techniques and is used for a wide variety of health-related purposes, including pain relief, stress reduction and injury rehabilitation.
NCCAM classifies yoga, hypnotherapy and tai-chi as mind-body medicine practices, which focus on using the mind to affect physical functioning and health. The concept that the mind is an integral part of healing dates back more than 2,000 years to traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine practices.
Acupunture, procedures involving stimulation of anatomical points with needles, is a core part of ancient Chinese medicine which seeks to achieve an internal balance of the body’s yin and yang. A 2007 survey showed that 3.1 million Americans had tried acupuncture.
Movement and energy therapies, like light therapy as treatment for ADD/ADHD and sleep phase disorder, and therapies based on natural products are also included in NCCAM’s research. Use of organically-derived herbs, vitamins and minerals to promote health and address specific health problems is another long-standing practice that continues to gain popularity.
Echinacea is often prescribed by herbalists to treat urinary tract infections and boost the human immune system. Ginger is frequently used to alleviate arthritis pain and post-surgery nausea. Many specific organic products are connected to physical ailments and clinical trials continue to be conducted as to the effectiveness and safety of natural products’ use for health purposes.
As health insurance premiums and prescription costs increase, more and more Americans are asking about CAM services as an answer to their health problems and according to NCCAM, more doctors are considering these options in conjunction with conventional treatment.
Polls show that people with higher income and education levels are more apt to seek and utilize CAM, and more women use these services than men. Pain is the top reason people look into these unconventional methods, however, some therapies treat everything from high blood pressure to irritable bowel syndrome and many more chronic illnesses.
CAM practitioners are available here in Southern Maryland.
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