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Alternative Medicine

Alternative medicine uses therapeutic approaches not considered part of traditional medicine, including physical treatments and spiritual and mental approaches to healing. Alternative medicine is distinct from complementary medicine, which is used along with conventional medicine approaches. Complementary and alternative medicine, as defined by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), are a group of diverse medical and healthcare systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine.

Alternative medicine originated at least 6,000 years ago. Its most researched sources are traditional naturalistic Hindu medicine (also known as ayurvedic medicine), traditional Chinese medicine, and ancient Roman medicine. These therapies derive from strong beliefs in the healing power of nature. In traditional Hindu medicine, health is based on the balance of three fundamental body elements: breath (vayu or prana), bile (pitta), and phlegm (kapha or slesman) and the treatment of disease is based on restoring the equilibrium of these elements. Traditional Chinese medicine considers disease a result of dissonance between external and internal environments; treatments consist of herbal medicine, acupuncture, and massage. Therapeutic approaches of Chinese medicine are based on principles derived from Eastern philosophy and theories such as yin–yang, qi, and the five elements. Ancient Roman alternative medicine mainly used herbal remedies and marginalized the role of contemporary medicine and physicians.

Modern Alternative Medicine

Statistics show that significant percentages of the populations of developed countries use complementary and alternative medicine. In the United States, according to a 2004 National Institutes of Health survey, 36 percent of Americans used complementary and alternative medicine as a form of therapy (praying for health reasons was not included in these statistics). Women are more likely than men to use complementary and alternative medicine.

The trend toward using complementary and alternative medicine and natural compounds has significantly increased in past decades. An important reason for this trend is the belief that these therapies will have fewer side effects. Another important factor is a vision of health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease. In contrast to conventional medicine, which treats the body like a machine, alternative medicine emphasizes the importance of the balance of mental, physical, and spiritual aspects. Simplicity, availability, and lower prices compared to modern medications also contribute to the use of alternative medicine.

There is serious skepticism about the efficacy and safety of alternative medicine compared to conventional medicine. Many previous studies of it were poorly designed and had observer bias. Some skeptics of alternative medicine point to the placebo effect or relief of symptoms based on natural recovery from an illness. There are reports of death based on discontinuing conventional medicine in favor of alternative medicine.

Therapeutic Approaches

NCCAM classifies complementary and alternative medicine therapies into five categories: alternative medical systems, mind–body interventions, biologically based therapies, manipulative and body-based methods, and energy therapies.

Acupuncture originated in China more than 2,000 years ago and is one of the oldest and most commonly used medical procedures in the world. Acupuncture involves procedures that stimulate anatomical points on the body by using a variety of techniques. Penetrating the skin with fine needles is the most common technique. Acupuncture, in its original form, was based on beliefs about the circulation of a vital force or energy along specific pathways (meridians) in the human body. Disease is the inappropriate flow of this energy through the meridians. This inappropriateness can be in strength, quality, or direction of the energy. Acupuncture points are located along these channels and stimulation of them will change the flow of energy in the body. These acupuncture points are seen to correspond to anatomical structures such as peripheral nerve systems.

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