Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Everyone has a doctor in him or her; we just have to help it in its work. The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. Our food should be our medicine. Our medicine should be our food.
—Hippocrates
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Key Concepts Complementary medicine Alternative medicine Doshas Prakriti Yoga Qi Five elements Yin and yang Meridians Acupuncture Qigong Tai chi Naturopathy Hydrotherapy Reiki Meditation Mindfulness meditation Transcendental meditation
Learning Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
1. Identify the difference between complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices.
2. Understand the various types of CAM practices.
3. Discuss the potential benefits and risks of CAM practices.
4. Appreciate the cultural influences on CAM practices.
It is not entirely clear when humans began to develop modalities to deal with pain, injury, and disease. However, we know that these practices have been in existence for ages. The various practices to treat disease and injury have been passed down through the centuries from person to person and family member to family member. The practices have been influenced by observation and experimentation, as well as religious, social, and cultural practices. Over time, the various forms of these practices have taken on the unique characteristics of the people and cultures that utilize them.
These practices have been termed “ folk medicine” by the mainstream science-based medical professions. With the advent of the scientific approach to medicine, it might be assumed that the various traditional folk medicine practices would die out. However, that has not been the case. As new cultures immigrated to the United States, so did their traditional healing practices. Increased interest in these traditional practices has spurred research into their efficacy and recharacterized them as complementary and alternative medical practices.
Complementary medicine refers to using a non-mainstream approach together with conventional medicine. Alternative medicine refers to using a non-mainstream approach in place of conventional medicine. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a broad range of modalities outside the traditional Western medicine approach to care (see Box 4.1). Folk medicine, or the use of traditional remedies, is considered to be a form of complementary and alternative medicine. Folk remedies include, but are not limited to long-existing practices, such as Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and naturopathy, to name a few. The history and utilization of CAM, along with culturally based CAM modalities and related laws, are the focus of this chapter.
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