Alternative medicine refers to the healing practices which according to how the modern western world defines it, do not use medical products and treatments that can be considered as standard care or conventional medicine. This includes acupuncture, yoga, meditation, traditional Chinese medicine, ayurveda, chiropractic, hypnosis, homeopathy, and diet- based therapies, among many others. Even though those referred to as alternative medicine have been around since ancient times and the discovery of what is called standard care and conventional medicine came thousand of years after, alternative medicine still has to be accepted as safe and useful.
Alternative medicine is now combined with complimentary medicine which refers to the treatments used in addition to conventional therapies prescribed by doctors such as massage. Complementary and alternative medicine or CAM is slowly being recognized by conventional doctors as a means to help patients with their treatments. Some medical schools have already included the study of nontraditional techniques in their curriculum. Once alternative therapies have proved effective, they are then combined with conventional care. This is called integrative medicine. This practice involves using conventional treatment with CAM such as eating food with omega-3 fatty acids to help keep the heart healthy other than taking the prescribed medicine.
Alternative medicine can be traced back thousands of years ago in Asian countries such as China and India. Alternative medicine which originated in India is called Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine. This has been practiced for thousands of years now and continuously aid patients to balance the harmony of mind, soul and body which are believed to heal different ailments. Similarly in China, traditional Chinese medicine has been used for more than 5,000 years based on the concept of balance from the Taoist philosophy and Chinese culture. Meanwhile, Europe and other western countries have also used their own version of alternative medicine called naturopathy, herbalism and hydrotherapy. In the United States, for example, herbalism is the widely used alternative medicine especially by Native American Indians and those who cultivated plants.
Complementary and alternative therapies are classified into five major groups:
Whole medical systems - include Traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda
Mind-body medicine - uses therapy in balancing the body, mind and spirit
Biological-based practices - used natural substances such as herbs, food, vitamins and other natural supplements
Manipulative and body-based practices - uses manipulations of body parts such as those done in chiropractic and massage therapies
Energy medicine - uses putative and verifiable energy fields called biofield and bioelectromagnetic-based therapies
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