Although the terms "complementary medicine" and "alternative medicine" are often used interchangeably, it's important to distinguish between these two types of approaches to medical care.
Complementary medicine typically refers to non-mainstream therapies and practices used along with conventional medicine in the treatment of a specific condition or health issue. On the other hand, alternative medicine refers to non-mainstream therapies and practices used in place of conventional medicine.
Despite this distinction, it's rare for patients to forgo conventional medicine and pursue treatment with alternative medicine alone. Indeed, many treatments used by alternative medicine practitioners are used to complement traditional therapies. The majority of alternative medicine practitioners aim to develop a working relationship with a client's primary care physician, with the client's health as their shared goal.
Integrative Medicine
Integrative health care often brings conventional and complementary approaches together in a coordinated way. It emphasizes a holistic, patient-focused approach to health care and wellness and often includes mental, emotional, functional, spiritual, social, and community aspects with the goal of treating the whole person rather than, for example, one organ system.
Some Familiar Alternative and Complementary Health Options
Complementary and alternative medicine comes in a broad range of forms. Here's a look at five widely practiced types of complementary and alternative health care options.
1) Naturopathic Medicine
Naturopathic medicine is a holistic system of family healthcare that blends the wisdom natural therapies with conventional medical standards. Naturopathic physicians specialize in promoting health and wellness and in preventing disease.
2) Mind-Body Therapies
Mind-body practices are techniques designed to enhance the mind's positive impact on the body. These techniques practices include behavioral, psychological, social, expressive, and spiritual approaches.
Hypnosis is one type of mind-body therapy that uses specific techniques to allow a person to access the subconscious mind to change behaviors, patterns, and some physical sensations. Hypnosis has many applications, and is most commonly used to promote weight loss, reduce stress and anxiety symptoms, alleviate pain, and aid in smoking cessation.
Meditation is a mind-body therapy that can promote healthier blood pressure and sounder sleep. Meditation is a self-directed practice that allows for deep relaxation, and can benefit people struggling with chronic pain.
Yoga is often practiced as a form of exercise and a means of reducing stress. It's also used as a mind-body therapy to help manage conditions like anxiety, insomnia, migraines, and depression.
Other types of mind-body therapies include biofeedback, guided imagery, and music therapy.
3) Alternative Medical Systems
Many proponents of complementary and alternative medicine use therapies and healing practices from alternative medical systems, such as homeopathy and naturopathic medicine. Alternative medical systems also include traditional medical systems from other countries, such as Ayurveda, an alternative medicine that originated in India, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Within TCM are a number of therapies, including acupuncture, acupressure, and herbal medicine.
4) Manipulative and Body-Based Methods
This type of complementary and alternative medicine is based on manipulation and/or movement of one or more parts of the body. In some cases, manipulative and body-based methods involve participating in classes or individual sessions that are designed to change your movement habits. For example, the Alexander Technique involves relearning basic movements (such as standing and sitting) in order to reduce muscle tension, while the Feldenkrais Method involves creating new patterns of movement in order to improve physical function and overall well being.
Chiropractors use hands-on spinal manipulation and other alternative treatments to properly align the body’s musculoskeletal system. Proper alignment of the body's musculoskeletal structure, especially the spine, may enable the body to heal itself without surgery or medication.
A massage therapist is a trained and licensed professional that practices the manual, or hands-on, movement of soft body tissues to enhance a person’s well-being. Soft body tissues include muscle, connective tissue, tendons, and ligaments. People seek massage therapy for a variety of reasons—including to reduce stress and anxiety, relax muscles, rehabilitate injuries, reduce pain, and promote overall health and wellness.
Other types of manipulative and body-based methods used in complementary and alternative medicine focus on applying specific treatments to address health issues. These methods include reflexology, osteopathy, and rolfing.
5) Energy Therapies
Energy therapies are based on the idea that energy fields surround and penetrate the human body. Energy therapies aim to create a state of balance, health and peace in a person. An underlying theory to energy therapies involves energy blockages or imbalances that lead to illness and disease. Practitioners of energy therapies work to manipulate these biofields by applying pressure to or placing the hands in or through these energy fields. The most popular forms of energy therapy are music therapy, qigong, Therapeutic Touch and Reiki.
Why People Use Complementary and Alternative Health Options
People choose to use these treatment modalities because they find them beneficial. These treatment options often do not involve chemicals, which means no harmful side effects or interactions with other treatments.
There are many that feel that by empowering the mind and body, it can heal faster, be stronger, and more resistant to disease.
Studies on complementary and alternative treatments have proven them effective in treating back pain, depression, insomnia, headaches, migraines, and stomach illnesses. In some cases, complementary and alternative therapies are used to manage the side effects associated with conventional medical treatments. For example, acupuncture, hypnosis, and massage therapy can be helpful to people undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy in the treatment of cancer.
Learning More
Complementary and alternative treatments can be used in the treatment of almost any condition, and there are many options available. The professional who use these methods are happy to tell you more about the services they provide so that you can make an informed decision about which options are best for you.
You can meet some of these professionals and learn more about their services at Thrive UV. This Body, Mind, and Spirit Expo is the first of its kind in the Upper Valley, featuring some of the best complementary and alternative health and wellness providers in the area. Thrive UV will be at the Fireside Inn in West Lebanon, NH on Saturday, September 21st from 10 am until 3 pm. You can learn more at www.ThriveUV.com∎
Use this link to get a free 15 minute hypnosis audio for stress relief.
http://www.greenmountainhypnosis.com/StressFreeAudio.html
Karen Gray is a Certified Professional Hypnotist, a Certified Hypnosis Instructor, a Registered Nurse, and the Director of Green Mountain Hypnosis. For more information on how you can use hypnosis to change your life, contact Karen at karengray@greenmountainhypnosis.com, or (802) 566-0464.