Alternative Medicine Is Any Medicine

Alternative medicine is any medicine that is contrary to evidence-based medicine usually initiating from a historical or cultural, rather than evidence-based or scientific, background. Examples include Reiki, yoga, meditation, naturopathy, chiropractice, Ayurveda, acupuncture, biofeedback, hypnosis, homeopathy, nutritional-based practices and many other healing methods, some more controversial than others. Complementary medicine (CAM) refers to the integration of one or more approaches of alternative therapy with conventional medicine.

Integrative medicine (IM), the goal being to treat mind, body, and person concurrently, focuses on treating the person not the disease and uses alternative medicine to do so. It is synonymous to CAM, but, perhaps, exceeds that by referring to the healthcare system as a whole and ensures that the approaches used are safe and effective.

Whilst CAM and IM may differ from conventional medicine in being holistic, individual centered and focusing on a spiritual approach often lacking evidence background, they are increasingly starting to adopt the conventional scientific method of testing their approach, aside from which conventional medicine (otherwise called allopathic or orthodox) is part of their structure. The philosophy of CAM is preventative and holistic in that it aims to address all components of the person: emotional, physical, and mental.

In this way, it is different to conventional Western medicine that focuses on healing (rather than preventing) and is purely physically oriented. CAM therapies may be categorized into five major fields: mind-body interventions, movement therapies, manipulative and body-based methods, biologically based approaches, and energy therapies. Biologically-based medicine would include what the NIH refers to as its natural approach where a variety of herbal products (also called "botanical"), vitamins, minerals, and "natural products" are supplemented to one's nutrition in order to boost health.

CAM "natural products" also include a focus on probiotics (live microorganisms) found, for instance, in yogurt, echinacea, and fish oil / Omega 3. Mind-body interventions maintains that mind and body are intricately linked in affecting physical functioning. CAM, therefore, often uses mind to heal the body.

Some of the approaches reflecting this are: meditation (which via focused mental attention increases calmness), yoga (which via specific poses and mindfulness decreases stress and promotes relaxation), and acupuncture (that stimulates specific points on the body such as with needles; these areas are then electrically stimulated or massaged by hand). Other mind body modalities include deep breathing, visualization, guided imagery, hypnotherapy, tai chi, and qi gong.

Manipulative and body-based practices involve manipulating the structures and systems of the body such as the bones and joints, soft tissues, and circulatory and lymphatic systems. Two common therapies within this category are message therapy and spinal manipulation. The former involves massaging muscles and other soft tissues of the body. Its purpose includes to relive pain and stress and to enhance general well being of the person.

The latter, performed by chiropractors, some conventional medical doctors, and other health care professionals involves applying force to a joint of the spine and moving it beyond its normal range of motion. This serve to alleviate back pain. Movement therapies, another CAM category, are movement-based approaches intended to promote holistic well-being. Examples include the Feldenkrais method, Pilates, Alexander technique, Rolfing Structural Integration, and Trager psychophysical integration.

Manipulation of energy fields is also practiced by some CAM practitioners where it is thought that humans are infused with electromagnetic fields and that manipulating these streams of energy will promote healing. Examples include Qi gong, Reiki, and healing touch. Finally, whole medical systems, another category of CAM, include Ayurveda medicine and traditional Chinese medicine with, more recently, homeopathy and naturopathy. Three different CAM treatments from alternative therapy, complementary therapy, and integrative therapy are yoga, message therapy, and attention to nutrition.

Each is alternative in that it initiates from cultural / traditional background (generally Asian), rather than stemming from scientific origin (generally Western). Each is complementary since it is often used in conjunction with conventional medicine, either as preventative (e.g. yogurt, or certain herbs, to promote nutritional healing) and/or to mitigate stress (as, per instance, with certain botanicals or minerals). Finally, all three are integrative in that each is safe and effective (nutrition, that is, with conditions) and holistically oriented.

Scientific evidence for message therapy is incomplete and contradictory, mostly because of the seeming impossibility of using a placebo instead of message and of this study being double blind. However, message does appear to benefit lower-back pain, although benefits are temporal.