What are complementary and alternative therapies?
Complementary and alternative therapies are a group of diverse medical and healthcare systems, practices and products that are used to diagnose, treat and/ or prevent illness, although the effectiveness and exact mechanism of such treatments may not have been scientifically proven. Complementary therapies are taken in conjunction with conventional treatments, while alternative therapies are used instead of conventional treatments. They include: • Nutritional and dietary approaches: supplements, Gerson diet, macrobiotic diet, coenzyme Q10, omega-3 fish oils, sharks cartilage, biological products; • Herbal supplements: ginseng, black cohosh, red clover • Mind-body therapies: imagery, psychotherapy, meditation, spiritual healing, prayer, hypnosis; • Manipulative & body based therapies: acupuncture, massage, reflexology; chiropractic; • Traditional whole medicine systems: naturopathy, homeopathy, ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine; and • Energy Medicine: reiki, therapeutic touch, qi qo
Complementary and alternative therapies are therapies that are not taught by western medicine. They are not generally available in hospitals. They are also known as complementary or alternative medicine, CAM, integrative medicine or health, holistic or wholistic health care or non-traditional treatments. A simple way to understand each approach is: • Complementary describes treatments that are used with conventional medical treatment. An example of a complementary therapy is massage. • Alternative therapies are described as those used instead of conventional medical treatment. An example of an alternative therapy is homeopathy. • Integrative health is a blend of the best practices from conventional, complementary and alternative therapies. Complementary and alternative (CAM) therapies look at a person’s health from a holistic view of mind, body and spirit. Western medicine often focuses only on the body and seeks to cure physical problems. Complementary and alternative therapists belie
‘Complementary and alternative medicine’ is the name given to a broad group of health-related therapies and disciplines which are not considered to be part of mainstream medical care. They exist largely outside the institutions in which conventional healthcare is taught and provided. These medicines may be used in a ‘complementary’ or ‘alternative’ manner. In other words, they may be used alongside conventional healthcare and accepted as ‘complementing’ it, or they may be provided as an ‘alternative’ to conventional healthcare. The majority of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) follow the complementary approach and use these therapies in combination with conventional medicine. Other terms used to describe complementary and alternative medicines include ‘holistic’ or ‘natural’ medicine. The term ‘natural’ can be misleading. Many complementary and alternative medicines are processed and are as ‘unnatural’ as any other drugs, and about 25 per cent of medicines produced by the pharmaceuti
