What is evidence based CAM (complementary and alternative medicine)?
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) are outside of the realm of standard medical practices, that is they are not allopathic (based on disease symptoms primarily.) Western medicine has placed itself on a pedestal and decided that all other practices such as acupuncture, massage, chiropractic, osteopathy, naturopathy, homeopathy be called alternative practices if they are used in the place of western medicine. They are complementary if they are used in conjunction. Evidenced-based CAM, is a practice that has been proven to be effective for a certain disease condition, using scientifically sound double-blind trials that meet the criterium of being well designed within each field of study. Many trials have been done, but many have been found lacking due to the rigorous requirements of the testing.
