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Complimentary And Alternative Medicine Article
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The Benefits of Complementary and Alternative Medicine
from:By now, you have probably heard of complementary and alternative medicine, as it is one of the fastest growing segments of the medical profession. Why is it so popular? A good guess would be that people are growing disenchanted with allopathic doctors and their prescription pads. Side effects of prescription medications have grown to massive proportions, and it is said that the cure is sometimes worse than the illness as far as side effects are concerned. People are ready for a natural, whole-body method of treatment, one that treats them like the human being they are instead of a number or a machine. Complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM for short, is all of this and more.
Basically, complimentary and alternative medicine is any type of medical treatment, practice, or goods that are in no way related to conventional medicine, although some conventional doctors who went to college and medical school for MD degrees also practice complimentary and alternative medicine. Confused yet? The explanation is simple –
• Complementary medicine is used along with conventional medicine – i.e., it compliments conventional medicine. An example of this could be a patient receiving massage therapy (complementary) after treatment for a sprained shoulder. (conventional)
• Alternative medicine is used instead of conventional medicine. An example of this is a patient with Stage 2 lung cancer who stops all chemotherapy overseen by an oncologist (conventional) and instead begins a treatment regimen with herbs and plant matter. (alternative)
You may decide that you are interested in using complementary and alternative medicine. First of all, you should do some research for the type of medical problem you will be visiting the doctor for. Find out if there have been any studies or research done on your illness where complementary and alternative medicine played a role in the diagnoses and treatment. This will give you some advice and some ammunition with which to proceed. Then, have a talk with your current doctor. Tell him what you are thinking of doing, and find out what he thinks. He may surprise you and be all for you making the change, or he may be totally against it and advise you grimly that you will be taking your health into your own hands.
That’s exactly what you want to do! When you choose complementary and alternative medicine, you are making your own heath care decisions, possibly for the first time. That’s quite a heady feeling, but it can be a scary one, too. That is why you must be sure to carefully consider your options. Find a complementary and alternative medicine doctor you feel you can trust, and interview him. Ask questions, and offer information about your health history and any prescription drugs you may be taking. Listen to what the CAM doctor has to say, and then go home and sleep on your decision. You may want to repeat the above with more than one CAM doctor.
Whatever your decision, here’s to your health!
Complimentary And Alternative Medicine News
Growing Body Of Research Shows Massage Therapy Effective For Prevalent Health ... - MarketWatch (press release)
Growing Body Of Research Shows Massage Therapy Effective For Prevalent Health ... MarketWatch (press release) Research(1) supported by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine shows 60-minute sessions of Swedish massage once a week for those with osteoarthritis of the knee significantly reduced their pain. This study, which involved a ... |
The case against funding studies on alternative medical therapies - Los Angeles Times
 Mother Nature Network | The case against funding studies on alternative medical therapies Los Angeles Times In an essay to be published in Wednesday's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Assn., Offit questions the way the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine doles out its $130-million annual budget. Studies of alternative medicine not worth the money, prominent researcher says Studying Complementary and Alternative Therapies Witchcraft, black magic, and alchemy — brought to you by the NIH and Congress |
NIH selects 11 Centers of Excellence in Pain Education - National Institutes of Health (press release)
NIH selects 11 Centers of Excellence in Pain Education National Institutes of Health (press release) ... which is coordinating the project; the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine; the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research; ... |
More Americans using acupuncture for common ailments - Fox News
More Americans using acupuncture for common ailments Fox News A new survey demonstrates increasing acceptance and utilization of acupuncture for treatment and health promotion. The analysis was published in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine and looked at utilization rates, ... Complementary care meets western medicine |
Dr. Oz at times wanders off the mainstream medical path - Los Angeles Times
Dr. Oz at times wanders off the mainstream medical path Los Angeles Times According to the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, there's no good evidence that reiki provides any health benefits or cures any illness. •Grape seed extract. Dr. Oz says the extract can help people lose weight. |