Complementary

and
Alternative Medicine
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
(CAM)
• Introduction
• Definition of Terms
Traditional medicine
Allopathy
CAM
Ethnomedicine etc.
• Traditional Medicine Vs modern medicine
 What is Complementary and
Alternative Medicine
Medical and health care practices outside the realm of
conventional medicine, which are yet to be validated using
scientific methods
Complementary: together with conventional practices
 Aromatherapy to lessen a patient’s discomfort after
surgery
Alternative: in place of conventional practices
 Using garlic to lower blood pressure
 Use a special diet to treat cancer instead of surgery or
radiation
 Definition of terms
Health practices can broadly be categorized
into two:
Modern
(conventional, orthodox, Western orallopathic)
Traditional
(indigenous or folk medicines,complementary,
alternative or integrative)
 Traditional medicine (TM)
• TM
Also called indigenous medicine or folk
medicine
Describes medical knowledge systems, which
developed over centuries within various
societies before the era of modern medicine.
It is an amorphous concept that comprises
arrange of long-standing and still evolving
practices based on diverse beliefs and theories
 According to WHO, TM refers to
“health practices, approaches, knowledge and
beliefs incorporating plant, animal and mineral
based medicines, spiritual therapies, manual
techniques and exercises, applied singularly or in
combination to treat, diagnose and prevent
illnesses or maintain well-being
• It is “the sum total of all knowledge and
practices used in the prevention, diagnosis,
and elimination of physical, mental or social
imbalances and which relies exclusively on
practical experience and observation
handed down from generation to
generation, whether orally or in writing.
 TM include medicines, which are very well-
known also in Western countries, such as
herbal medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, Unan
medicine, acupuncture, traditional Chinese
medicine,
but also all other medical knowledge and
practices all over the globe, which have been
so far only orally transmitted.
• Various types of TM such as herbs, tree
or plant roots, fruits, insects and food
items are used for treatments of any illness
ranging from cancer, malaria, warts, and
sore throats to arthritis, impotence, high
blood pressure and infected wounds.
 Modern medicine (Allopathy)

• Allopath ( Greek root: allo- "different or

opposite“ and pathos- “suffering or disease".
– It is a system of medical practice which treats
disease by the use of remedies which produce
effects different from those produced by the
disease under treatment
– A system of medicine that embraces all
methods of proven value in the treatment of
disease.
– Conventional medicine, Western Medicine
• It was coined to differentiate homeopathic
practices from conventional medicine,
based on the types of treatments used.
• Practitioners of alternative medicine have
used the term "allopathic medicine" to
refer to the practice of conventional
medicine
• Is clearly defined, with minor regional
variations in its underlying philosophy and
clinical methods.
• In modern medicine, knowledge expansion
is achieved through scientific research,
which can involve global collaboration and
commitment.
 Integrative medicine
• Combines mainstream medical therapies
and CAM therapies for which there is some
high quality scientific evidence of safety
and effectiveness.
 Ethnomedicine
 Ethnomedicine is a sub-field of ethnobotany
or medical anthropology that deals with the
study of traditional medicines:
Not only those that have relevant written
sources (e.g. TCM, Ayurveda), but especially
those, whose knowledge and practices have been
orally transmitted over the centuries.
• While Ethnomedicine refers to the beliefs
concerning sickness and health,
Ethnopharmacology refers to the
medication itself (which can take a variety
of forms) (Drugs, Plants, Foods…)
• Ethnomedicine is any medical system linked
to a particular language group or community
of people, Folk medicine is a culturally-
specific way to treat physical, emotional-
psychological and spiritual afflictions.
“Folk” simply means “people
“Folk medicine,” then, refers to any of the
various remedies, behaviors, substances used in
the course of home-treatment of an ailment
 Classification of Ethnomedicine
• The personalistic systems where
supernatural causes ascribed to angry
deities, ghosts, ancestors and witches
predominate, and
• The naturalistic systems where illness is
explained in impersonal, systemic terms.
 Definitions
Complementary medicine is used together with conventional
medicine. An example of a complementary therapy is using
aromatherapy to help lessen a patient's discomfort following surgery.
– Medicine as practiced by holders of a medical doctor (M.D.) or doctor
of osteopathy (D.O.) degrees and by their allied health professionals
(physical therapists, psychologists, registered nurses, etc.)
Alternative medicine is used in place of conventional medicine.
– An example of an alternative therapy is using a special diet to treat
cancer instead of undergoing surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy that
has been recommended by a conventional doctor.
Integrative medicine, combines mainstream medical therapies and
CAM therapies for which there is some high-quality scientific
evidence of safety and effectiveness.
 CAM
 CAM can be defined as
 “a group of diverse medical and health care systems,
practices, and products that are not presently considered
to be part of conventional medicine”.
 While some scientific evidence exists regarding some
CAM therapies, for most there are key questions that
are yet to be answered through well-designed
scientific studies
 Questions such as whether these therapies are safe
and whether they work for the diseases or medical
conditions for which they are used.
• Complementary therapies are used in addition to
conventional treatment include supportive approaches
that treat symptoms and enhance well-being
– An example is using aromatherapy to help lessen a
patient's discomfort following surgery.
• Conversely, alternative therapies are frequently
promoted for use in place of mainstream treatment
– An example is using a special diet to treat cancer
instead of undergoing surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy
that has been recommended by a conventional doctor.
CAM is an umbrella of both.
 The terms “complementary medicine” and
“alternative medicine” are used
interchangeably with “traditional medicine” in
some countries.
– Eg. In industrialized countries, the term
"traditional medicine" is very often confused with
the term Complementary and alternative medicine.
 CAM often refers to traditional medicine that
is practiced in a country but is not part of
the country’s own traditions.
• TM is traditional because it is deeply rooted in a
specific socio-cultural context, which varies from
one community to another.

• Each community has its own particular approach

to health and disease even at the level of ethno
pathogenic perceptions of diseases and
therapeutic behavior.
 5 Major types of CAM
 Whole (Alternative) medical systems
are built upon complete systems of theory and practice.
Often, these systems have evolved apart from and earlier
than the conventional medical approach.
 Examples include:
 Those that have developed in Western cultures
• Homeopathic medicine (originated in Europe)
• Naturopathic medicine (originated in Europe)
 Those that have developed in non-Western cultures
• Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) (originated in China)
• Ayurveda (originated in India )
• Mind-body interventions
– uses a variety of techniques designed to enhance the
mind's capacity to affect bodily function and symptoms
Examples include meditation and prayer
• Biologically based treatments
– use substances found in nature, such as herbal products
and dietary supplements;
• Manipulative and body based methods
– Such as massage and chiropractic manipulation
• Energy therapies
– Such as Reiki and qi gong
 Alternative Medical Systems
Complete systems of medical theory and practice.
• Homeopathic Medicine -In homeopathic medicine, there is a
belief that "like cures like," meaning that small, highly
diluted quantities of medicinal substances are given to cure
symptoms, when the same substances given at higher or
more concentrated doses would actually cause those
symptoms.
• Naturopathic Medicine -Proposes that there is a healing power
in the body that establishes, maintains, and restores health.
Practitioners work with the patient with a goal of supporting
this power, through treatments such as nutrition and lifestyle
counseling, dietary supplements, medicinal plants, and exercise.
 Homeopathy
• “In the late 1700s, Samuel Hahnemann, a physician,
chemist, and linguist in Germany, proposed a new
approach to treating illness.”
– Treatments of the time were harsh, and wanted a less
threatening way to practice medicine.
– “Like cures like”
– Potentization and holism.
• “The World Health Organization noted in 1994 that
homeopathy had been integrated into the national health
care systems of numerous countries, including Germany,
the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Mexico.”
 Traditional Chinese Medicine –
• Based on a concept of balanced qi, or vital energy,
that is believed to flow throughout the body.
• Qi is proposed to regulate a person's spiritual, emotional,
mental, and physical balance and to be influenced by the
opposing forces of yin (negative energy) and yang (positive
energy).
• Disease is proposed to result from the flow of qi
being disrupted and yin and yang becoming imbalanced.
• Among the components of TCM are herbal and
nutritional therapy, restorative physical exercises,
meditation, acupuncture and remedial massage.
 Ayurvedic Medicine –
• Has been practiced primarily in the Indian
subcontinent for 5,000 years.
• Ayurveda includes diet and herbal remedies
and emphasizes the use of body, mind, and
spirit in disease prevention and treatment.
 Mind/Body Therapy
• Techniques designed to enhance the mind's
capacity to affect bodily function and symptoms.
– Meditation
– Prayer
– Mental Healing
– Art, Music and Dance Therapy
• Some techniques that were considered CAM in
the past have become mainstream (for example,
patient support groups and cognitivebehavioural
therapy).
 Biologically Based Therapies
• Using substances found in nature, such as
herbs, foods, and vitamins.
• Herbalism, Nutritional Counseling and Folk
Medicine
• Includes: botanicals, animal derived extracts,
vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids,
proteins, whole diets, and functional foods
• Dietary supplements are a subset of
biologically based practices
 Aromatherapy
• “involves the use of essential oils (extracts
or essences) from flowers, herbs, and trees
to promote health and well-being.”
Manipulative and Body Based Therapies
• Chiropractic Medicine –
– Focuses on the relationship between bodily structure
(primarily that of the spine) and function, and how
that relationship affects the preservation and
restoration of health.
– Chiropractors use manipulative therapy as an integral
treatment tool.
• Massage Therapy –
– Manipulate muscle and connective tissue to enhance
function of those
– tissues and promote relaxation and wellbeing.
Osteopathic Medicine –
– Emphasizes diseases arising in the musculoskeletal
system.
– There is an underlying belief that all of the body‘s
systems work together, and disturbances in one
system may affect function elsewhere in the body.
– Osteopathic physicians practice osteopathic
manipulation, a full-body system of hands-on
techniques to alleviate pain, restore function, and
promote health and wellbeing
 Energy Therapies
• Biofield Theories - affect energy fields that
purportedly surround and penetrate the human body
– Therapeutic Touch
– Healing Touch
– Reiki
– Quantum Healing
– Qi-Gong
• Bioelectromagnetic Theories unconventional use of
electromagnetic fields.
– Magnetic Healing
– Radionics