Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
CAM includes medical and healthcare systems, practices and products that are not currently considered part of conventional medicine.
Complementary medicine, however, is coupled with conventional medicine. An example of complementary therapy is using aromatherapy to lessen a patient's discomfort after surgery.
Alternative medicine is used instead of conventional medicine. An example of an alternative therapy is following a special diet to treat cancer instead of undergoing surgery, radiation or chemotherapy as recommended by a conventional doctor.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) groups CAM practices into four domains:
- Mind-body medicine, which uses a variety of techniques to enhance the mind’s ability to affect bodily function and symptoms, examples include meditation and art therapy
- Biologically based practices, which rely on substances found in nature, such as herbs, foods and vitamins
- Manipulative and body-based practices, which are based on movement of one or more parts of the body, examples include massage and chiropractic manipulation
- Energy medicine, which involves the use of energy fields, examples include Reiki and the unconventional use of electromagnetic fields
To learn more about complementary and alternative medicine, click to visit the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) website or click to visit the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Health Care (ACCAHC).
NCBTMB is a member of the Academic Consortium of Complementary and Alternative Health Care and a participant in its research task force. |
