| Complementary and Alternative Medicine or CAM | | | | hands-on treatments to help enable the body's |
| are diagnostic or therapeutic techniques that | | | | own innate powers to do the healing, |
| are outside the mainstream of Western | | | | alternative medicine requires the patient to |
| medicine. Alternative medicine is used in | | | | take a highly active part in healing their |
| place of conventional medicine while | | | | own body including prevention and treatment. |
| complementary medicine is used along with | | | | Complementary Medicine is sometimes used by |
| conventional medicine though some of the | | | | "conventional" medical practitioners as an |
| treatments methods are the same. Although | | | | add on to "conventional" medical treatments |
| most people utilize mainstream medicine for | | | | such as drugs and surgery. Complementary |
| diagnosis and basic information, many are now | | | | therapies are used to improve wellness, |
| turning to alternatives for what they believe | | | | prevent disease or treat health problems but |
| to be total body health-enhancing measures. | | | | the most popular and prevalent use remains |
| CAM is very popular with people who are | | | | pain control. Included in complementary |
| terminally ill and has also been used on | | | | medicine are a large number of practices and |
| animals. There have also been sufficient | | | | systems of health care like acupuncture, |
| instances of "inexplicable" extension of life | | | | homeopathy, aromatherapy, osteopathy, |
| and other significant health benefits for | | | | reflexology and chiropractic that for many |
| people who have pursued these options that | | | | reasons have not been fully adopted by |
| the Western health systems are now seriously | | | | mainstream medicine. Complementary medicine |
| starting to further assess these systems. | | | | also includes dietary and nutritional |
| Alternative medicine is a fairly broad term | | | | therapies such as macrobiotics, |
| which covers many different methods of | | | | vegetarianism, and orthomolecular medicine. |
| treatment such as acupuncture, homeopathy, | | | | Although CAM is starting to gain popularity |
| Chinese herbal medicine, Ayurvedic and more. | | | | in the West, most clinical research by the |
| Therapies such as biofeedback, massage, and | | | | health care industry continues to focus on |
| exercise are also considered alternative | | | | the success of each single modality or |
| medicine. Alternative medicine includes | | | | therapy within these systems. This is |
| various systems of healing or treating | | | | unfortunate as CAM is generally based on the |
| disease such as chiropractic, homeopathy, and | | | | belief that you need to, simultaneously, |
| faith healing. Alternative medicine is a | | | | treat the whole person - body, mind, and |
| comprehensive approach to healing that uses | | | | spirit - which can include the use of many |
| natural methods to bring physical, mental, | | | | therapies at the same time. |
| emotional, and spiritual harmony. Alternative | | | | |
| medicine systems believe body has a network | | | | Ann is a home based business entrepreneur who |
| of channels (meridians) that carry a subtle | | | | researches popular topics and reviews many |
| form of life energy. Since it uses a holistic | | | | internet products. |
| approach and time-tested, natural remedies, | | | | |