alternative medicine - definition, concepts, overview

Defining alternative and complementary medicine (CAM) is very difficult, with some practitioners refusing to accept there is anything alternative about such therapies in the first place. For some, it is simply medicine that has not been proven to the clinical standards of modern western medicine. For others, it consists of undervalued therapies that have been used successfully for millennia.

A widely accepted definition is : "A broad domain of healing resources that encompass all health systems, modalities and practices, and their accompanying theories and beliefs, other than those intrinsic to the politically dominant health system of a particular society or culture in a given historical period. It includes all such products and ideas self defined by their users as preventing or treating illness or promoting health and well-being."

A definition adopted by Cochrane Collaboration :
"Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a broad domain of healing resources that encompasses all health systems, modalities, and practices and their accompanying theories and beliefs, other than those intrinsic to the politically dominant health system of a particular society or culture in a given historical period. CAM includes all such practices and ideas self-defined by their users as preventing or treating illness or promoting health and well-being. Boundaries within CAM and between the CAM domain and that of the dominant system are not always sharp or fixed."

Many complementary practitioners have a holistic approach, that means a multifactorial and multilevel view of human illness. Disease is thought to result from disturbances at a combination of physical, psychological, social, and spiritual levels. The body's capacity for self repair, given appropriate conditions, is emphasised. An example of a holistic approach can be seen in Rudolph Steiner's anthroposophy . Each individual is unique. Scientific, artistic, and spiritual insights may need to be applied together to restore health. Life has meaning and purposethe loss of this sense may lead to a deterioration in health. Illness may provide opportunities for positive change and a new balance in our lives.

According to most complementary practitioners, the purpose of therapeutic intervention is to restore balance and facilitate the body's own healing responses rather than to target individual disease processes or stop troublesome symptoms. They may therefore prescribe a package of care, which could include modification of lifestyle, dietary change, and exercise as well as a specific treatment. Thus, a medical herbalist may give counselling, an exercise regimen, guidance on breathing and relaxation, dietary advice, and a herbal prescription.

Further reading

Benor D. Healing research. Vols 1-4. Deddington: Helix Editions, 1992 // Brown C. Optimum healing. London: Rider, 1998 // Ernst E. Complementary medicine: a critical appraisal. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1996
// Lewith G, Kenyon J, Lewis P. Complementary medicine: an integrated approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996 (Oxford General Practice Series) // Rampes H, Sharples F, Maragh S, Fisher P. Introducing complementary medicine into the medical curriculum. J R Soc Med 1997; 90: 19-22[Abstract]. // Morgan D, Glanville H, Mars S, Nathanson V. Education and training in complementary and alternative medicine: a postal survey of UK universities, medical schools and faculties of nurse education. Complementary Ther Med 1998; 6: 64-70. // Vickers AJ, ed. Examining complementary medicine. Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes, 1998 // Vincent C, Furnham A. Complementary medicine: a research perspective. London: Wiley, 1997 // Woodham A, Peters D. An encyclopaedia of complementary medicine. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1997 // Catherine Zollman, Andrew Vickers.What is complementary medicine? Clinical review,ABC of complementary medicine, BMJ 1999;319:693-696