Are you confused between the terms, “alternative medicine”, “complementary medicine”, and “integrative medicine”? Would you like to know what the difference is between these three terms? Below is a simplified definition and illustration of each of these terms for your benefit.

In order to understand alternative medicine, complementary medicine and integrative medicine you must first understand what constitutes alternative medicine and conventional medicine. Medical doctors or doctors of osteopathy and other allied health professionals such as physical therapists, registered nurses, and psychologists all practice conventional medicine. You may hear or read about other terms for conventional medicine including “Western medicine”, “mainstream medicine”, “orthodox medicine”, “regular medicine” or “allopathic medicine”.

Alternative medicine is what is used by those who are completely replacing conventional ways of dealing with symptoms and illness with the practices and procedures associated with healing through natural therapies and methods that have nothing to do with conventional medicine ways such as pharmaceutical drugs, and surgery. Conventional medicine tends to treat illnesses by the symptoms presented. In cubicle #5 is a broken arm, in cubicle #8 is a nosebleed, in #2 is preterm labor. The patient is defined by the presenting symptoms and the treatment is symptom-oriented. Drugs are prescribed to get rid of or mask the symptom without usually addressing the cause of the symptom. Alternative medicine focuses on the whole person, not the presenting symptom.

Alternative medicine has a 5000+-year history and is strongly rooted in ancient Chinese medicine and Indian (Ayuryedic medicine), as well as other cultures. There is a common belief no matter which culture we examine that says that the energy of the body is required to be in harmony with the mind and spirit to facilitate healing.

In order for alternative medicine healing to take place a practitioner or doctor merely identifies and then takes away obstacles that would prevent healing from taking place. During the course of the healing the individual is instructed on lifestyle changes, self-care and preventative measures that can be taken to facilitate healing of his/her body, mind and spirit.

In the art of healing using alternative medicine the body may be massaged, manipulated or relaxed and brought into harmony with the mind and spirit. Massage therapy, chiropractic care and reflexology are all methods and therapies that embody the beliefs revolving around the body healing itself.

Energy medicine is a part of alternative medicine and involves energy fields that are used to help the body parts heal that have become out of harmony. Examples of energy medicine are Tai Chi, Raiki, and therapeutic touch.

Complementary medicine is using the practices of alternative medicine in harmony with conventional medicine so that the patient receives the benefit of the healing powers of a particular practice of alternative medicine such as aromatherapy or acupuncture along with a procedure that is conventional medicine such as surgery.

Integrative medicine is a “complete approach to patient care” and those that practice it are focused on the whole patient including the body, mind and spirit of the individual presenting with an illness.

In the 1980s a non-profit International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine was founded that was responsible for giving credence to energy medicine.

Practices known as “variable energy medicine” include light therapy, and magnet therapy. If used together they are known as electromagnetic therapy.

Those practices that are considered to be “Putative Energy Fields” include acupuncture, homeopathy, therapeutic touch, Reiki, Qi, and qi gong, Johrei, healing touch and intercessory prayers.

It is a common belief in the practices of energy medicine that when there are imbalances in the body’s “energy field” the result will be illness. The goal is therefore to re-balance the body’s energy field so that health can occur.

Those practices that fit under the “veritable energies” do so because they can be measured. They involve very specific, measurable wavelengths, and frequencies that are used to treat patients.

Many uses have been found for measurable energy fiends in diagnosing, and treating diseases some of the uses you may be familiar with and include cardiac pacemakers, radiation therapy, laser keratoplasty, and ultraviolet light therapy for those suffering from psoriasis.

Other veritable energy practices that you may be less familiar with are millimeter wave therapy used to treat skin diseases and various types of cancer, as well as gastrointestinal and cardiovascular diseases and also psychiatric illnesses in Russia and parts of Eastern Europe; sound energy therapy which includes music therapy suggests that our body can heal or be supported by specific sound frequencies resonate with very specific organs within the body; light therapy is another practice that makes use of light in order to heal and includes the use of lasers, colors, and moochromatic lights, High-intensity light therapy is documented to be useful when seasonal affective disorder has been diagnosed.

Those practices that fit under the “Putative energies” are those which have yet to be measurable. Many people call the putative energies “biofields” are based on concepts such as “life force” and are given different names in the various cultures such as within the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), qi and ki refer to life forces and in Indian culture, Ayurvedic medicine prana, etheric energy, fohat, orgone, odic force, mana, and homeopathic resonance are all vital energies that flow from the maternal body and which cannot be measured but yet exist in the practice and has an effect on the physical body that can promote health.

It is possible for healthcare providers to use both conventional medical practices and complementary medicine and alternative medicine in the course of caring for patients. As approaches and therapies that are considered to be CAM are researched and found to be safe they are more and more incorporated into conventional medicine so the list of CAM approaches and therapies is constantly changing.

Together complementary medicine and alternative medicine make up CAM but separately they are different such as complementary medicine being used together with conventional medicine and alternative medicine being used in place of conventional medicine.

CAM can consist of whole medical systems such as homeopathic medicine and naturopathic medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda medicine. It can also include mind-body medicine such as meditation, prayer, cognitive-behavioral therapy, patient support groups, and music therapy. Biologically based practices are also a part of CAM and are products found in nature such as herbs, vitamins, dietary supplements, and herbal therapy products. Manipulative and body-based practices such as chiropractic care, or osteopathic manipulation, and also massage therapy.

Energy medicine is another group of therapies and practices most of which have not been scientifically proven but for which there is some evidence that they can have a positive effect on the health of the individual. Energy fields are the common ingredient and include biofield therapies and bioelectromagnetic – based therapies.

There is an organization that oversees scientific research on CAM, a U.S. Federal Governmental agency called NCCAM. This agency explores complementary and alternative healing practices and approaches and assesses the validity of claims, trains CAM researchers and gets out authoritative information to professionals and to the public.

Complementary and alternative therapies include acupuncture, herbal therapy, chiropractic care, dietary supplements, homeopathy, integrated medicine, and phytotherapy.

Individuals can seek out complementary or alternative medicines (CAM) on their own but it is best to always discuss alternative or complementary therapies and approaches with your primary healthcare professional as many products that are considered to be alternative or complementary such as dietary supplements or herbal remedies can have an adverse reaction when taken alongside conventional drugs. It is also possible that some CAM therapies and approaches may be counter indicated such as those with advanced stage of osteoporosis should not undergo chiropractic manipulations.

There are other things that alternative medicines have in common. All of these practices are not considered to be a part of conventional, traditional Western medicine. There are some basic belief’s that they all adhere to including that they are all focused on the ability of the body to heal itself, are natural methods that do not rely on prescription drugs, or surgery and do not require any of the traditional medical procedures to be applied in order to bring about healing of the body. Alternative medicine seeks to look for the underlying cause of a symptom or illness by exploring the whole person including the mind, body, emotions, and sprit in order to heal the entire person.

You may hear or read other terms that are used to describe alternative medicine that and are used interchangeably with the term, “alternative medicine”, they include: complementary medicine, holistic medicine, natural medicine, and integrative medicine and also complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). No matter which of these terms are used the therapies and methods they embody have the same purpose and that is to use healing powers instead of drugs or surgery when a client or patient comes to them with a medical complaint. The symptom that the client or patient presents with is merely a clue to how to what healing is needed. The symptom leads to the cause that needs to be addressed in order to heal the entire person not just make the symptom go away.

The practices that are considered to be alternative medicines have different philosophies, and approaches to healing. The practices are those that are generally not taught at typical medical schools. The practices that are included in “alternative medicine” are used alone or instead of conventional medicine. These practices can however complement conventional medicine when the alternative therapy or practice is used alongside of a conventional medicine or treatment.

Alternative medicine are those practices that are used instead of choosing to use conventional medical practices such as the use of drug therapy or surgery and conventional medicine is when those alternative practices are used in conjunction with a conventional medical practice such as when a person having surgery uses acupuncture to control the pain instead of drugs to anestisized the pain.

Did you know that some forms of alternative medicine have been proven to be effective as well as safe and that they are even accepted by conventional health care systems?

There are two ancient books that are the main texts on Ayurvedic medicine “Caraka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita”. In the texts there are eight branches of Ayurvedic medicine. The eight branches are Internal medicine, surgery, treatment of head and neck disease, toxicology, psychiatry, sexual vitality, the care of the elderly and rejuvenation and also gynecology, obstetrics, and pediatrics. Approximately 80% of those living in India practice Ayurvedic medicine exclusively or in combination with conventional medicine. Other places where Ayurvedic medicine is practiced is Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and also Pakistan.

Approximately 751,000 individuals living in the United States have at one time or another used Ayurvedic medicine, according to a 2002 survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM).

The concepts behind Ayurvedic medicine are that of universal interconnectedness between the body’s constitution or prakriti, and life forces, doshas. Those that practice Ayurvedic medicine believe that all things in the universe both living and nonliving are joined together and that every human being contains elements that can be found in the universe and that if body and mind are in harmony your health will be good and lastly that interacting with the universe is both natural and wholesome. When a person is out of harmony with the universe disease happens. The problem with your health can be emotional, physical or spiritual or a combination of any of those three.

Your body’s constitution (general health) is a unique combination of physical and psychological characteristics and is influenced by digestion and how the body handles the waste products. Life forces are controlled by the activities of the body. The balance of the life forces has a direct relationship to the diseases that affect your body, and mental state.

Age, unhealthy lifestyle, unhealthy diet, too much or too little mental or physical exertion, the seasons, and being inadequately protected from chemicals, germs, or the weather can cause imbalances.

When an individual chooses chiropractic care they are asking for healing to include the practice of spinal manipulation as well as joint and soft-tissue manipulation, exercises to do at home, health and lifestyle counseling and a general over-all return to good health from the inside out. Healing takes place when vertebral subluxation or spinal joint dysfunction interferes with the body’s normal ability to function and for self-healing.

Chiropractic care has over recent decades been more widely accepted by both mainstream physicians and by health care insurance plans. Those who practice Chiropractic care believe that when our vertebrae are not aligned properly it contributes to illnesses and to the experience of pain. Chiropractors apply appropriate pressure to vertebrae, which will then allow these vertebrae to put themselves back into place. They focus on diagnosing, treating and preventing mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Chiropractic care is popular in Australia, Canada and in the United States.

In general, chiropractic care includes the belief that health is a byproduct of the environment, along with the state of the musculoskeletal system of the individual’s body. There is a central belief that the body can heal itself and was designed to do so. Health should be patient-centered instead of focused on the problem, symptom or disease. The patient is to be held responsible for the maintenance of his/her own health.

In many jurisdictions those who are licensed to practice chiropractic medicine are known as doctors of chiropractic or chiropractic physicians.

Conventional health care and international governmental organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), view chiropractic care as a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). A chiropractor uses observational assessment, orthopedic and neurological evaluation and testing in order to evaluate the entire person’s health and to access if chiropractic care can assist the individual to realize improved health and well being. Chiropractors do not have a license to write medical prescriptions or to perform major surgery. Each state has their own licensing laws pertaining to chiropractors and what they can do legally varies from state to state in the U.S.A., but generally they can conduct spinal manipulation (SM), other manual therapies that involve joints or soft tissues, rehabilitative exercises, perform electrical modalities to promote health, conduct lifestyle counseling, conducting certain laboratory tests, dispense dietary supplements.

Chiropractors are also governed regarding educational pursuits, licensing, and regulation of their profession and must obtain a professional degree in the field of chiropractic. In the United States and Canada they are required to complete a minimum of 90 semester hours of undergraduate education as a prerequisite for chiropractic school. They are then required to complete at least 4200 instructional hours (or the equivalent) of full-time chiropractic education at an accredited chiropractic program. The World Health Organization (WHO) has guidelines that suggest that they have three major full-time educational paths culminating in a DC, DCM, BSc, or MSc degree. WHO also suggests that they have a conversion program for individuals with other health care education and limited training programs for regions where no legislation governs chiropractic practices.

Alternative medicine therapies and treatments basically treat the whole person not just the symptom or problem. Some of the therapies are supported by scientific evidence and have gained the trust of conventional physicians and insurance companies such as chiropractic care. The fact that someone is willing to really see everything about you, and to listen to you instead of just seeing a broken bone, or backache can be refreshing because so many patients are treated as if they cease to be a person when they enter the doctor’s office or a hospital and become instead a symptom, problem or illness. When consumers go to those who practice alternative medicine, they are treated more like a person and not a number, disease or symptom. This makes people feel good about where they are receiving health treatments.

People also seek out alternative medicine when they have already spent a long time and perhaps lots of money seeking help from conventional medicine only to still feels poorly or still have the same ailments. After years of suffering in a conventional medical system that has failed them, they turn to alternative medicine in hopes of being healed through natural philosophies and methods.

Those who are using conventional medicine to treat chronic or serious illness such as cancer may use alternative medicine in order to deal with side effects of medications or other treatments.

There may be others who decide to use alternative medicine when they are well because they wish to prevent future disease by making sure that they are in harmony with body, mind and spirit, which is what many alternative medicine practices, and therapies are all about.

Another attraction to alternative medicine is that there are so many different practices with the same basic belief that the body can heal itself that they can have many choices to fit the needs of family members such as choosing from biologically based practices that center on diet, nutrition and herbal therapies or the manipulative and body-based therapies such as massage therapy or chiropractor care and also the min-body interventions such as those that deal with the connection between the body, mind and spirit as seen in yoga and biofeedback. There are also the many energy therapies that are a part of alternative medicine such as Qi gong and Reiki.

Have you explored autogenic training, biofeedback, cognitive-behavioral therapies, hypnosis, meditation, Spirituality, relaxation, visual imagery, tai chi, qi gong, or yoga? What all these therapies and methods have in common is that they are all considered to be mind-body intervention strategies, and is complementary and alternative medicine. Approximately 17% of the adults in the U.S. have used mind-body medicine. Prayer, which is another intervention strategy, is used by 45% of the population for health reasons especially when faced with life or death situations dealing with illnesses.

Both traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine believe that healing begins with the blending of mind, body and spirit.

Beginning in the 1960s, mind-body interactions have been extensively researched for the evidence of the benefits of biofeedback, cognitive-behavioral interventions, and hypnosis having a physiological effect on those who practice them. There has been less research done on meditation and yoga. Much research has been done over the past 20 years regarding mind-body interactions and coronary artery disease. There have also been many uses for min-body interventions regarding the control of pain such as that of arthritis sufferers and those with headaches and low-back pain.

There has also been much evidence that emotions both negative and positive can have influence on susceptibility to infection. Individuals who state they have high levels of negative moods often report higher levels of stress as well and often suffer from severe illness as opposed to those who say they generally have positive moods usually have greater resistance to colds and other respiratory infections.

Using imaging or meditation is two of the most popular of mind-body interventions. Recent studies of imaging and meditation show that there is an increase in left-sided anterior brain activity associated with positive emotional states induced by those who use meditation or imagery to relax. Meditation has also been associated with positive emotional state, positive brain responses, and improved immune function.

Studies show that mind-body medicine can help with stress management, learning how to cope with negative situations and have positive impact on coronary artery disease and other situations like pain relief. Certain mind-body medicines such as hypnosis, imagery and relaxation, can improve recovery time and also reduce pain from surgical procedures.

There are both advantages and benefits to using mind-body approaches when dealing with physical or emotional medical situations. Mind-body methods can easily be taught increasing the usage and thus the positive effect on psychological functioning and quality of life of increasing numbers of society and is in particular helpful to those who are struck down with chronic illness.

Mind-body medicine will grow in usage as more individuals are exposed to the positive benefits experienced by others and as they try the different mind-body approaches them.

One type of alternative medicine is manipulative and body-based practices. The methods and treatments that fall under this category are Alexander technique, Bowen technique, Feldenkrais method, chiropractic, osteopathic manipulation, massage therapy, reflexology, rolfing, Trager bodywork, and Tui Na.

Those practices that fall into the manipulative and body-based methods deal primarily with structures of the body that include bones, joints and soft tissues as well as the circulatory system and the lymphatic systems. Practitioners include those who practice chiropractor, osteopathic manipulations, massage therapists and craniosacral therapists. Although all of these practices differ from each others they do have some common characteristics such as the idea that the human body is self-regulating and has the ability to heal itself and that all the parts of the human body are interdependent of each other. All of these practices also feel that what they do needs to be tailored to the individual patient.

A chiropractor is someone who restores normal condition to the body by adjusting the segments of the spinal column, is trained in the science, art and philosophy of adjusting the human body and is someone who is a doctor of chiropractic (D.C.) who is capable of diagnosing and treating a wide range of physical conditions including muscular, nervous, and skeletal issues but especially of the neck and spine.

Osteopathic medicine focuses on the total person and that there is an interrelationship between the body, good health and the ability to prevent illnesses and at the moment osteopathic medicine is the fastest growing medical field in the U.S. They use manipulation to treat various musculoskeletal disorders including low back pain, neck pain, injuries caused by playing sports, repetitive stress injuries, and headaches.

Massage therapy has the goal of improving the physical health as well as to relax and rejuvenate massage clients. There are over 80 different types of massages including Swedish massage, deep tissue massage, acupressure, reflexology, sports massage, and neuromuscular massage. The purpose of massage therapy is to use friction massage to treat painful ailments, decompress tired or overworked muscles, to reduce stress, to rehabilitate sports injuries, and to promote good health by manipulating soft tissue muscles and to improve circulation and also to help remove waste products from muscles.

CranioSacral Therapy uses a gentle touch to alleviate a range of neurological disorders, motor or sensory disorders. It enhances the body’s natural healing and can be effective for a wide range of medical issues that involve pain or loss of function in joints. CranioSacral therapy can be used alone or as a complementary technique with other methods or conventional medicine.

The manipulative and body-based practices are typically less expensive than conventional medicine and are generally considered to be more natural and non-invasive.

Alternative Medical Systems:

Theory and practice distinguishes what makes a medical system. Examples of alternative medical systems are acupuncture, ayurveda, homeopathy, Native American healing practices, naturopathic medicine, Tibetan medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine.

Acupuncture originated in China more than 5,000 years ago and is based on a belief that all living things have a vital energy, called “qi”. Acupuncture if a popular alternative therapy.

Ayurveda originated in India more than 5,000 years ago and has the purpose of restoring balance  to the doshas (vata, pitta, and kapha). When practiced the individual may be making dietary changes, meditating, using massage therapy, or purifying techniques, practicing breathing exercises, using herbal remedies, taking baths or exercising.

Homeopathy is a natural medicine that treats the whole person with natural medicines. It is good therapy for mood swings, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and also attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Native American healing are the practices and healing beliefs of hundreds of indigenous tribes of North America. Native American Healing is a combination of religion, spirituality, herbal medicine, and rituals. Sacred traditions in healing are passed from one healer to the next on through generations and are more about healing the person than curing a particular illness.

Naturopathic medicine is a comprehensive collection of healing options including acupuncture, counseling, diet, herbal medicine, homeopathy, and hydrotherapy. It is based upon six principles: the healing power of nature, educating the patient, “first do no harm”, treat the cause not the symptom, individualized treatment, and also “prevention if the best medicine”.

Mind-Body Interventions:

These are techniques that center on the belief that the mind has the capacity to affect what the body is doing and also the symptoms experienced by the body. Patient support groups, cognitive-behavioral therapy, art therapy and biofeedback are all considered to be mind-body interventions.

Biologically Based Therapies:

These are therapies that use substances found in nature herbs, foods and vitamins to heal.

Manipulative and Body-Based Methods:

These are the healing methods that use manipulation and/or movement of one or more body parts in order to heal the individual. Examples of manipulative and body-based methods are acupressure, Alexander Technique, chiropractor, Feldenkrais Method, Massage therapy, Osteopathy, Reflexology, Rolfing, Therapeutic Touch and Trager Approach.

Energy Therapies:

The energy therapies are those that use energy fields to manipulate biofields, apply pressure, and manipulate the body through hands-on applications such as Qi gong, Reiki, and Therapeutic Touch.

Bioelectromagnetic-based therapies are using electromagnetic fields such as alternating current or direct-current fields, magnetic fields, and also pulsed fields in order to heal.