Alternative medicine broadly describes methods and practices used in place of, or in addition to, conventional medical treatments. The precise scope of alternative medicine is a matter of some debate and depends to a great extent on the definition of "conventional medicine." The debate on alternative medicine is complicated further by the diversity of treatments that are categorized as "alternative." These include practices that incorporate spiritual, metaphysical, or religious underpinnings; non-European medical traditions; newly develop ...

Including:

• Alternative medicine - Definitions
• Alternative medicine - A misleading term?
• Alternative medicine - Complementary and alternative medicine
• Alternative medicine - Regulation
• Alternative medicine - Contemporary use of alternative medicine
• Alternative medicine - Medical education
• Alternative medicine - Support for alternative medicine
• Alternative medicine - Efficacy
• Alternative medicine - Danger reduced when used as a complement to conventional medicine
• Alternative medicine - Criticism of alternative medicine
• Alternative medicine - Efficacy
• Alternative medicine - Safety

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See also:

Alternative medicine, Alternative medicine - Complementary and alternative medicine, Alternative medicine - Regulation, Alternative medicine - Contemporary use of alternative medicine, Alternative medicine - Medical education, Alternative medicine - Support for alternative medicine, Alternative medicine - Efficacy, Alternative medicine - Danger reduced when used as a complement to conventional medicine, Alternative medicine - Criticism of alternative medicine, Alternative medicine - Efficacy, Alternative medicine - Safety

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Edzard Ernst wrote in the Medical Journal of Australia that "about half the general population in developed countries use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)" (Ernst 2003). A survey (Barnes et al 2004) released in May 2004 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health in the United States, found that in 2002, 36% of Americans used some form of alternative therapy in the past 12 months — a category that included yoga, meditation, herbal treatments and the Atkins ...

See also:

Alternative medicine, Alternative medicine - Complementary and alternative medicine, Alternative medicine - Regulation, Alternative medicine - Contemporary use of alternative medicine, Alternative medicine - Medical education, Alternative medicine - Support for alternative medicine, Alternative medicine - Efficacy, Alternative medicine - Danger reduced when used as a complement to conventional medicine, Alternative medicine - Criticism of alternative medicine, Alternative medicine - Efficacy, Alternative medicine - Safety

Read more here: » Alternative medicine: Encyclopedia II - Alternative medicine - Contemporary use of alternative medicine

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM is a common abbreviation in the USA) is a diverse set of medical and health care systems, practices, and products encompassing both complementary medicine and alternative medicine. It is presently not considered to be part of conventional medicine [1]. Alternative medicine is a broad term for any diagnostic method, method of treatment or therapy, and products whose theo ...

Including:

• Complementary and alternative medicine - Contemporary use of alternative medicine
• Complementary and alternative medicine - The top ten CAM therapies

Read more here: » Complementary and alternative medicine: Encyclopedia - Complementary and alternative medicine

Yoga when used as a form of alternative medicine is a combination of breathing exercises, physical postures, and meditation, practiced for over 5,000 years. Template:CamMenu In India, yoga is a daily part of life. It is common to see people performing yoga in the morning or speaking about food diets and body therapy entirely based on Yoga or the Hindu healing system of Ayurveda. A survey released in May 2004 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine focused on who used complementary ...

Including:

• Yoga alternative medicine - Overview
• Yoga alternative medicine - Hatha yoga

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Medicine is the branch of health science concerned with maintaining human health or restoring it through the treatment of disease and injury. It is both an area of knowledge – a science of body systems, their diseases and treatment – and the applied practice of that knowledge. The practice of medical care is shared between the medical profession (physicians or doctors) and other groups of professionals such as nurses and pharmacists (sometimes known as allied health professionals). Historically, only th ...

Including:

• Medicine - History of medicine
• Medicine - Practice of medicine
• Medicine - Healthcare delivery systems
• Medicine - Patient-doctor relationship
• Medicine - Clinical skills
• Medicine - Settings where medical care is delivered
• Medicine - Branches of medicine
• Medicine - Basic sciences
• Medicine - Diagnostic specialties
• Medicine - Clinical disciplines
• Medicine - Interdisciplinary fields
• Medicine - Medical education
• Medicine - Medical devices
• Medicine - Legal restrictions
• Medicine - Criticism

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Wellness is generally used to mean a healthy balance of the mind-body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of well-being. It has been used in the context of alternative medicine since Halbert Dunn began using the phrase high level wellness in the fifties, based on a series of lectures at a Unitarian Universalist Church in Arlington, Virginia, in the United States. The modern concept of wellness did not, however, become popular until the 1970's.[1] The phrase can be seen as an analogue to the medical term "homeos ...

Including:

• Wellness alternative medicine - Introduction
• Wellness alternative medicine - Wellness programs
• Wellness alternative medicine - Secular-based wellness programs
• Wellness alternative medicine - Faith-based wellness programs

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In alternative medicine, body work or massage therapy refers to any treatment which involves some form of touching or physical manipulation. It refers to massages or the application of pressure or vibration to the soft tissues of the body, including muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments, and joints. A survey released in May 2004 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine focused on who used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), what was used, and why it was used in the United State ...

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The term allopathic medicine is used by adherents of alternative medicine to refer to any form of mainstream medicine. This phrase is commonly used as a form of disparagement by critics of mainstream medicine. The term was coined by Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, to differentiate homeopathic practices from conventional medicine, based on the types of treatments used. The term "Allopath" comes from the Greek roots meaning "opposite" and "disease"-- the form "allopathy" being formed by false analogy with othe ...

Including:

• Allopathic medicine - History of Allopathy

Read more here: » Allopathic medicine: Encyclopedia - Allopathic medicine

Orthomolecular medicine or optimum nutrition, emphasizes the use of natural substances found in a healthy diet such as vitamins, dietary minerals, enzymes, amino acids, glyconutrients, and essential fatty acids in the prevention and treatment of diseases. Orthomolecular medicine focuses on the role of proper nutrition in relation to health. Nutrition comes first in medical diagnoses and treat ...

Including:

• Orthomolecular medicine - Method
• Orthomolecular medicine - Popularity
• Orthomolecular medicine - Relation to conventional medicine
• Orthomolecular medicine - Evidence of effectiveness
• Orthomolecular medicine - Evidence against effectiveness

Read more here: » Orthomolecular medicine: Encyclopedia - Orthomolecular medicine

Osteopathic medicine (known as osteopathy in the past) is a branch of medicine which views the human body holistically, and emphasizes the prevention and treatment of illness and injury through the use of manual and physical therapies, along with traditional medical practices such as drugs and surgery. Doctors of Osteopathic medicine (D.O.s) educated in the United States are fully licensed physicians equivalent to M.D.s. Osteopaths educated in the United Kingdom and elsewhere have a scope of practice limited mainly to musculoskeletal conditi ...

Including:

• Osteopathic medicine - History
• Osteopathic medicine - Osteopathic Principles
• Osteopathic medicine - Techniques of Osteopathic Medicine
• Osteopathic medicine - Scope of Manual Therapies
• Osteopathic medicine - Cranial Osteopathy
• Osteopathic medicine - Visceral Osteopathy
• Osteopathic medicine - Osteopathic Medicine Around the World
• Osteopathic medicine - Osteopathic Medicine in the USA
• Osteopathic medicine - Osteopathic Medicine in the UK Australia Canada and NZ
• Osteopathic medicine - Osteopathic Medicine in the European Union

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Naturopathic medicine is the practice of attempting to improve the health of patients through the application of natural remedies. Naturopathic medicine - History of naturopathic medicine. The term naturopathy was coined before 1900, by John Scheel, and used by Benedict Lust. Lust, a German last name meaning "love" pronounced like "loost", had been schooled in hydrotherapy and other natural health practices in Germany by Father Sebastian Kneipp, who sent Lust to the United States to bring them Kneipp's meth ...

Including:

• Naturopathic medicine - History of naturopathic medicine
• Naturopathic medicine - Naturopathic physicians and traditional naturopaths
• Naturopathic medicine - Naturopathic physicians
• Naturopathic medicine - Traditional naturopaths
• Naturopathic medicine - The Principles of Naturopathic Medicine
• Naturopathic medicine - The healing power of nature
• Naturopathic medicine - Identify and treat the cause
• Naturopathic medicine - First do no harm
• Naturopathic medicine - Treat the whole person
• Naturopathic medicine - The physician as teacher
• Naturopathic medicine - Prevention
• Naturopathic medicine - Regulation in North America
• Naturopathic medicine - Regulation in the United Kingdom
• Naturopathic medicine - Scope of practice
• Naturopathic medicine - Criticism

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Anthroposophical medicine is a holistic and salutogenetic approach to health. It thus focuses on ensuring that the conditions for health are present in a person; combating illness is often necessary but is insufficient alone. The approach was founded in the 1920s by Rudolf Steiner in conjunction with Ita Wegman, who carried the impulse forward after Steiner's death in 1925. Steiner called the new medicinal possibilities an extension of existing possibilities; thus, conventional medicines and therapies are also employed, though generally this is the case when anthroposophical medicine's a ...

Including:

• Anthroposophical Medicine - Links

Read more here: » Anthroposophical Medicine: Encyclopedia - Anthroposophical Medicine

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine or NCCAM, is a United States government agency. NCCAM is dedicated to exploring complementary and alternative healing practices in the context of rigorous science, training complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) researchers, and disseminating authoritative information to the public and professionals. U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Organization and history. The National Center for Complementary and ...

Including:

• U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Organization and history
• U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Role
• U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Operation
• U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Other facts
• U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Sources

Read more here: » U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Encyclopedia - U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

The term traditional medicine is used with two main meanings. The most common usage is to describe medical techniques traditionally used within various societies and developed before the era of modern medicine. These include broad areas such as herbal medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, and homeopathy. Although once solely the province of alternative medicine, traditional treatments have increasingly been subjected to scientific study; some have been discarded as mere superstitions, while others h ...

Including:

• Traditional medicine - Trivia

Read more here: » Traditional medicine: Encyclopedia - Traditional medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) also known simply as Chinese medicine (Chinese: 中醫學, zhōngyī xué, or 中药学, zhōngyaò xué) is the name commonly given to a range of traditional medical practices used in China that have developed over the course of several thousand years of history. It is also regarded as an instance of oriental medicine, a term which may include other traditional Asian medical systems such as Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, and Mongolian medicine. Chinese medicine principally employs a method ...

Including:

• Traditional Chinese medicine - Uses
• Traditional Chinese medicine - TCM theory
• Traditional Chinese medicine - TCM diagnostics
• Traditional Chinese medicine - Diagnostic techniques
• Traditional Chinese medicine - TCM treatment techniques
• Traditional Chinese medicine - TCM and science
• Traditional Chinese medicine - The question of efficaciousness
• Traditional Chinese medicine - Purported mechanism of action
• Traditional Chinese medicine - Safety of Chinese medicines
• Traditional Chinese medicine - The relationship between TCM and Western medicine
• Traditional Chinese medicine - TCM and Animals

Read more here: » Traditional Chinese medicine: Encyclopedia - Traditional Chinese medicine

The popularity of CAM therapies is great. A survey released in May 2004 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine focused on who used complementary and alternative medicine, what was used, and why it was used in the United States during 2002. According to this new survey, 36 percent of U.S. adults age 18 years and over use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). When prayer specifically for health reasons is included in the definition of CAM, the number of adults using some f ...

See also:

Complementary and alternative medicine, Complementary and alternative medicine - Contemporary use of alternative medicine, Complementary and alternative medicine - The top ten CAM therapies

Read more here: » Complementary and alternative medicine: Encyclopedia II - Complementary and alternative medicine - Contemporary use of alternative medicine

Heavy metal poisoning is an uncommon medical condition that can have significant effects on nearly every organ system [1]. Mercury, for example, has been strongly implicated as "a potential etiological factor in neurodegeneration" [2]. Chelation therapy is used as a treatment for acute mercury, iron, arsenic, lead, plutonium and other forms of heavy metal poisoning, where the amounts are so high that there is enough risk to the health of the patient to justify the therapy. The buildup of iron ...

See also:

Chelation therapy, Chelation therapy - Discovery in medicine, Chelation therapy - Uses in conventional medicine, Chelation therapy - Uses in alternative medicine, Chelation therapy - Calcium chelation therapy

Read more here: » Chelation therapy: Encyclopedia II - Chelation therapy - Uses in conventional medicine

Alternative approaches to wellness are often denoted by the use of two difference phrases: health and wellness, and wellness programs. These kind of wellness programs offer complementary and alternative medicine techniques to improve wellness. Whether these techniques actually improve physical health is controversial and a subject of much debate. James Randi and the James Randi Educational Foundation are outspoken critics of this alternative new age concept of wellness. The behaviors in the pursuit of wellness often in ...

See also:

Wellness alternative medicine, Wellness alternative medicine - Introduction, Wellness alternative medicine - Wellness programs, Wellness alternative medicine - Secular-based wellness programs, Wellness alternative medicine - Faith-based wellness programs

Read more here: » Wellness alternative medicine: Encyclopedia II - Wellness alternative medicine - Introduction

The practice of medicine combines both science and art. Science and technology are the evidence base for many clinical problems for the general population at large. The art of medicine is the application of this medical knowledge in combination with intuition and clinical judgment to determine the proper diagnoses and treatment plan for this unique patient and to treat the patient accordingly. Central to medicine is the patient-doctor relationship established when a person with a health concern or problem seeks the help of a physician ...

See also:

Medicine, Medicine - History of medicine, Medicine - Practice of medicine, Medicine - Healthcare delivery systems, Medicine - Patient-doctor relationship, Medicine - Clinical skills, Medicine - Settings where medical care is delivered, Medicine - Branches of medicine, Medicine - Basic sciences, Medicine - Diagnostic specialties, Medicine - Clinical disciplines, Medicine - Interdisciplinary fields, Medicine - Medical education, Medicine - Medical devices, Medicine - Legal restrictions, Medicine - Criticism

Read more here: » Medicine: Encyclopedia II - Medicine - Practice of medicine