{"id":226,"date":"2021-03-01T19:01:16","date_gmt":"2021-03-01T19:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hvcc-healthpsychology\/?post_type=chapter&p=226"},"modified":"2021-03-16T14:09:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T14:09:00","slug":"complementary-and-alternative-medicine","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hvcc-healthpsychology\/chapter\/complementary-and-alternative-medicine\/","title":{"raw":"Complementary and alternative medicine","rendered":"Complementary and alternative medicine"},"content":{"raw":"
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Complementary, Alternative, or Integrative Health: What\u2019s In a Name?<\/h1>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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\"yoga<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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\r\n\r\nWe\u2019ve all seen the words \u201ccomplementary,\u201d \u201calternative,\u201d and \u201cintegrative,\u201d but what do they really mean?\r\n

History of alternative medicine<\/h1>\r\nThe\u00a0history of alternative medicine<\/b>\u00a0refers to the history of a group of diverse medical practices that were collectively promoted as \"alternative medicine<\/a>\" beginning in the 1970s, to the collection of individual histories of members of that group, or to the history of western medical practices that were labeled \"irregular practices\" by the western medical establishment.[1]<\/a><\/sup>[2]<\/a><\/sup>[3]<\/a><\/sup>[4]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0It includes the histories of\u00a0complementary medicine<\/a>\u00a0and of\u00a0integrative medicine<\/a>. \"Alternative medicine\" is a loosely defined and very diverse set of products, practices, and theories that are perceived by its users to have the\u00a0healing<\/a>\u00a0effects of\u00a0medicine<\/a>, but do not originate from\u00a0evidence<\/a>\u00a0gathered using the\u00a0scientific method<\/a>,[5]<\/a><\/sup>:Ch 14E, p. 1<\/sup>[6]<\/a><\/sup>[7]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0are not part of\u00a0biomedicine<\/a>,[5]<\/a><\/sup>[8]<\/a><\/sup>[9]<\/a><\/sup>[10]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0or are contradicted by scientific evidence or established science.[4]<\/a><\/sup>[11]<\/a><\/sup>[12]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0\"Biomedicine\" is that part of\u00a0medical science<\/a>\u00a0that applies principles of\u00a0anatomy<\/a>,\u00a0physics<\/a>,\u00a0chemistry<\/a>,\u00a0biology<\/a>,\u00a0physiology<\/a>, and other\u00a0natural sciences<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0clinical practice<\/a>, using scientific methods to establish the effectiveness of that practice.\r\n\r\nMuch of what is now categorized as alternative medicine was developed as independent, complete medical systems, was developed long before biomedicine and use of scientific methods, and was developed in relatively isolated regions of the world where there was little or no medical contact with pre-scientific western medicine, or with each other's systems. Examples are\u00a0Traditional Chinese medicine<\/a>, European\u00a0humoral theory<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Ayurvedic medicine<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0India<\/a>. Other alternative medicine practices, such as\u00a0homeopathy<\/a>, were developed in western Europe and in opposition to western medicine, at a time when western medicine was based on unscientific theories that were dogmatically imposed by western religious authorities. Homeopathy was developed prior to discovery of the basic principles of\u00a0chemistry<\/a>, which proved homeopathic remedies contained nothing but water. But homeopathy, with its remedies made of water, was harmless compared to the unscientific and dangerous orthodox western medicine practiced at that time, which included use of\u00a0toxins<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0draining of blood<\/a>, often resulting in permanent disfigurement or death.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Other alternative practices such as\u00a0chiropractic<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0osteopathic manipulative medicine<\/a>, were developed in the United States at a time that western medicine was beginning to incorporate scientific methods and theories, but the biomedical model was not yet totally dominant. Practices such as chiropractic and osteopathic, each considered to be irregular by the medical establishment, also opposed each other, both rhetorically and politically with licensing legislation. Osteopathic practitioners added the courses and training of biomedicine to their licensing, and licensed Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine holders began diminishing use of the unscientific origins of the field, and without the original practices and theories, is now considered the same as biomedicine.\r\n\r\nUntil the 1970s, western practitioners that were not part of the medical establishment were referred to \"irregular practitioners\", and were dismissed by the medical establishment as unscientific or\u00a0quackery<\/a>.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Irregular practice became increasingly marginalized as\u00a0quackery<\/a>\u00a0and fraud, as western medicine increasingly incorporated scientific methods and discoveries, and had a corresponding increase in success of its treatments. In the 1970s, irregular practices were grouped with traditional practices of nonwestern cultures and with other unproven or disproven practices that were not part of biomedicine, with the group promoted as being \"alternative medicine\". Following the\u00a0counterculture movement<\/a>\u00a0of the 1960s, misleading marketing campaigns promoting \"alternative medicine\" as being an effective \"alternative\" to biomedicine, and with changing social attitudes about not using chemicals, challenging the establishment and authority of any kind, sensitivity to giving equal measure to values and beliefs of other cultures and their practices through\u00a0cultural relativism<\/a>, adding\u00a0postmodernism<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0deconstructivism<\/a>\u00a0to ways of thinking about science and its deficiencies, and with growing frustration and desperation by patients about limitations and side effects of\u00a0science-based medicine<\/a>, use of alternative medicine in the west began to rise, then had explosive growth beginning in the 1990s, when senior level political figures began promoting alternative medicine, and began diverting government medical research funds into research of alternative, complementary, and integrative medicine.[1]<\/a><\/sup>[2]<\/a><\/sup>[3]<\/a><\/sup>[4]<\/a><\/sup>[13]<\/a><\/sup>[14]<\/a><\/sup>[15]<\/a><\/sup>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Complementary Versus Alternative<\/h2>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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\r\n\r\nAccording to a 2012 national survey, many Americans\u2014more than 30 percent of adults and about 12 percent of children\u2014use health care approaches that are not typically part of conventional medical care or that may have origins outside of usual Western practice. When describing these approaches, people often use \u201calternative\u201d and \u201ccomplementary\u201d interchangeably, but the two terms refer to different concepts:\r\n