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What is Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM)?
CAM is a heath or medical treatment that can either compliment modern medicine or be used in lieu of it. These treatments can include acupuncture, chiropractic care, energy healing, Ayurvedic Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), herbal medicine, the use of supplements and vitamins, as well as nutrition and physical activity.
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There is a lot of information in regards to CAM and it can be confusing at times. To assist you, we've done some research for you. We have created this page for quick links to scientific and medical research in regards to CAM. There are a lot of great resources listed below to help start you on your educational journey.
For more information on what Alternative medicine is and how it works from Medical News Today, click Read More below.
Resources:
A Deeper Dive into Specific CAM Therapies
Meditation
Meditation has been utilized by many different cultures for centuries to help treat a multitude of ailments. Many mental health professionals also use it in their practice since there are many studies that show the vast amount of benefits. This link will lay out the history, benefits, and meditations role in Psychotherapy.
What Type of Meditation is Right For Me?
There are many different types of meditation so how does a person know which one is right for them? This article breaks down the main types of meditation used today as well as some of the benefits of meditation.
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is thousands of years old and based on the theory that each person has a life force inside them known simply as, chi. If an individuals chi is out of balance, that can cause health issues. There are many aspects of TCM that are used to help align a person's chi including, but not limited to acupuncture, diet, massage. This article by the University of Michigan Health explains TCM and its uses.
Massage Therapy: What You Need to Know
Not many people know that massage therapy is considered a CAM practice. Massage can be used to treat individuals with issues ranging from chronic pain, AIDS, Fibromyalgia, and even help premature babies growth. This article on the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health explains the benefits of massage therapy in greater detail.
What are the Different Types of Massages?
Different massage techniques offer different health benefits. To be able to choose the best massage for an individuals health and wellness needs, a person needs to be educated on what each technique consists of and what the benefits are of each.
The Benefits of Aromatherapy Massage
Both aromatherapy and massage therapy are elements of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Combining these two elements together can have many benefits including helping ease chronic pain issues as well as insomnia relief. This article by the Southern California Health Institute explains the benefits and the specifics and benefits of Aromatherapy massage and why it works.
What is Reiki and Does it Work?
Reiki is a form of energy healing where the practitioner uses an energy life force to help calm and heal. Reiki promotes relaxation and is very useful when adding it modern medicine. It is used to help with cancer, chronic pain, Parkinson's disease, etc, however should not be a standalone treatment. Here is great article from the Cleveland Clinic on Reiki.
Reiki Is Better Than Placebo and Has Broad Potential as a Complementary Health Therapy
There is not a significant amount of scientific data on if Reiki truly works or not, however this article reviews 13 different studies and shows strong support that Reiki does work better than a placebo. View this article published in the Journal of Evidence Based Integrative Medicine by Dr. David McManus for more information.
A Primer of the Chakra System
Chakras are wheels of energy that are spaced throughout our body. CAM medicines like yoga, meditation, and Ayurvedic medicine often talk about balancing of this energy. Read this article on the Chopra website to understand what chakras are and how they come into play when practicing CAM.
What Are the Seven Chakras and How Can You Unblock Them?
This article located on the Healthline website has some great information about the seven main chakras, what each chakra is connected to, what kind of health issues person may experience if a chakra is out of balance or blocked, and what yoga pose corresponds with helping align or unblock that chakra.
Websites Centered Around Holistic & Natural Healing
Holistic Health Information
Some people think that holistic health is a new way of curing ailments but in reality, it is combining healing techniques for mind, body, and spirit with modern day medicine. To treat or cure health issues, we must get to the root cause and not just fix the symptom. Modern Holistic Health is a clinic that can help with that. Not only can they assist by working with you one on one, but they also have a great amount of information available to digest. Some of this material includes podcasts, blogs and articles, as well as additional educational resources.
My Health Finder
Oftentimes, the hardest part of a health journey is just trying to figure out where to start. My Health Finder is a great website to start with. This source is a great source to start with because there is not an overwhelming amount of information to sort through. You can start your research with the topics "Every Day Health Living", "Pregnancy", "Health Conditions" and "Doctor Visits" and go from there.
One Stop Medical Shop
Medline plus is another great and trusted source to find information about healthy and holistic living. This resource contains every health condition or ailment that you can think of. It breaks down some of the issues that people might struggle with finding, such as supplement requirements and usage as well as fitness information. Take some time to sort through all the great information provided.
Mindfulness
Mindful.org is a great resource to use to find a plethora of information on meditation, mindful living, podcasts, parenting insight and meditations for children, anxiety, and more! It is a great site to explore when looking to become more mindful in your every day living.
Chopra
This website offers articles on meditation, yoga, nutrition, personal growth, etc. Additionally you can find certifications offered in regards to coaching, meditation, and other health certificates. Lastly, there is information on upcoming retreats and apps a person can download to help with their mind, body, spirit journey
Nutrition Information
The age old saying you are what you eat rings true in many ways. Many ailments can be alleviated or healed all together through nutrition alone. Are you not sure how much of each food group you should be consuming, what a serving size looks like, or even how many vitamins and minerals you should be intaking? Myplate.gov is a wonderful way to find out! This resource also contains a large amount of healthy recipes and cookbooks that you can save and come back to later. Lastly, it also addresses every stage of life so you can ensure you have the best nutrition information for you.
Helping Treat Specific Issues using CAM Therapies
How to Treat Anxiety Naturally
Anxiety is the most common mental health issue in today's society and it does not look the same for everyone. Because of this, treatment options will not look the same for everyone either. However, there are a few things that anyone can do to help treat anxiety naturally. To get more details on options, read this article from Medical News Today.
Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis
It is harder to find research backing the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicines. This can be for a number of reasons. However, after the review of 20,827 patients, acupuncture was superior in treating chronic pain in patients as compared to sham acupuncture or no acupuncture. This article in the National Library of Medicine contains a great deal of data in regards to data meta-analysis.
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