- Our dictionary of alternative medicine covers topics that have been identified as being related to alternative
medicine (CAM); wellness, or
are about an alternative position on health, healing, and/or illness.
- Our dictionary of alternative medicine is a comprehensive work on the branches of alternative medicine, alternative
treatment methods, as well as the people and the terms and concepts commonly referenced in the field of complementary
and alternative medicine.
- Our dictionary of alternative medicine provides a lot of useful information.
- Our dictionary of alternative medicine builds upon the work started by the GNU Free Documentation Project
on Alternative Medicine.
- You can find what you are looking for by either manually scrolling through our dictionary, or by using our
Google site search command.
Dictionary of Alternative Medicine - A
- Acupuncture is the practice of inserting very thin
needles in specific acupuncture
points or combinations of points on the body to improve health and well-being. (See, also, Medical
acupuncture) "There are over 1,000 acupoints that can be stimulated through the insertion of needles.
Acupuncture has been used to treat health problems and conditions ranging from the common
cold to addiction and chronic
fatigue syndrome." (See CDC Advance Data Report below.)
- Acupuncturist
- Aerobic exercises such as walking and running
focus on increasing cardiovascular endurance
and physical fitness.
- Age
of Heroic Medicine - During the Age of Heroic Medicine (1780 - 1850) educated professional allopaths aggressively
practiced heroic medicine which consisted of blood-letting, intestinal purging, vomiting, profuse
sweating and blistering medical treatments.
- Alexander Technique is a somatic discipline
practiced to prevent physical decline caused by habituated mannerisms, that is especially used by performing artists
(actors, musicians, and dancers).
- Allergies
- Allopathy - The term "allopathy" was coined
by Samuel Hahnemann. The term "allopathic
medicine" is used most frequently in the context of critiques of conventional medicine.
- Alternative Medical Systems is the
name of a NCCAM
classification for those forms of alternative medicine that are built upon a complete system of theory and practice.
- Alternative medicine
is a broad term for any diagnostic method, method of treatment or therapy
whose theoretical bases and techniques diverge from generally accepted medical methods. It is generally considered
to be the most dangerous form of CAM
by the scientific community because it is used
in place of conventional medicine. (See criticisms
of alternative medicine for details.)
- NCCAM states: "Alternative medicine is used in
place of conventional medicine."
- Anaerobic exercises such as weightlifting
to increase Physical strength.
- Anxiety
- Aromatherapy "involves the use of essential
oils (extracts or essences) from flowers, herbs, and trees
to promote health and well-being." [NCCAM].
- Apitherapy
- Applied kinesiology
- Arthritis
- Asthma
- Astrology
- Atkins Nutritional Approach
- Aura
- The usually invisible emanation, effluvium, or colored outline of the
life forces that allegedly permeates all living creatures.
- Auriculotherapy
- Autosuggestion
- Ayurveda -- "This comprehensive
system of medicine developed in India over 5,0000 years ago, places equal emphasis on body, mind, and spirit. The
goal is to restore the natural harmony of the individual. An Ayurvedic doctor identifies an individual's constitution
or over all health profile by ascertaining the patients's metabolic body type (Vata,
Pitta,
or Kapha)
through a series of personal history questions. Then the patient's constitution becomes the foundation of a specific
treatment plan designed to guide the individual back into harmony with his or her environment. This plan may include
dietary changes, exercise,
yoga, meditation,
massage, herbal tonics, and other remedies." (See CDC
Advance Data Report below.)
Dictionary of Alternative Medicine - B
- Edward Bach - founder of flower essence therapy
and the Bach flower
remedies.
- Bach Flower Therapy
- The Bates method is an alternative approach to
eyesight improvement and maintenance.
- William Horatio Bates - founder of the
Bates method alternative approach to eyesight improvement.
- Wooster Beech - founded Eclectic Medicine.
- Dan Bensky - American TCM and Craniosacral practitioner and author of a popular English language version of
the Chinese herbal Materia
Medica.
- Biofeedback links the mind with the body through
high-technology devices that allows the mind to control certain bodily functions. In this treatment method, an
individual is hooked up to monitoring devices which provides an indication of how brain
waves, breathing patterns, muscle activity, sweat gland
function, pulse, skin temperature, and blood
pressure are responding to relaxation
techniques, such as meditation.
"Biofeedback has been used to reduce stress, eliminate headaches,
recondition injured muscles, control asthmatic attacks, and relieve pain."
(See CDC Advance Data Report below.)
- Biologically
Based Therapies is the name of a NCCAM
classification, for alternative treatments that use substances found in nature and/or some other natural medicine.
- The Biomedical model of health is a conceptual
model
of illness that excludes psychological and social
factors and includes only biological
factors in an attempt to understand a person's illness.
- Biotin
- Biorhythms
- The Biopsychosocial model of health sees
health, illness and healing as resulting from the interacting effects of events of very different types, including
biological, psychological, and social factors.
- Body-Based Manipulative Therapies ( or Manipulative and body-based methods) refers to a NCCAM classification, for alternative treatments
that are based on manipulation and/or movement of one or more parts of the body (See also Manipulative
therapy).
- Body work (or Massage
therapy) is a new name for massage treatments which
is how this health profession is trying to disassociate itself from the sex industry. Body work "involves
pressing, rubbing, and otherwise manipulating muscles and other soft tissues of the body, causing them to relax
and lengthen and allowing pain relieving oxygen and blood to flow to the affected area. Using their hands and sometimes
feet, elbows, and forearms, massage
therapists may use over 75 different methods, such as Swedish message, deep-tissue
massage, neuromuscular
massage, and manual lymph drainage. Massage is considered effective for relieving any type of pain in the body's
soft tissue, including back,
neck,
and shoulder
pain, headaches, bursitis,
and tendonitis. (See CDC Advance Data Report below.)
- Bodybuilding
- Bowen Technique
- Paul Bragg - known for the Bragg Health Crusades, the
Bragg Healthy Lifestyle, deep
breathing, water fasts, organic
foods, drinking water, juicing,
exercise and listening to one's body.
- Breathing
Meditation -- "Deep breathing involves slow, deep inhalation through the nose, usually for a count of
10, followed by slow and complete exhalation for a similar count. To help quiet the mind, one generally concentrates
fully on breathing and counting through each cycle. The process may be repeated 5 to 10 times, several times a
day." (See CDC Advance Data Report below.)
- Breatharian
- Emanuel Bronner - aka "Dr. Bronner,"
master soap-maker known for eccentric messages on labels for natural soaps and other health products.
Dictionary of Alternative Medicine - C
- Calisthenics
- CAM is an acronym for complementary
and alternative
medicine. It also includes the recent addition of integrative
medicine. CAM is about an alternative positions on health, healing, and illness. Complementary
and alternative medicine covers a very broad range of areas from self-help
to professional care and from the sensible and worth while to the ridiculous. (See also NCCAM)
- Carlos Castaneda - author and philosopher.
One of his ideas is that dreaming can be cultivated as a way to refine one's awareness to a point where extraordinary
feats of perception can be achieved.
- Charaka - is one of the founders of Ayurveda.
- chelation therapy
- Cheng Man-ch'ing - traditional Chinese physician
and the first well-known teacher to offer his own version of T'ai
Chi Ch'uan in the West.
- Mantak Chia - claimed healer
and author of books on Taoism, Taoist sexuality and Tai
Chi Chuan
- Chinese food therapy
- Chinese medicine -- The group of
philosophies embodied by Chinese medicine are, more accurately, referred to as Oriental
Medicine with roots in many different Asian countries.
This millenia old Asian medical tradition works to bring balance to the body through acupuncture,
massages, Eastern herbalism, diet;
and lifestyle changes such as martial
arts and meditation.
- Chiropractic is a popular form of alternative medicine
whose physical mode of action is spinal manipulations that allegedly unblock nerve signals sent by the brain so
that the body can heal itself. "It is primarily used to treat back
problems, headaches, nerve inflammation, muscle
spasms, and other injuries and traumas." (See CDC
Advance Data Report below.)
- Cholesterol
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Hulda Clark
- wrote a series of books including The Cure for all Diseases, advocating extreme dietary practices and "zapping"
of parasites.
- Craniosacral Therapy
- Benjamin
Colby - wrote the book, A Guide to Health, which delineated the basic practices and philosophy of Thomsonian
Medicine.
- Colon Hydrotherapy (Colonics)
- Concentration
meditation
- cognitive behavior therapy
- Complementary
medicine refers to alternative treatments that are used in place of conventional
medicine, especially as palliative care. (See
also NCCAM)
- Complementary and alternative medicine
(CAM) -- CAM is about alternative positions on health, healing, and illness. Complementary and alternative medicine
covers a very broad range of areas from self-help to professional
care and from the sensible and worth while to the ridiculous. (See also NCCAM)
- Conditions targeted by alternative treatments
- Crystal healing
- Cupping
- Cycling
Dictionary of Alternative Medicine - D
- Depression
- Dermovision
- Diagnosis
- Diet-based
therapy uses a variety of diets in order to improve health
and longevity, to control weight, as well as to treat specific health conditions like high cholesterol.
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 States by adults age 18 years
and over during 2002. According to this recent survey, Diet-based therapy as a form of CAM was to treat 3.5% of
the adult population in the United States during 2002 (See CDC Advance Data Report below, table 1 on page 8).
- Disease
- Disease models
- Diseases of civilization
- Dietary supplement - "Congress defined
the term "dietary supplement" in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994. A dietary
supplement is a product (other than tobacco) taken by mouth that contains a 'dietary ingredient' intended to supplement
the diet. Dietary ingredients may include vitamins, minerals,
herbs or other botanicals, amino
acids, and substances such as enzymes, organ tissues,
and metabolites. Dietary supplements come in many forms,
including extracts, concentrates, tablets, capsules, gel caps, liquids, and powders. They have special requirements
for labeling. Under DSHEA, dietary supplements are considered foods, not drugs." [NCCAM].
(See, also: Nutritional supplements)
- Dieting
- The Doctrine of Signatures was developed
around 1500 and claims that a plant's physical appearance reveals its medical value. The Doctrine of Signatures
is often assoicated with Western herbalism.
References
- Barnes P, Powell-Griner E, McFann K, Nahin R. CDC Advance Data Report #343. Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Use Among Adults: United States, 2002. May 27, 2004.
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