About complementary and alternative medicine
People mean different things by the term 'complementary and alternative medicine' (CAMs), but broadly, they can be defined as health-related therapies and disciplines which are not considered to be part of mainstream medical care.
Within the term there’s a lot of variation – they might refer to something relatively standard and inexpensive, like pilates, or something more unusual and unproven, such as bee sting therapy.
Other terms used to describe complementary and alternative medicines include 'holistic' or 'natural' medicine. The term 'natural' can be misleading, as many complementary and alternative medicines are processed and are as 'unnatural' as any other drugs. About 25 per cent of medicines produced by the pharmaceutical industry are derived in some way from natural products such as herbs.
CAMs might include:
- Acupuncture and acupressure
- Alexander Technique
- Aromatherapy
- Chiropractic
- Cannabis and cannabis extracts
- Dietary supplements
- Healing
- Herbal medicine
- Honey bee venom
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
- Homeopathy
- Massage
- Multi-modal therapy
- Osteopathy
- Pilates
- Reflexology
- Replacement of mercury amalgam fillings
- Reiki
- Relaxation and meditation
- Shiatsu
- St John's Wort
- T’ai chi
There’s more detail about these therapies in the MS Society publication Complementary and Alternative Therapies.
