Complementary or alternative medicine brings up a group of therapeutic and diagnostic fields that are present largely outside the traditions where conventional health care is instructed and provided. Complementary medicine is an an increasing area of healthcare practice. However, considerable confusion remains about what precisely alternative medicine is and what position the fields should hold in relation to scientific medicine.
In the 70’s and 80’s of last century, these disciplines were mainly offered as an alternative to conventional care and therefore became known as “alternative medicine.” The term “complementary medicine” developed as the two systems started to be used alongside each other. Over the years, “complementary” has developed from explaining this relation between unconventional medicine and conventional care to categorizing the group of fields itself. Certain agencies use the term “unconventional medicine” synonymously. This evolving and overlapping terminology may clarify some of the confusion with respect to the subject.
The list of complementary and alternative medicine is quite lengthy, including acupuncture, applied kinesiology, chiropractic, homoeopathy, reflexology, Shiatsu, just to name a few. New branches of established fields are continually being developed. However, what is thought to be conventional varies across countries and changes over time. The boundary between alternative and conventional medicine is often blurred and constantly changing. The wide range of disciplines categorized as alternative medicine makes it almost impossible to find defining criteria that are common to all parties. Many assumptions made about complementary medicine are over simplistic generalisations.
Complementary and alternative medicine is a broad domain of medical resources that encompasses all health systems, practices, and their accompanying theories, except those intrinsic to the politically dominant health system of a particular culture in a specific historical period. Complimentary/alternative medicine involves all these practices and ideas selfdefined by their users as preventing diseases or promoting health and wellbeing. Boundaries within complimentary/alternative medicine and between the domain of complimentary and alternative medicine and that of the dominant system are not always clearly defined.
In Western countries, although complementary practitioners, other than osteopaths and chiropractors, can legitimately practise with limited or no further education at all, the majority have accomplished certain form of post-secondary education in their selected discipline. There is vast degree of deviation in the a variety of training institutions. For the primary practices, such as, osteopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and homoeopathy, the training courses are usually highly developed, some with college affiliation, diploma level exams, and external evaluation. Others, particularly those instructing less invasive healing techniques such as massage, reflexology, aromatherapy, Reiki, Yoga, Shiatsu and hypnosis tend to determine their curricula internally, and have no formal evaluation procedures. In certain training courses, direct clinical practice is limited. Some are not recognised by the mainstream registering bodies in the relevant discipline. Most complementary therapists finance their training without governmental support, and many have part-time training over several years.
The website of Britannia Acupuncture Clinic give you more insights on this topic.
Gale Benz is an alternative health commentator and blogger. She has interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture.