Verywell / Alison Czinkota
Alternative therapies refer to any medical treatments that are not traditional medicine techniques.
Alternative therapies could either be used alongside conventional medicine or instead of it.
The term is often used interchangeably with “complementary medicine.”
Verywell / Alison Czinkota
In medical spaces, the practice is referred to as Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM).
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) does make a distinction between complementary and alternative medicine.
However, most people are likely to use these therapies alongside traditional medicine.
When a licensed healthcare provider uses both alternative therapies and conventional medicine, then it’s calledintegrative medicine.
A doctor or healthcare provider who uses integrative medicine uses all therapeutic methods to ensure their patients are healthy.
These therapies can involve nutritional, physiological, physical, and mind-body techniques.
Keep reading to learn about the most popular forms of alternative therapies and how they are practiced.
Alternative Therapy Categorization
There are many types of alternative therapies.
Over the years, many of these therapies have shifted into conventional medicine.
Alternative therapies can be classified into many categories.
Some of the most widely practiced are discussed below.
Ayurveda
Ayurvedafocuses on using specific herbs, massages, and diet techniques to treat conditions.
It’s an ancient Indian practice and has been in use for thousands of years.
Meditation
Thepractice of meditationhas been used for many centuries.
This, in turn, can help you cope with certain disorders and improve your overall health and well-being.
It’s based on the principle that a substance that causes symptoms can also treat those symptoms.
There’s a lot of skepticism around the practice of homeopathy in traditional medicine circles.
Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy makes use of hypnosis to treat certain conditions.
A hypnotherapist will give you suggestions to help encouragebehavioral changeor relieve your symptoms when you are in this state.
For instance, hypnotherapy can be used to help treat addiction or stress management.
This practice has historically been used as a natural pain-relieving technique.
It’s believed that the needles stimulate specific nerves and muscles, releasing natural pain-relieving hormones in your body.
This ancient Indian practice has been proven to improve the physical and mental well-being of people who practice it.
Yoga has also proven tohelp relieve stress,manage anxiety, and pain management.
Massage
You are most likely already familiar with massages.
They are done by kneading the soft tissues of your body until you feel relief.
Herbal medicine can come in different forms, from tea to lotions or pills and powders.
Some common herbal treatments include:
Chiropractic Medicine
Chiropractic medicine is practiced by a chiropractor.
This form of alternative therapy aims to ease pain and improve body function.
It uses specific techniques to manipulate the spine, joints, and skeletal system and helps align the body.
Reiki
Reiki is an ancient Japanese form of alternative therapy.
It’s based on the belief that you have a “life force energy” flowing within your body.
When this energy is low, you become sick.
Reiki aims to restore this energy by laying hands on different parts of the body.
Doing so helps with any physical or psychological problems you have.
It’s a form of energy therapy.
A 2022 study found that Reiki was more effective than aplaceboin relieving some mental health symptoms.
While such estimates are high, researchers suggest that these numbers may underestimate the actual use.
Are Alternative Therapies Safe and Effective?
More research needs to be done on the safety and effectiveness of alternative therapies.
Most importantly, alternative therapies should not be considered a replacement for traditional treatments.
Its also essential to do extensive research into the safety and effectiveness of specific alternative therapies before choosing them.
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