The Need for Complementary Medicine

According to the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine “CAM is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered to be part of conventional medicine.” (NCCAM, 2007) Science has yet to determine if these therapies are safe. Regardless of the answer there are hundreds of thousands of people today that use CAM to treat hundreds of different medical problems. Societies have used many of these practices for over 4000 years and are still in use today. CAM allows for a complete and holistic way of treatment of the human body.

Factors that could affect access to complementary therapies could stem from many sources. These could consist of physical barriers, geographical barriers, socio-economical barriers, cultural barriers, educational barriers and the barriers that may be faced by referral systems.

The knowledge of massage spread to Japan, where Japanese monks developed a technique incorporating massage with pressure therapy, which was developed into Shiatsu. Moving onto India, the Hindu book AyurVeda (Art of life) was written, which described how massage could be incorporated with exercise, which can be dated back to 1800 BC. Most massage in India relates more to its sensual use rather than its physiological effect on the body.

Often, Asian Americans will first utilize CAM prior to seeking professional medical care out of convenience. The most common CAM used across various Asian ethnic groups including the Chinese and Japanese medicine is the use of herbs. The Chinese believe that “herbal medication regulate the natural balance of the body and restore health” (QUOTE NEWSLETTER/new source). The specific herbs used vary among the ethnic groups and may come in many different forms of use. The use of herbal medicine is not always reported to healthcare professionals which can be hazardous to one’s health if a medication is prescribed with serious drug-herbal interactions (Mehta, Phillips, Davis & McCarthy, 2007, p. 5). The accurate reporting of herbal medicine use can prevent these sometimes life-threatening interactions. Many Asian communities use a CAM known as cupping in which cups typically made of horn, bamboo or glass cups are suctioned to a person’s skin. It is believed to improve energy and blood flow. Cupping is used to treat various conditions including respiratory illnesses, indigestions problems and skin conditions (QUOTE online). Traditional Vietnamese medicine (TVM) focuses on nourishing the blood and energy as key to maintaining good health (QUOTE). TVM also utilize herbal medicine as well as acupuncture. Acupuncture is becoming widely

Complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM, can be characterized as a gathering of restorative, human services, and healing systems other than those incorporated into health care in the United States. CAM incorporates the perspectives, speculations, modalities, items, and practices connected with these systems and their utilization to treat disease and advance health and prosperity (McKenzie, 2012). Even though heterogeneous, the significant CAM frameworks have numerous normal attributes, including an attention on individualizing medications, treating the entire individual, advancing self-consideration and self-recuperating, and perceiving the otherworldly way of every person. What's more, numerous CAM frameworks have attributes generally found in standard human services, for example, an emphasis on great sustenance and preventive practices. Dissimilar to standard medication, CAM frequently needs or has just restricted trial and clinical concentrate; then again, experimental examination of CAM is starting to address this learning crevice. In this manner, limits in the

The mission of NCCAM is to investigate the “usefulness and safety” of alternative and complementary medicine and the roles they could possibly play in improving health of the nation and our healthcare system by advance research on mind and body interventions,

There have been many cultures that have used marijuana for medicine. For instance, the Chinese culture used the oil found in the plant for medical purposes. Medicine men would use it to treat menstrual fatigue, gout, rheumatism, malaria, constipation, absent mindedness and surgical anesthesia (Spicer, 2002). However, according to the Tao religion, cannabis was noted to be considered a yin. Cannabis is regarded in contempt because it weakens the body when eaten (Spicer, 2002). Taoism considered only substances filled with yang, those that invigorate the body, as favorable (Spicer, 2002).

As complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) grows more popular with the American public, the question arises whether we should consolidate aspects of unorthodox medicine with standard care. Many, such as Dr. Andrew Weil, swear by CAM’s effectiveness and urge for a more patient-centered approach to care (Relman). While CAM has no shortage of critics, a growing body of research is indicating the effectiveness of many CAM therapies in treating a variety of conditions. Patients, physicians, and researchers sometimes find that CAM therapies are more

Touw, M. (1981). The religious and medical uses of cannabis in China, India and Tibet. Psychoactive Drugs, 13(1), 23-34. Retrieved from https://www.cnsproductions.com/pdf/Touw.pdf

Complementary therapies are good for a person’s health and wellbeing. It is used as a form of medicine and treatment to some illnesses. Complementary therapies can be used to help the individual manage pain and help relieve pain. According to NHS Direct “These medicines and treatments range from acupuncture and homeopathy to aromatherapy, meditation and colonic irrigation.”

Although, U.S. adults are increasingly using CAM therapies, a national survey characterizing U.S. adults, who does not consider the use CAM has yet to be described. According to the NHIS study, "an estimated 16-26 percent of the adult population does not receive conventional care in a year. Also, an estimated 4 percent of adult population may use it as an alternative to conventional medicine (alternative medicine). Thus, up to 20-25 percent of the adult population not receiving conventional care in a year might, be using alternative medicine instead" (Nahin, Dahlhamer, Stussman, 2010). This paper will discuss the reasons people chose CAM therapies, follow by the area in which CAM is more prone, then focus on how the article contributes to

Marijuana boasts a long and pertinent history of medicinal use, based in the earliest known civilizations. The first recorded use of medical cannabis dates back to 2800 B.C., when the Chinese Emperor Shen-nung used it as a muscle relaxant and painkiller.1 The ancient Egyptians also found medical benefits in cannabis, as evidenced by their usage of it to quell the pangs of childbirth. Numerous other civilizations, including the Assyrians, Persians, Zulu, Spaniards, and countless others, have since established traditional medical applications of cannabis.2 Underlying this historical trend is the simple fact that the medical benefits of marijuana have and continue to serve numerous cultures.

Ten’s of millions of dollars have been poured into research for this treatment, and yet all have come back with virtually insignificant results. All of the participants, control group as well as those who received the treatment, reported almost the same about of pain relief. Harriet Hall, an ex-physician and noted critic of CAM, had this to say: “ We have no evidence that acupuncture is anything more than theatrical placebo,” ( Interlandi 24 ). Although placebo is often seen as bad or ineffective experience in medicine and studies, it could be used as a treatment all of it’s own. As a placebo is where the brain is “tricked” into believing the body is undergoing effects that, in reality, it is not. In simply reshaping the reality of some patients situations, they can be healed ( Benedetti 22 ). The human mind is a complex system that controls more body functions than we are aware of in many cases. If a patient believes that they will never get better, treatment can only do so much, there must be belief and treatment before the patient can become well ( Chandler np

Cannabis has been traced to Central Asia/Himalayan region 36 million years ago. Values were placed on its medicinal, spiritual, and dietary contributions. The Chinese emperor Shen Nung was said to be the first to describe the therapeutic properties and uses of cannabis in 2737 B.C.E. Cannabis was recommended as the treatment for malaria, rheumatic pains, constipation and even child birth and when mixed with wine it becomes a surgical analgesic. Medicinal cannabis was widely used as an analgesic for headaches, toothaches, neuralgia pain, anticonvulsant, sedative hypnotics, anti-inflammatory, antibiotics, anti-parasitic, anti-spasmodic, and an appetite stimulant. (NetCE, 2009)

Furthermore, the National Library of Medicine examined numerous practices of CAM ranging from physical medicine to mental medicine for example Tai Chi. This study included 66 people who were diagnosed with fibromyalgia and these people had a significantly greater decrease in total score on the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, that was used to determine the impact of fibromyalgia on a patient. The study also found that the group experienced greater sleep quality, mood, and quality of life after (Complementary and Alternative Medicine). Doctors and concerned parents constantly express their concerns about the safety and effectiveness of CAM by stating that there is no evidence however it can easily be shown by the National Library of Medicine trials. CAM has been studied by a bonafide source therefore CAM is safe to use as a prescription or an alternative option and doctors should make their paintes aware of these options furthering their inclination to use these treatments.