Definitions

|CAM Modalities |Diseases |

CAM Modalities

There is no single definition of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Most definitions refer to these practices as "unconventional", usually meaning that they are not routinely offered within the context of current western biomedicine. Hence, an endless variety of modalities might fit under this definition, including spiritual approaches (and spirituality itself), as well as social approaches (like group support). To complicate things further, each modality can be practiced in a large variety of ways with a large variety of philosophical underpinnings and presumed mechanisms of action. We are interested in hearing about your experiences with any modality that you feel fits in this category, even if it is not referred to anywhere on our website. The following definitions may help you report your experience to us.

Acupuncture/Acupressure: Acupuncture, as a therapeutic intervention, originated more than 4,000 years ago from the medical practices of the Chinese and other Asian cultures. Traditional Chinese Medicine uses acupuncture to regulate the flow of Qi, or "vital energy." The insertion and manipulation of needles, or the application of pressure at specific points along the meridians or channels through which Qi is thought to flow, is believed to correct any imbalance, excess, deficiency, or lack of fluidity in the flow of Qi. In the West, some practitioners deliver acupuncture in the context of a broader Asian health care system; others offer it as a discrete technique for treating symptoms.

Ayurvedic Medicine: Ayurveda, first described in Vedic religious scriptures dating from 1200 BCE., is considered the traditional medicine of India. Central to Ayurvedic philosophy is the belief that optimal health consists of physical, mental, and spiritual harmony. The pathway to harmony depends on the individual's predominant dosha, or constitution. Ayurvedic practitioners interview new patients in great detail about their personal as well as medical history. The four pillars of Ayurvedic health maintenance are: (1) cleansing and detoxification, (2) palliation, (3) rejuvenation, and (4) mental and spiritual hygiene. Diet is an important concern in Ayurveda, but specific dietary recommendations depend on the individual's primary constitution, and vary according to the season. Treatment may include dietary modification, herbal preparations, massage, yoga, meditation, and pranayama, or breathing exercises.

Homeopathy: Contemporary Western homeopathic medicine, based on the work of the German physician and chemist Samuel Hahnemann some 200 years ago, aims to stimulate the individual's innate healing processes through the administration of minute "homeopathic" dilutions of specific remedies. Derived from the Greek homeo, meaning same, and pathos, meaning suffering, homeopathy essentially treats "like with like". The patient describes his or her symptoms in detail, with equal emphasis placed on both physical and psychological symptoms. The practitioner then prescribes very small, nontoxic doses of a selected substance that, at higher doses, would produce the same symptoms in a healthy person.

Traditional Chinese Medicine: The system of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) originated from Taoism some 4,000 years ago and, like other traditional systems, goes beyond prevention and treatment of disease. Health care is viewed as one of several means to a good life--defined as the individual's harmonious interaction with the community and with the physical and spiritual environment.

Central to this ethos is the notion of Qi, usually translated as "vital energy" or "life force." Qi encompasses that which distinguishes life from death, animate from inanimate. Although considered to be the substantive element in living systems, Qi is believed to permeate all of space. The body is thought to contain a supply of Qi, unique to each individual, that flows through circular channels or meridians and is exchanged with the Qi in one's surroundings. Optimal health is said to result from an unobstructed flow and appropriate balance of Qi.

A second essential element of TCM is the concept of yin and yang. The terms refer to the Taoist concept of the interrelationship and interdependence of opposites. Although yin and yang are often used to refer to such opposites as hot and cold or male and female, the TCM practitioner uses them to describe the functions of organs and organ systems, illnesses and conditions, and treatments.

Although TCM is most commonly used in the West to treat illness, its essential purpose is to promote health and to prevent health problems. Methods include diet, exercise (Tai Chi and internal Qi Gong), the use of herbs, acupuncture, and massage.

Chiropractic: Chiropractic originated in ancient Egypt, where practitioners adjusted the spines of their patients to maintain health. Modern chiropractic is based on the principle that proper spinal column alignment is necessary for optimal health, and it employs manual manipulation of the spine to correct subluxations, or spinal misalignments. Because of the crucial role that the nervous system plays in both involuntary and voluntary bodily functions, chiropractors treat a wide variety of conditions with spinal manipulation and believe that preventive treatments are appropriate for maintaining health.

Dietary and Nutritional Therapies: Dietary and nutritional considerations are fundamental to many complementary and alternative healing approaches. Many non-Western cultural traditions make little distinction between medicine and food because diet is fundamental to health. Alternative and complementary dietary and nutritional modalities include macrobiotics, vegetarianism, orthomolecular medicine, and individualized dietary programs. Macrobiotics, based on Asian concepts of nutrition, tailors diet to both individual needs and the season. Vegetarian health diets vary widely: some exclude all animal products, whereas others include milk and/or eggs and/or fish. Many nutritional counselors support the use of supplements to replace nutrients that may be lacking in the diet. Other nutritional practitioners develop individualized dietary advice for clients, basing their recommendations on an analysis of the individual's unique metabolic characteristics.

Energetic Therapies: The term "energetic therapies" is used to describe practices, including Reiki, external Qi Gong, therapeutic touch, and bioenergetics, that involve nonlocal interactions -- that is, interactions in which there is relatively little or no physical contact between the practitioner and the patient. Some of these practices originated in non-Western cultures. Others were developed in the West but show the influence of non-Western concepts. In Reiki, healing is felt to be facilitated by a light, non-invasive touch, but can also occur at a distance through intention. Energetic therapies generally include non-tactile, non-contact interactions between practioner and patient to effect healing. In some, the practitioner may use information garnered from other senses to assess and treat the patient's condition. Traditional Chinese Medicine, for example, uses this approach to detect and release Qi.

Massage Therapy: Massage is a systematic manual application of pressure and movement to the soft tissue of the body-- the skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia (the membrane surrounding muscles and muscle groups). It is felt to encourage healing by promoting the flow of blood and lymph, relieving tension, stimulating nerves, and stretching and loosening muscles and connective tissue to keep them elastic. In the 5th century BCE, the Greek physician Hippocrates wrote that his colleagues should be experienced "in rubbing ... for rubbing can bind a joint that is too loose, and loosen a joint that is too rigid." Various forms of massage were also employed by the ancient Chinese, Egyptians, and Romans. However, the technique as we know it today didn't appear until the late 19th century when Per Henrik Ling, a Swedish gymnast, formulated the principles of Swedish massage.

Dozens of specialized massage techniques are in use today for the treatment of anxiety, tension, depression, insomnia, and stress, as well as back pain, headache, muscle pain, and some forms of chronic pain. Massage is also frequently used for the treatment of minor sports injuries and repetitive stress injuries, and for the enhancement of physical conditioning.

Mind-Body Approaches (including yoga): The term mind-body is used to describe practices such as guided imagery, meditation, relaxation techniques, biofeedback, and hypnosis, that involve self-responsibility and use the relationship between mind and body to promote health. They are based on the concept that thoughts, mental images, and feelings can be major determinants of physical health. Despite the use of bodily positions (hatha yoga) yoga is perhaps best considered a mind-body practice since it includes meditation and breathing exercises to achieve mental attitudes associated with health and healing. This category could also include Tai Chi, an ancient form of meditative exercise originating in China which, though characterized by slow, smooth movements, has a strong mental component.

Western Herbalism: Herbal medicine is an ancient form of health care. As complementary and alternative medicine grows in popularity, botanical products derived from Western plants are coming back into widespread use. Western herbalism classifies many herbs according to their opposing activity: for example, herbs may have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antispasmodic, or hypotensive effects. Additional terms describe a supportive action: for example, adaptogenic herbs (those that increase resilience and resistance); tonics (supportive of vital energy); and emmenagogues (supporting the female reproductive system). Herbal preparations may be prescribed for ingestion as teas, as capsules or tablets, or as extracts or tinctures. Herbs may also be prepared as essential oils to be used topically, as are herbal preparations made into salves, balms, or ointments. Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda include ancient traditions of herbal medicine distinct from western herbalism.

Other: There is no single definition of complementary and alternative medicine. Most definitions refer to these practices as "unconventional", usually meaning that they are not routinely offered within the context of current western biomedicine. Hence, an endless variety of modalities might fit under this definition, including spiritual approaches (and spirituality itself), as well as social approaches like group support.To complicate things further, each modality can be practiced in a large variety of ways with a large variety of philosophical underpinnings and presumed mechanisms of action. We are interested in hearing about your experiences with any modality that you feel fits in this category, even if it is not referred to anywhere on our website.

Diseases

Human disease and illness is conceptualized in various ways by different societies and cultural groups within societies. Usually symptoms (effects of disease which are experienced by the person with the disease) are organized into systems based on the culture's beliefs about how the body works.

Western medicine tends to organize diseases by anatomical organ system (cardiac, endocrine, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, rheumatology/connective tissue disease, nervous/brain, urinary/reproductive, hematologic), and/or by cause (for example, cancers or infections). The same symptom can be ascribed to several different diseases; for example, wheezing can be a symptom of congestive heart failure, asthma, or emphysema. In addition, a single disease, like lupus or congestive heart failure, is associated with a list of diverse symptoms.

In the outline below we use a simplified Western medicine model, dividing diseases into organ systems, after first listing the two major classification categories based on cause (cancers and infections). These major groups are then further broken down producing a list of disease names. This definition/classification page may help when you report your experience.

While we are primarily interested in documenting "cures" of serious disease using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), we first want to collect a broader range of case studies showing how CAM helped. We will choose cases for further investigation from this large number of possibly relevant case reports (see why participate.)

It is important for us all to realize that a major obstacle in the study of health and healing is that different individuals and cultural groups may conceptualize symptoms and diseases differently. They may also place different values on the relief of different symptoms, and have different ways of evaluating substantial improvement and overall quality of life. We may find that this study helps elucidate such differences. In any case, we are concerned that these differences may result in an under-reporting and under-appreciation of effective therapies. If you have experienced substantial relief using CAM from any symptom, illness, or disease which you consider serious, debilitating, or life threatening, we ask you to report your experience. If, while filling out the "report your experience" page, you cannot find a category for your illness here on this definition/classification page, just enter your experience into "other," providing whatever description you would like. In this way we hope to minimize the effect of cultural barriers on the under-reporting and under-appreciation of therapies which people have found effective.

Cancers

Uncontrolled abnormal growth of cells (malignant growth) starting in a tissue (the primary site), and sometimes spreading to adjacent tissues/organs and/or distant sites (metastasis). Each of the many types of cancer behaves differently. A partial list includes the following, each of which may be divided into sub-types based on the category of cells involved:

Bladder Brain Bone

Breast, Colon/Rectum Esophagus

Head & Neck Kidney Leukemia

Lung Lymphoma Melanoma

Multiple myeloma Ovarian Pancreatic

Prostate Stomach Testicular

Thyroid Uterine and others

Infections, including HIV/AIDS:

Diseases caused by the invasion and multiplication of microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, or other "germs") in body tissues. Examples include:

AIDS An epidemic disease due to infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1, HIV-2), a retrovirus that causes immune system failure, debility, and wasting. It is often complicated by opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis. AIDS is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids (principally blood, semen, and vaginal secretions).

Chronic Hepatitis Persistent liver infection with viruses (currently two are identified, called hepatitis B or hepatitis C) which may, after many years, produce cirrhosis or liver cancer.

HIV without AIDS The asymptomatic phase of infection caused by a virus that is responsible for a life-threatening acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Two strains have been identified, called HIV-1 and HIV-2.

Lyme Disease A bacterial disease caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Infection occurs after the bite of an infected tick. Symptoms may include a large circular red rash at the bite site, joint pain, malaise, fever, headache, muscle aches, and swollen lymph nodes.

Tuberculosis (TB) Infection with the microorganism Mycobacterium tuberculosis, usually involving the lungs and occasionally other organ systems.

Diseases by System-excluding cancers and infections

Brain/Nervous System

Alzheimer's and
other
dementias
A progressive, degenerative disease characterized by loss of function and death of nerve cells in several areas of the brain leading to loss of cognitive functions such as memory and language. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia. Other causes include multiple small strokes (multi-infarct dementia), alchoholism, and less common degenerative conditions such as progressive supranuclear palsy, Pick's disease, etc.

Blindness Relative or complete loss of vision due to a variety of conditions, such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, and other illnesses (for example, diabetes).

Depression A mental state of depressed mood characterized by feelings of sadness, despair, and discouragement. Depression ranges from normal feelings of "the blues" through dysthymia to major depression. It in many ways resembles grief and mourning following bereavement; there are often feelings of low self-esteem, guilt and self-reproach, withdrawal from interpersonal contact and somatic symptoms such as eating and sleep disturbances.

Multiple Sclerosis Neurodegenerative disease characterized by the gradual accumulation of focal plaques of demyelination particularly in the brain and spinal cord, producing disparate symptoms (for example, visual disturbances, muscle weakness, and bladder problems). Onset usually in 3rd or 4th decade with intermittent progression over an extended period.

Parkinsonism A progressive, neurological disease first described in 1817 by James Parkinson. Characteristic symptoms include a slow tremor of extremities and head, rigidity, and gait disturbances.

Schizophrenia A heterogeneous group of mental disorders comprising most major psychotic disorders and characterized by disturbances in thought (loosening of associations, delusions, and hallucinations), mood (blunted, flattened, or inappropriate affect), sense of self and relation to the external world (loss of ego boundaries, dereistic thinking, and autistic withdrawal), and behavior (bizarre, apparently purposeless or stereotyped activity or inactivity).

Seizures (epilepsy) A sudden attack or convulsion due to involuntary electrical activity in the brain. It can result in a wide variety of symptoms, such as: muscle twitches, staring, tongue biting, urination, loss of consciousness and total body shaking. Examples include: focal seizure, absence seizure, partial seizure, psychomotor seizure, petit-mal seizure and grand-mal seizure.

Stroke A condition due to impaired blood flow causing lack of oxygen to part of the brain which may lead to reversible or irreversible damage. Depending on the area of the brain that is damaged, a stroke can cause coma, paralysis, speech problems, and/or dementia.

Cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels)

Angina/coronary artery disease Chest pain that occurs secondary to the inadequate delivery of oxygen to the heart muscle, often described as a heavy or squeezing pain in the midsternal area of the chest. Coronary artery disease is the process by which the coronary arteries become narrowed or completely occluded by cholesterol plaques. Ultimately, this is the underlying cause of angina and heart attack (myocardial infarction).

Atrial Fibrillation A condition in which disorganized electrical conduction in the atria (upper chambers of the heart) results in irregular heartbeat and ineffective pumping of blood into the ventricle.

Congestive Heart Failure A condition in which ineffective pumping of the heart leads to an accumulation of fluid in the lungs and legs. Typical symptoms include shortness of breath with exertion, difficulty breathing when lying flat and leg or ankle swelling. Causes include chronic hypertension, cardiomyopathy, and myocardial infarction (heart attack).

Connective Tissue/Musculoskeletal (Muscles, Joints and Bones)

Chronic Fatigue An illness of uncertain cause that is characterized by unexplained fatigue, weakness, muscle pain, lymph node swelling, and malaise.

Fibromyalgia An illness characterized by pain in and around joints, often with specific points of tenderness; its exact nature and cause is uncertain.

Lupus
(systemic lupus
erythematosis,
or SLE)
A systemic autoimmune disease. Individuals with lupus produce antibodies to their own body tissues. The resultant inflammation can cause kidney damage, arthritis, pericarditis, and vasculitis.

Osteoporosis Metabolic disorder associated with fractures of the femoral neck, vertebrae, and distal forearm. It occurs commonly in women within 15-20 years after menopause, and is caused by factors associated with menopause including estrogen deficiency. It also occurs in men, perhaps associated with testosterone deficiency; and in persons treated with chronic steroids, and those with vitamin D deficiency, hyperparathyroidism, hyperthyroidism, alcoholism, and cigarette smoking.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Chronic inflammatory disease in which there is deformation and destruction of joints. Generally considered by some to be an autoimmune disorder in which immune complexes are formed in joints and excite an inflammatory response.

Endocrine

Adult onset diabetes Also called noninsulin-dependent, or type 2: characterized by elevated blood sugar, gradual onset, and complications involving many organ systems. The disease usually occurs in middle-aged and older adults.

Juvenile onset diabetes Also called insulin-dependent, or type 1: characterized by elevated blood sugar, insulin deficiency, sudden onset, severe hyperglycemia, rapid progression to ketoacidosis, and death unless treated with insulin. The disease may occur at any age, but is most common in childhood or adolescence.

Gastrointestinal (Stomach, Intestines, Etc.)

Chronic Pancreatitis Chronic inflammation of the pancreas, which may be asymptomatic or symptomatic and which is due to digestion of pancreatic tissue by its own enzymes and consequent inflammation. Common causes are alchohol abuse and obstruction due to gall stones.

Cirrhosis of the liver Liver scarring causing progressive loss of function with abdominal sweilling, malaise, digestive problems, and clotting disorders. Common causes include alcohol abuse and chronic viral infections.

Hemochromatosis An excessive accumulation of iron in the body due to a greater than normal absorption of iron from the gastrointestinal tract. This may arise from idiopathic hemochromatosis, excessive iron intake, chronic alcoholism, and certain types of refractory anemia. Symptoms may involve the liver, heart, joints, pancreas, testicles/ovaries, and other organs.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn's and ulcerative colitis) Inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that seem to have both genetic and environmental causes, not well understood. The peak incidence of the onset of these diseases is between 15 and 25 years of age. Crohn's also occurs in later years between the ages of 55 and 60. Common symptoms include recurrent abdominal pains, fever, nausea, vomiting, weight loss, and diarrhea which is occasionally bloody. Complications include gastrointestinal bleeding, fistulas, and anal fissures.

Peptic Ulcer Disease An ulcer in the wall of the stomach or duodenum resulting from the digestive action of the gastric juice on the mucous membrane when the latter is rendered susceptible to its action. Most commonly caused by anti-inflammatory medications or infection with Helicobacterpylori; in older persons, stomach cancer causes a significant proportion of cases.

Hematology

Sickle Cell Disease Common in races of people from areas in which malaria is endemic. The cause is a mutation in the gene that codes for one of the components (the beta chain) of hemoglobin. This mutation makes red blood cells change from the normal discoid shape to a sickle shape when the oxygen tension is low. These sickled cells become trapped in capillaries or damaged in transit, leading to severe anemia, pain in joints, bones, and other parts of the body, skin ulcers, etc.

Other Chronic Anemias A heterogeneous group of disease characterized by low red blood count unresponsive to vitamins, etc. Examples include thalassemia, myelofibrosis, aplastic anemia, and myelodysplastic syndrome.

Pulmonary (Lungs)

Asthma A disease process that is characterized by episodic, often sudden narrowing of the bronchi (lung passageways), causing wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and cough. Factors which can exacerbate asthma include rapid changes in temperature or humidity, allergies, upper respiratory infections, exercise, stress, or smoke (cigarette).

Cystic Fibrosis A generalized disorder of infants, children, and young adults, in which there is widespread dysfunction of the exocrine glands, characterized by signs of chronic pulmonary disease (due to excess mucus production in the respiratory tract) and pancreatic deficiency. There is an ineffective immunologic defense against bacteria in the lungs. The degree of involvement of organs and glandular systems may vary greatly, with consequent variations in the clinical picture.

Emphysema and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) A progressive disease process that most commonly results from smoking. COPD is characterized by persistent difficulty breathing, wheezing, and chronic cough. Treatment includes absolute avoidance of smoking and the use of bronchodilators and oxygen for those with advanced disease. Complications include bronchitis, recurrent pneumonia, and heart failure.

Interstitial Lung Disease A group of lung disorders which result in scarring and dysfunction of the alveoli (air sacs) in the lung. This results in poor oxygen diffusion from the air into the bloodstream. Widespread inflammation in the lung leads to fibrosis (scarring). Causes include chronic exposure to organic and inorganic dusts, fumes, vapors, radiation, medications, and certain lung infections. Examples include asbestosis, silicosis, coal worker's pneumoconiosis, and diffuse interstitial fibrosis. Smoking increases the risk in all cases.

Sarcoidosis Disease of unknown etiology in which there are chronic inflammatory granulomatous lesions in lungs, lymph nodes, and other organs. Main symptoms are shortness of breath, wheezing, and malaise.

Urinary/Reproductive Organs

Chronic renal failure Progressive deterioration of kidney function due to a variety of causes.

Endometriosis A condition affecting women during their reproductive years, characterized by abdominal pain (sometimes very severe) during the menstrual period.

Impotence (erectile dysfunction or ED) Partial or complete inability to achieve and/or maintain erection, which may be intermittent or persistent and arises from a variety of causes. Its frequency increases with age, certain diseases, and the use of a wide variety of prescription medications.

Infertility Partial or complete inability for a couple to achieve pregnancy. There are a number of causes, some inherent in the man, some in the woman, and some in various incompatibilities between the two.

Polycystic Kidney Disease A genetic disease characterized by the occurrence of multiple cysts in the kidneys in middle age, ultimately leading to kidney failure.

Prostatitism (benign prostatic hypertrophy or BPH) Symptoms related to benign (non-cancerous) enlargement of the prostate, including slow urination, difficulty starting urination, incomplete emptying of the bladder, and need for multiple nocturnal urination. Prostate enlargement occurs in most men as they age but severity of symptoms varies greatly.

Other

We are interested in hearing your experiences with the successful use of CAM for any serious illness which has significantly affected your quality of life. We encourage you to submit your experience even if you cannot easily characterize your illness within the biomedical framework above.