alternative medicine (redirected from Complementary therapies)

al·ter·na·tive medicine (ôl-tûrn-tv, l-)

n.

A variety of therapeutic or preventive health care practices, such as homeopathy, naturopathy, and herbal medicine, that are not typically taught or practiced in traditional medical communities and offer treatments that differ from standard medical practice.

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alternative medicine

see complementary and alternative medicine.

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alternative medicine…a heterogeneous set of practices 'that are offered as an alternative to conventional medicine, for the preservation of health and the diagnosis and treatment of health-related problems; its practitioners are often called healers'; alternative health care practices constitute a vast array of treatments and ideologies, which may be well-known, exotic, mysterious, or even dangerous, and are based on no common or consistent philosophy; the practitioners range from being sincere, well-educated, and committed to their form of healing, to charlatans, deprecatingly known as 'quacks'. See Fringe medicine, Holistic medicine, Integrative medicine, Office of Alternative Medicine. Cf Unproven methods for cancer management

Alternaive therapies, types of

Alternative (formal) systems

Acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, homeopathy, osteopathy

Body awareness

Exercise and movement therapies, eg dance therapy, martial arts, yoga

Manipulative therapies

Chiropractic, Hellerwork, Rolfing^®

Mental therapies

Humanistic psychology, hypnosis

Natural remedies

Diet, eg macrobiotics, naturopathy

Sensory therapies

Art, color, and music therapy

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