A new study has shown that there is an increase in the use of complementary and alternative medicine among Americans. Where mainstream or conventional therapies have proven too expensive, people have turned to alternative care, says the study which was published in Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.

Inflation and health care costs being on the rise and salaries being unable to keep pace with is possibly one reason for more people turning to complementary and alternative medicine, says Dejun Su, PhD, a sociologist at the University of Texas – Pan American.

According to the published findings, over five year duration, there has been a 14% increase in use of CAM treatments.

It was also seen that certain racial preferences for CAM existed – white individuals were more likely to use CAM therapies than Hispanic or African American individuals.

Massage and chiropractic care were seen to be the most popular forms of CAM therapies. As many as 33% of those who undergo CAM treatments reported to doing said that they did so due to having delayed getting treatment for their ailment or because they had treatment needs that had not been met.

Studies Show Increase of CAM Use

The Military Tries Alternative Remedies for Pain

Being in the military and particularly being in war like zones and on deployment can place undue stress and burden on a soldier’s musculoskeletal system resulting in chronic aches and pains that can be difficult to live with.

Also the fact that those in uniform are somehow expected to be tougher than most and the fact that they routinely have to carry heavy gear can sometimes exacerbate the problem.

For the most part, it is pain medication and physical therapy that is used to alleviate pain. Now however the military has come around to using alternative therapies for pain management and to try and prevent pain by using different preventive remedies rather than treat it after it has set in.

One of the methods in which pain management is done is, Acupuncture. Not only can this help in pain management, it can also help prevent prescription drug dependence and abuse which is a rising problem among the troops.

Pain is not just physical, but a complex subject involving the state of mind and possible consequences such as PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and to address this, it is important for military personnel to receive instructions in other techniques aimed at relaxation as well, such as yoga and meditation. This can help relieve stress and in turn help with pain management.

The Military Tries Alternative Remedies for Pain

Different Types of Alternative Therapies and Their Definitions

According to the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, there are 5 categories of complementary and alternative medicine, which are healing practices that do not fall into the category of conventional or mainstream medicine –

• Combination of theory and practice characterize the non western, alternative medical systems that could include Ayurveda, Chinese herbal medicine, homeopathy, Tibetan medicine, Native American healing practices, acupuncture, and naturopathy.
• Mind body interventions heal using a combination of conventional medicine and also behavioral, social, psychological and even religious methods. This field of alternative medicine includes meditation, yoga, laughter therapy, music therapy, hypnosis, dance therapy, biofeedback and guided imagery.
• Manipulative and body based techniques such as Rolfing, chiropractic therapy, massage, the Alexander technique, acupressure, the Trager Approach, therapeutic touch and so on seek to bring out healing using body manipulation.
• Herbal medicine, dietary supplements, orthomolecular medicines and multivitamins constitute biological based therapies that heal by using botanicals and animal derived extracts.

Reiki, magnet therapies, Oi gong, pulsed fields, and alternative current and so on are energy therapies that try to bring about healing by using, modifying and manipulating energy fields – both external and of the body.

http://www.altmedicinezone.com/alternative-medicine/different-types-of-alternative-therapies-and-their-definitions/