What is Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)?
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The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), which is the largest government agency researching complementary and alternative medicine in the United States, defines complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) as “a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are currently not integrated into conventional medicine.”
There are hundreds of forms of CAM, many of which are ancient Indigenous practices that originated thousands of years ago from cultural and traditional forms of medicine that are based on natural and holistic principles that treat the “whole” person (i.e., body, mind, and spirit).
CAM has become increasingly popular in Western countries over the past several decades, with at least one in three adults employing CAM at some point in their lives. Fortunately, most CAM users report benefiting from the intervention.
Although complementary and alternative medicine are often grouped together, it is worth noting that these are two distinct entities. As the name suggests, complementary medicine is meant to complement conventional medical treatments. Thus, it is no surprise that CAM modalities have been shown to effectively complement other interventions already being used by clinicians. On the other hand, alternative medicine is when these mind-body interventions are used instead of allopathic (i.e., conventional medical) treatments. Many people who choose alternative medicine over allopathic options consider conventional medical treatments too invasive, expensive, dangerous, toxic, or ineffective.
Common reasons people seek out CAM include wanting to reduce pain (e.g., back, neck, shoulder), alleviate mental health conditions (e.g., stress, anxiety, depression), and manage chronic diseases (e.g., digestive problems, chronic pain, headaches, fatigue, cancer, HIV).
References
Barnes, P. M., Bloom, B., & Nahin, R. L. (2008). Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults and children: United States, 2007.
Barnes, P. M., Powell-Griner, E., McFann, K., & Nahin, R. L. (2004). Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults: United States, 2002. Seminars in Integrative Medicine, 2(2), 54-71.
Barnett, J. E., & Shale, A. J. (2012). The integration of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) into the practice of psychology: A vision for the future. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 43(6), 576.
Ernst, E., & Fugh-Berman, A. (2002). Complementary and alternative medicine: what is it all about? Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 59(2), 140-144.
Fischer, F. H., Lewith, G., Witt, C. M., Linde, K., von Ammon, K., Cardini, F., Falkenberg, T., Fønnebø, V., Johannessen, H., Reiter, B., Uehleke, B., Weidenhammer, W., & Brinkhaus, B. (2014). High prevalence but limited evidence in complementary and alternative medicine: Guidelines for future research. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 14(1), 1-9.
Staud, R. (2011). Effectiveness of CAM therapy: Understanding the evidence. Rheumatic Disease Clinics, 37(1), 9-17.
Wang, C., Preisser, J., Chung, Y., & Li, K. (2018). Complementary and alternative medicine use among children with mental health issues: Results from the National Health Interview Survey. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 18(1), 1-17.