The NCCAM has categorized CAM into five groups. The major types of CAM are as follows:
- Alternative medicine systems—These systems developed before conventional Western medicine or independent of it. Alternative medicine systems are based on different beliefs and philosophies and, as a result, approach both diagnosis and treatment of disease quite differently from traditional Western medicine. Examples of alternative medicine systems that began in Western cultures are homeopathy and naturopathic medicine. Alternative medicine systems that developed in other cultures include acupuncture, Ayurvedic medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine.
- Mind–body interventions—Mind–body medicine is a range of practices that aims to use the power of the mind to influence symptoms of disease and healing. Increasingly, this type of alternative medicine has gained acceptance among medical professionals. Mind–body therapies, such as support groups for people suffering from a variety of medical problems; relaxation techniques; and art, dance, and music therapies, are now widely used by practitioners of conventional medicine. Less widely accepted mind–body techniques include meditation, breathing, hypnosis, and prayer.
- Biologically based therapies—This type of treatment uses organic (naturally occurring) substances such as herbs, food, and vitamins to treat symptoms of disease and improve health and wellness. Examples of biologically based therapies include dietary supplements, herbal remedies, and the hotly debated use of hormones such as human growth hormone (HGH) and DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone, the most plentiful steroid hormone in the body) to combat disease and to slow aging.
- Manipulative and body-based methods—Movement therapies, manipulative methods, and bodywork are another type of CAM. Examples of these methods are massage therapy, chiropractic, and osteopathic manipulation (also referred to as craniosacral manipulative therapy).
- Energy therapies—These techniques aim to influence energy fields that practitioners of this form of CAM believe exist in and around the body. Also called "biofield therapies," some are "touch" therapies and others do not involve direct contact with any part of the body. Reiki and Qi Gong are examples of biofield therapies. Other forms of energy therapies known as bioelectromagnetic-based therapies use magnetic energy, electromagnetic fields, pulsed fields, alternating current, or direct current fields to influence "energy flow."
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