What Makes Complementary and Alternative Medicine Different?
Complementary and alternative treatments differ from conventional treatments in a multitude of ways. One of the very obvious differences is simply that many complementary treatments are not well known to the general public. For example, most people are not familiar with treatments such as TENS therapy, but this type of treatment is actually FDA-approved, has been prescribed by doctors for several decades, and is covered by many insurance companies. For more information about this type of treatment, please see TENS Therapy. Another major difference between conventional and unconventional treatments is a philosophical approach and context. Complementary and alternative therapies tend to use an approach, referred to as “holistic,” to treat patients. Instead of treating a particular aspect of a patient’s symptoms, a complementary or alternative therapy is more likely to treat the whole person. For example, a medical doctor may prescribe a course of pain-relieving drugs for a person who is
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