The term CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) covers a very wide range of health related practices and products. CAM lays stress on the human mind and body; this is in contrast to "standard", conventional medicine which lays more stress on the medication. This is the basic difference between the two systems. It is this distinction in the principles on which these practices are based that have fueled controversies
Some of complementary and alternative medicine systems, like Ayurveda, are very ancient; others like Homeopathy are of more recent origin. They are based on different principles: Ayurveda aims to integrate body, mind, and spirit to prevent and treat disease, Homeopathy seeks to stimulate the body's ability to heal itself; Naturopathy believes in the body's innate capacity to recover ability to heal itself through the use of dietary and lifestyle changes. Acupressure and Acupuncture believe in providing relief or cure from the ailment through physical manipulations of the body. There are yet others that believe in being able to aid cure through prayers and meditation.
Most of these practices have got developed in different parts of the world. They have been practiced and flourished there; and subsequently they have spread to other parts of the world. It is true that most of these practices have not been rigorously tested by anything resembling "double blind" clinical tests; at the same time it is also true that there are a number of cases of medicines that have been tested and found to be safe and effective in the "standard" or conventional medical practice but had to be withdrawn or banned as being harmful.
It will be seen that the "non-standard" products and practices (CAM) lay stress on the human mind and body; this is in contrast to "standard" , conventional medicine which lays more stress on the specific ailment or malfunction of a specific organ for treatment by medication or if necessary by surgery.. The conventional medicine relies to a large extent on diagnostic aids - whether pathological tests, ECG, X-ray, etc - which can provide measurable, recordable responses; it is possible for results of the diagnostic aids to be conveyed over long distances and interpreted by another medical practitioner and herein lies the major strength of the conventional medicine..
The non-conventional medicine, being ancient system, could not have had the benefit of diagnostic aids excepting the medical practitioner's observation by sensory organs and mind, and his analysis based on the patient's history, his dietary habits and the existing condition. Naturally the capability and experience of the practitioner plays much greater role in the success of the particular medical practice.
This large difference in the two medicine systems - conventional and CAM - becomes even greater when we come to think of those non-conventional practices like meditation where the entire basis of the healing process depends on the patients mental processes.
S. Phadke is a retired professional.
He enjoys writing and has been writing articles on a variety of subjects such as Energy Conservation, Home Based Industries, Online Data Storage, Internet marketing, etc.
Presently he is preparing to write a series of articles on Health related issues and on CAM (Complimentary and Alternative Medicine)
He can be contacted at snphadke@gmail.com
Source: www.a1articles.com