Traditional Medicine (TM)
Mohammed Kaleemullah
0174519660
Kaleem7333@gmail.comc
CAM?
Medicine
Medicine
➢ Medicine is the art and science of healing.
➢ It includes a variety of health care practices evolved to
maintain and restore health by the prevention and
treatment of illness.
➢ Throughout history there have been two separate
traditions in the practice of medicine.
Medicine
➢ Art of Healing
▪ It usually involves its own specialised brand
of training and relies mainly on a prescriber’s
intuition and patient perceptions of successful
outcomes.
➢ Science of Healing
▪ It is based on technological and scientific
ideas and leaves much less opportunity for
practitioners to express an innovative and
intuitive approach to medicine.
Medicine
Approaches to healing
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
OM
Orthodox
Conventional
Established
Scientific
proven
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
CAM
Unorthodox, unconventional
Alternative
Fringe
Natural
unproven
The complementary and alternative
medicine (CAM)
Definition:
➢ The complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is
▪ a group of diverse medical and health care systems,
▪ practices that are not presently considered to be part of
conventional medicine or mainstream medical care.
CAM
Definition: The WHO defines CAM as referring to
⚫
health practices, approaches, knowledge and beliefs
incorporating
⚫
plant -, animal - and mineral - based medicines,
⚫
spiritual therapies, manual techniques and exercises,
⚫
applied singularly or in combination to treat, diagnose and
prevent illnesses or maintain well-being.
Examples:
Herbal
Homeopathy
Massage
Acupuncture
Chiropractic
Hypnosis
Diet
Guided imagery
Prayer
Vitamins
Astrology
Behavioural therapy
Biofeedback
Relaxation
Folk medicine
Spirituality
Support groups/ self-help
Energy medicine
Exercise
Naturopathy
Reflexology
Aromatherapy
Colonic irrigation
Cranial sacral therapy
Meditation
Commercial weight loss
Magnets
Tai c’hi
Therapeutic touch
Traditional Chinese medicine
Counselling
Yoga
Ayurveda
Chelation
Drama
Electrostimulation
Curanderismo
Faith healing
Health food
Humour
Light Music
Osteopathy
Ozone
Psychotherapy
Reiki
Acupressure
Metabolic
Art
Complementary medicine
➢ Complementary Medicine is Used Together With
Conventional Medicine.
➢ Complementary medicine is a diagnosis, treatment
and/or
prevention
which
complements
mainstream medicine by contributing to a
common whole, by satisfying a demand not met by
orthodoxy.
➢ An example of a complementary therapy is using
aromatherapy to help lessen a patient’s discomfort
following surgery.
Alternative medicine
➢Alternative Medicine is Used in Place of
Conventional Medicine.
➢An example of an alternative therapy is
using a special diet to treat cancer instead
of undergoing surgery, radiation, or
chemotherapy that has been recommended
by a conventional doctor.
Patient
➢ by convention anyone who is unwell is usually called
a patient derived from the Latin patior – ‘to suffer’.
Disease
➢ A group of subjective problems reported by the
patient (symptoms).
➢ Objective alterations in body functions, usually
identified by a trained observer (signs).
➢ The results of various investigations or procedures
(investigations).
Illness
➢illness is a feeling of being unwell, with or
without the presence of a disease
Health
➢Health is a state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being and not
merely the absence of disease..
To be healthy, Should Avoid….
Natural food is more safe and healthier than eating
⚫
Foods with additives.
⚫
Meat that has been injected with hormones and
antibiotics,
⚫
Grains and vegetables that have been raised on
fields repeatedly sprayed with poisonous
pesticides and herbicides.
To be healthy, Should Avoid….
⚫
Sedentary lifestyle
⚫
The pressures of job or school; divorces between couples
and moves from community to community;
⚫
grim or uncertain news from all over the world in the
newspapers and on television; and great and constant
noise.
All of these forces tax our physical and emotional capabilities.
Aim of CAM
The aim is to treat a person’s ailments in such a way that allows him
to return to his own particular state of wellness. OR
❖
CAM therapies usually stress the idea of restoring a patient’s
overall wellness rather than merely seeking a reduction in any
particular clinical symptom.
❖
It addresses not only symptoms, but the entire person, and his or
her current life predicament, including family, job, and religious
life.
❖
It emphasizes prevention, health maintenance, high-level wellness
and longevity.
Classification of
CAM
1. Whole medical systems – Healing Systems
⚫
Healing systems are complete sets of theories and practices.
⚫
A system is not just a single practice or remedy but many
different practices that all center on a philosophy or lifestyle,
such as the power of nature or the presence of energy in the
body.
Examples :
⚫ Ayurveda
⚫ Homeopathy
⚫ Naturopathic medicine
⚫ Traditional Chinese medicine
2. Mind-Body Connections/Intervention
⚫
Mind-body medicine uses a variety of techniques designed to
enhance the mind's capacity to affect bodily function and
symptoms.
⚫
Some techniques that were considered alternative in the past
have become mainstream (for example, patient support groups
and cognitive-behavioral therapy). Other mind-body techniques
are still considered alternative, including:
Art therapy
Hypnotherapy
Biofeedback
Meditation
Dance therapy
Music therapy
Guided imagery
Prayer therapy
Humor therapy
Yoga
3. Biologically-Based Therapies
⚫
Biologically
based
therapies
in
complementary and alternative medicine
use substances found in nature, such as
herbs, foods, and vitamins. Some examples
include:
⚫
Herbal products
Dietary supplements
⚫
4. Manipulative and Body-Based Methods
⚫
Manipulative
and
body-based
methods
in
complementary and alternative medicine are based
on manipulation and/or movement of one or
more parts of the body. Some examples include:
⚫
Acupressure
Chiropractic
Massage therapy
Osteopathy
Reflexology
⚫
⚫
⚫
⚫
5. Energy Therapy
⚫
In these therapies it will be believed that
an invisible energy force flows through
the body and when this energy flow is
blocked or unbalanced can leads to
sickness.
⚫
Examples : Reiki, Tai-Chi.
Principles of
Complimentary And
Alternative Medicine
Principles of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine
1. Prevention is key to good health
➢ Taking steps to achieve better health before getting sick is
the best way to be healthy.
2. The body has the ability to heal itself
➢ Alternative medicine practitioners see themselves as
facilitators.
➢ To them, body itself does the healing work, and treatment
encourages natural healing processes.
Principles of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine
3. Learning and healing go hand in hand
➢ Alternative medicine practitioners see themselves as
teachers and mentors who offer guidance.
➢ To the practitioner, the patient the one who does the
healing
4. Holistic Care
➢ The focus is on treating as a whole person- recognizing
that physical health, mental well-being, relationships
and spiritual needs are interconnected and play a part in
overall health.
Reasons to Use CAM
OR
Why do people
choose to be treated
with CAM?
Why do people choose to be treated with CAM?
1. Safety concerns – the risk–benefit ratio:
➢ It has been suggested that some patients may think of
unconventional therapies as a type of risk-free
supplementary insurance that buys a higher state of
wellness and a symptom-free, stress-free existence.
➢ The two most frequent reasons for using CAM were a
desire to use all options in healthcare and the hope of
being cured without any side effects.
Why do people choose to be treated with CAM?
➢ 2. General disenchantment with OM
➢ Minimal attention to the individual and her or his
social and psychological needs,
➢ CAM provides a non-invasive, holistic alternative that
is increasingly attractive to many, in particular to those
who are better educated, richer and residents of urban
centres.
Why do people choose to be treated with CAM?
➢ 3. Dissatisfaction with the OM consultation
➢ The holistic approach to treatment offers a quality of
personal attention and care.
➢ A whole range of aspects of an individual’s life is considered
– aspects that a GP conducting a busy surgery with limited
resources would normally ignore.
➢ Furthermore, it gives an individual a feeling of
participating in health decisions and thus allows some
measure of control over his or her care.
➢ CAM practitioners were generally perceived as having
more time to listen.
Why do people choose to be treated with CAM?
4. Belief in the value of CAM as an appropriate approach to
healthcare
➢ Patients are no longer willing to be treated in a paternalistic
‘I know best’ manner with standardised medication.
➢ They want a sensitive recognition of themselves as unwell
people, rather than accepting treatment for a disease in
isolation.
➢ It has been said that CAM, in particular homeopathy,
appeals to patients who feel that attention should be paid
to underlying causes of ailments rather than just the
symptoms.
Why do people choose to be treated with CAM?
➢ 5. Decreased efficacy of orthodox drugs
➢ It is known that some drugs appear to become less
efficacious the longer they are used to treat a
particular condition.
➢ Skin conditions treated with steroids fall into this
category: as time proceeds patients often claim that
the efficacy of the various topical preparations falls.
Why do people choose to be treated with CAM?
➢ 6. Perceived effectiveness
➢ CAM was seen to be most useful in specific conditions,
including depression, stress and smoking cessation (where
hypnosis was considered to be superior to conventional
medicine), and in the treatment of common colds and skin
problems.
➢ Among those people with a strong belief in CAM, herbalism and
homeopathy were seen as being valuable in chronic and
psychological conditions; homeopathy was favoured in the
treatment of allergies.
➢ Acupuncture and osteopathy were both perceived as valuable in
the treatment of back pain, whereas hypnosis was seen as
useful in the treatment of a variety of psychological problems,
and considered to be superior to orthodox procedures.
Why do people choose to be treated with CAM?
➢ 7. Financial reasons
➢ CAM often claims to offer therapies that are good
value for money.
➢ The average cost of a CAM medicine is generally below
the average orthodox over-the-counter (OTC) medicine
purchase in a community pharmacy or health store.
This can act as an incentive to the purchaser.
Why do people choose to be treated with CAM?
➢ 8. The ‘green’ association
➢ Many of the CAM disciplines are considered to be
‘natural’ and the medicines made from non-synthetic
sources.
Why do people choose to be treated with CAM?
➢ 9. Encouragement by media and self study materials
➢ Almost every popular journal and most newspapers
have run features on CAM in the last 5 years.
Are The
Patients
Reading
This?
Or
This?
Why do people choose to be treated with CAM?
➢ 10. Cultural reasons
➢ The mobility across national borders of people whose
cultural backgrounds emphasise the use of holistic forms of
medicine is another reason for increased demand for
homeopathic medicines.
➢ Thus, migrants from the Indian subcontinent and China
bring their customs with them when they migrate.
➢ Either from an inherent mistrust of western medicine or
from a misunderstanding of what it can achieve, such
people prefer to continue using traditional methods that
have proved successful over many centuries.
Why do people choose to be treated with CAM?
➢ 11. The effect of opinion leaders
➢ It is likely that role models have a significant effect in
leading people to use CAM.
➢ Film stars and royalty are particularly active in
promoting their particular discipline by taking on some
capacity either within an organisation or in newspaper
and magazine articles.
12. Medication errors

Medication errors are
among
the
most
common
medical
errors, harming at
least 1.5 million people
every year, says a new
report
from
the
Institute of Medicine
of
the
National
Academies.
Why do people choose not to be treated with CAM?
Among the possible reasons for not selecting CAM as a favoured
method of treatment are the following:
1. Concern about lack of scientific evidence that complementary
therapies work
2. A strong belief in the value of ‘scientific medicine’
3. Conventional medicine works, so why try something else?
4. No belief in complementary therapies: ‘old wives’ tales’, ‘myth’,
‘superstition’
Why do people choose not to be treated with CAM?
5. Strong trust in orthodox doctors: ‘the doctor knows best’
6. Lack of awareness of or interest in complementary therapies
7. No complementary therapy use within personal social networks
8. Financial cost of private complementary therapies
9. Uncertainty about quality and safety of OTC complementary
treatments.
What sort of conditions are most often
treated with CAM?
KLINIKEN ESSEN-MITTE,
Dpt. for Internal and Integrative Medicine

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