Complementary And
Alternative Therapies
For Pain Management
What is Complementary and Alternative therapy?
Many Americans, nearly 40 percent, use health care
approaches developed outside of mainstream Western,
or conventional, medicine for specific conditions or
overall well-being. When describing health approaches
with non-mainstream roots, people often use the words
“alternative” and “complementary” interchangeably, but
the two terms refer to different concepts
• “Complementary” generally refers to using a nonmainstream approach together with conventional
medicine
• “Alternative” refers to using a non-mainstream
approach in place of conventional medicine
(nih.gov)
CAM is a group of diverse medical and
health care systems, practices and
products that are not presently considered
to be a part of conventional medicine.
Approximately 38% of adults are using
some form of CAM in the United States.
(Daniels)
History of CAM
The history of Western medicine and its
relationship to alternative medicines dates
back to 400-500 B.C.
CAM therapies are based on the medical
systems of ancient people including
Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, and Native
Americans. (Daniels)
TYPES OF CAM
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Essential Oils
Meditation and Relaxation
Animal therapy
Music therapy
Guided Imagery
Essential Oils
• Chamomile- well known for its effective anti-inflammatory
properties. Helps to relieve muscle pain and spasms, low
back pain, headaches and pain caused by PMS.
• Sweet marjoram – has sedative properties. Helps to
relieve muscle pain and spasms, stiffness, rheumatism,
osteoarthritis and migraine.
• Lavender – this is probably the most famous essential
oil for pain relief and relaxation. It has anti-inflammatory,
anti-microbial and sedative properties and it helps to
relieve muscle tension and spasms, joint pain and
headache.
Essential Oils Con’t
• Eucalyptus – has analgesic and anti-inflammatory
properties. Good...