Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Unlike modern medicine, which employs the scientific method to test plausible therapies by way of responsible and ethical clinical trials, producing repeatable evidence of either effect or of no effect, alternative therapies reside outside of medical science and do not originate from using the scientific method, but instead rely on testimonials, anecdotes, religion, tradition, superstition, belief in supernatural "energies", pseudoscience, errors in reasoning, propaganda, fraud, or other unscientific sources. Frequently used terms for relevant practices are New Age medicine, pseudo-medicine, holistic medicine, unorthodox medicine, fringe medicine, and unconventional medicine, with little distinction from quackery.
The Alexander Technique, named after its developer Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869–1955), is a type of alternative therapy based on the idea that poor posture gives rise to a range of health problems. The American National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health classifies it as a "psychological and physical" complementary approach to health when used "together with" mainstream methods. When used "in place of" conventional medicine, it's considered "alternative".
Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutrition, and product development. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all animal species, both domesticated and wild, with a wide range of conditions that can affect different species.
Magnetic therapy is a pseudoscientific alternative medicine practice involving the weak static magnetic field produced by a permanent magnet which is placed on the body. It is similar to the alternative medicine practice of electromagnetic therapy, which uses a magnetic field generated by an electrically powered device. Magnet therapy products may include wristbands, jewelry, blankets, and wraps that have magnets incorporated into them.
Reiki is a Japanese form of energy healing, a type of alternative medicine. Reiki practitioners use a technique called palm healing or hands-on healing through which a "universal energy" is said to be transferred through the palms of the practitioner to the patient in order to encourage emotional or physical healing.
MEDLINE is a bibliographic database of life sciences and biomedical information. It includes bibliographic information for articles from academic journals covering medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and health care. MEDLINE also covers much of the literature in biology and biochemistry, as well as fields such as molecular evolution.
Orthomolecular medicine is a form of alternative medicine that aims to maintain human health through nutritional supplementation. The concept builds on the idea of an optimal nutritional environment in the body and suggests that diseases reflect deficiencies in this environment. Treatment for disease, according to this view, involves attempts to correct "imbalances or deficiencies based on individual biochemistry" by use of substances such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, trace elements and fatty acids. The notions behind orthomolecular medicine are not supported by sound medical evidence, and the therapy is not effective for chronic disease prevention; even the validity of calling the orthomolecular approach a form of medicine has been questioned since the 1970s.
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) is a United States government agency which explores complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). It was initially created in 1991 as the Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM), and renamed the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) before receiving its current name in 2014. NCCIH is one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH) within the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
Mind–body interventions (MBI) or mind-body training (MBT) are health and fitness interventions that are intended to work on a physical and mental level such as yoga, tai chi, and Pilates.
Edzard Ernst is a retired British-German academic physician and researcher specializing in the study of complementary and alternative medicine. He was Professor of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter, allegedly the world's first such academic position in complementary and alternative medicine.
Energy medicine is a branch of alternative medicine based on a pseudo-scientific belief that healers can channel "healing energy" into a patient and effect positive results. Practitioners use a number of names including various synonyms for medicine and sometimes use the word vibrational instead of or in concert with energy. In most cases there is no empirically measurable energy involved: the term refers instead to so-called subtle energy. Practitioners may classify practice as hands-on, hands-off, and distant where the patient and healer are in different locations. Many schools of energy healing exist using many names: for example, biofield energy healing, spiritual healing, contact healing, distant healing, therapeutic touch, Reiki or Qigong.
The British Journal of Pharmacology is a biweekly peer-reviewed medical journal covering all aspects of experimental pharmacology. It is published for the British Pharmacological Society by Wiley-Blackwell. It was established in 1946 as the British Journal of Pharmacology and Chemotherapy. The journal obtained its current title in 1968.
The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering alternative medicine published by Mary Ann Liebert. It was established in 1995 and is the official journal of the Society for Acupuncture Research. The editor-in-chief is John Weeks, who succeeded the founding editor, Kim A. Jobst.
Cancer is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering oncology. The journal was established in 1948. It is an official journal of the American Cancer Society and is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the society. The first editor-in-chief was Fred W. Stewart, who held that position until 1961. The current editor-in-chief is Suresh S. Ramalingam, and the previous one was Fadlo R. Khuri. Cancer Cytopathology was published as a section from 1997 until 2008, when it was split into a separate journal.
Cancer Cytopathology is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal which covers practice of cytopathology and its related oncology-based disciplines. It is one of three official journals of the American Cancer Society and is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the society. The current editor-in-chief is William C. Faquin. Cancer Cytopathology was published as a section of Cancer from 1997 until 2008 when it was split into a separate journal.
Genes to Cells is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes original research on the molecular mechanisms of biological events. The journal has been published since 1996 by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Molecular Biology Society of Japan.
The Journal of Forensic Sciences (JFS) is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal is the official publication of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, published by Wiley-Blackwell. It covers all aspects of forensic science. The mission of the JFS is to advance forensic science research, education and practice by publishing peer-reviewed manuscripts of the highest quality. These publications will strengthen the scientific foundation of forensic science in legal and regulatory communities around the world.
The American Journal of Transplantation is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and the American Society of Transplantation. It covers research on all aspects of organ transplantation. Each issue offers continuing medical education in the form of its Images in Transplantation feature, a case-based approach.
The Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of pharmacy and pharmacology. It is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. It is an official journal of the British Pharmaceutical Conference. It was established in 1870 and acquired its current title in 1949. The editor-in-chief is D. Jones.
Alternative medicine describes any practice which aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine, but which lacks biological plausibility and is untested or untestable. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), integrated medicine or integrative medicine (IM), and holistic medicine are among many rebrandings of the same phenomenon.
