CAM or Complementary and Alternative Medicine regroups all the non medical techniques meant to heal the body such as acupuncture, ayurveda, shiatsu, hydrotherapy, aromatherapy, massage, chiropractic…
The use of alternative medicine has been generalized through years of word of mouth. Today, 36% of American adults are using some form of alternative medicine according to the NCCAM. A survey by the NHIS done in 1997 found that the U.S. public spent an estimated $36 billion to $47 billion on alternative and complementary medicine therapies in 1997 with between 12 billion USD and 20 billion USD paid out-of-pocket for the services of professional alternative medicine health care providers.
As stated before many alternative medicine can be used to cure the same health issue but still with a big variance in terms of results. According to a study done by Gloria Yeh of the Osher institute, 36% of the patients that had a cardiovascular disease (CVD) were using complementary and alternative medicine (
- 24% for musculoskeletal complaints
- 23% for anxiety depression
- 16% for stress
- 13% to directly deal with CVD
All in all, Wellness treatments ranges under the five following categories (detailled profile of each system is attached to each title)
