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Complementary Medicine  is a group of diagnostic and therapeutic disciplines that are used together with conventional medicine (also known as "ordinary", "standard", "mainstream", "academic" medicine) as a complement to it. Because complementary medicine can be combined or integrated with conventional treatment is also known as " integrative medicine ".  Sometimes referred to as holistic medicine , as it usually deals with how the disease affects the whole person: physically, emotionally, spiritually and socially.

Role in improving health:

It involves a large number of health care practices and systems that, for various cultural, social, economic or scientific reasons, have not been adopted by mainstream Western medicine. But let's remember! Complementary medicine is used together with conventional medicine and never excludes it!  Complementary medicine can help you add some treatments, supplements, or adapt a healthy lifestyle to your regular treatment plan. But it shouldn't replace any part of your regular treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone treatment) with something else. If positive changes occur after the introduced changes, the attending physician decides to regulate or discontinue the current leading treatment.

Complementary Medicine:

• fills the gaps in a holistic approach to people,

• focuses on the physical and mental feelings of the patient,

• devotes time to him for a complete diagnosis,

• analyzes the course of the disease and looks for its source,

• adds missing elements of therapy,

• takes care of the proper nutrition of the body,

• does not interfere with standard treatment.

These mechanisms cause therapy to become full and effective !

Complementary medicine can help people with persistent pain, inflammation, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, and many other chronic conditions to better manage symptoms and improve quality of life by reducing fatigue, pain, and anxiety.  

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Development and future:

Complementary Medicine is a very diverse area that offers great potential for future medical practice. Conventional medicine has been proven safe and effective in numerous scientific studies, but it is important to know that complementary therapies do not usually undergo the same rigorous testing as conventional medicine. As evidence of the effectiveness and safety of some treatments grows,  Academic medicine quickly opens up to them , absorbing them into its system  they are becoming mainstream medical (for example, patient support groups and cognitive behavioral therapy). Other techniques are still treated with distrust.

On January 24, 2014, WHO approved the Complementary Medicine Strategy for 2014-2023 , an important part of which  is the integration of complementary medicine with national health programs . In addition, given the overall global trend, WHO encourages all participating countries to study the legacy of traditional medical systems. Recently, more and more large-scale research in this field  are based in China, India, Japan, Korea, Germany, Switzerland and America. Over the past decades, the number of countries with national research institutes for traditional medicine and complementary medical knowledge systems has grown significantly. The number of countries researching herbal medicines is also increasing.

All these data indicate the importance of the use and further development of complementary methods in medicine.  

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Complementary Medicine and Alternative Medicine : ​

Complementary medicine is often combined with alternative medicine as CAM (complementary and alternative medicine).

Although the term "complementary and alternative" is often used interchangeably as the same category, it is worth making a distinction between the two terms as the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) uses this distinction:

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• When non-mainstream practice is used alongside conventional medicine to help and support treatment, it is considered " complementary ".

• When non-mainstream practice is used instead of academic medicine, often rejecting conventional treatment, it is considered " alternative ".

However, these categories may overlap anyway. Therefore, it has been combined into one abbreviation CAM, and depending on the flexibility of health care in a given country, it is intertwined to a greater or lesser extent with academic forms of treatment.

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Type of therapy:

CAM is over 50 different therapies that fall into five main categories or domains:

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1. Natural medical systems:  This field covers the more popular and accepted forms of therapy, such as acupuncture, homeopathy, and oriental practices. These therapies have been practiced for centuries all over the world.  

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• naturopathy,

•   homeopathy,

• chinese medicine,

• acupuncture,

• Ayurveda;

2. Mind and body interventions: touch has been used in medicine since the beginning of medical care. Healing by touch is based on the premise that disease or injury in one area of the body can affect all parts of the body. If the remaining parts are restored to optimal health by sensory manipulation, the body can fully concentrate on treating the site of the injury or disease. Body techniques are often combined with mind techniques. Examples of body therapies include:

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• cognitive behavioral therapy,

• meditation,

• yoga,

• Tai Chi,

•   prayer,

• therapies that use creative methods, such as art, music, or dance

• animal therapy;

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3. Biology-Based Therapies: Over the centuries, humans have moved from a simple diet of meat, fruit, vegetables, and grains to a diet that often consists of foods high in fats, oils, and complex carbohydrates. Nutrient overload and deficiency have become a problem in today's society, leading to certain chronic diseases. Many dietary and herbal approaches attempt to balance the body's nutritional well-being.

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• dietetics,

• supplementation,

• phytotherapy;

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4. Manipulation and movement methods:

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• physiotherapy,

• massage,

• sport;

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5. Energy Therapies:

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• biofield,

• bioelectromagnetics,

• electroacupuncture

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and many others...

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In our office, we have selected only the most proven ones in terms of safety, quality, non-invasiveness and accuracy.

About what, click and read more here.

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Is Complementary Medicine Safe?

Many complementary medicine therapies have been carefully evaluated and have been shown to be generally safe and effective. In order to maintain a high standard of safety and quality of services in our office, we meet many requirements and rules:  

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