She has seen similar positive results from various types of massage, relaxation and other mind-body techniques, as well as yoga, meditation and other complementary modalities. What s lacking is peer-reviewed scientific research to validate the efficacy of these medicines and therapies, speakers agreed. So far, grant money for such research has been sparse. Dr. Cassileth suggested physicians need to separate complementary from alternative treatments and modalities to restore semantic perspective to the debate. Integrated medicine is the best of complementary medicine and traditional therapies and treatments, she said.
Complementary therapies are really an extension of traditional care.
Dr. Szapary is assistant professor of medicine in the division of general internal medicine for the University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia. An Evidence-Based Approach provides an overview of major alternative medicine modalities and serves as a good introduction to the field. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews is the first place to start when reviewing an alternative medicine topic, according to Dr. Szapary. Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines is a concise resource on European phytotherapy published by the American Botanical Council.