Definitions for alternative medicine
al·ter·na·tive medicine

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. alternative medicinenoun

   the practice of medicine without the use of drugs; may involve herbal medicines or self-awareness or biofeedback or acupuncture

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. alternative medicinenoun

   any of various medical methods and practices used in place of, or as well as, conventional medicine

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Alternative medicine

   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. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), integrated medicine or integrative medicine (IM), and holistic medicine attempt to combine alternative practices with those of mainstream medicine. Alternative therapies share in common that they reside outside of medical science and instead rely on pseudoscience. Traditional practices become "alternative" when used outside their original settings and without proper scientific explanation and evidence. Frequently used derogatory terms for relevant practices are new age or pseudo- medicine, with little distinction from quackery. Some alternative practices are based on theories that contradict the established science of how the human body works; others resort to the supernatural or superstitious to explain their effect or lack thereof. In others, the practice has plausibility but lacks a positive risk–benefit outcome probability. Alternative medicine is distinct from scientific 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. Research into alternative therapies often fails to follow proper research protocols (such as placebo-controlled trials, blind experiments and calculation of prior probability), providing invalid results. Much of the perceived effect of an alternative practice arises from a belief that it will be effective (the placebo effect), or from the treated condition resolving on its own (the natural course of disease). This is further exacerbated by the tendency to turn to alternative therapies upon the failure of medicine, at which point the condition will be at its worst and most likely to spontaneously improve. In the absence of this bias, especially for diseases that are not expected to get better by themselves such as cancer or HIV infection, multiple studies have shown significantly worse outcomes if patients turn to alternative therapies. While this may be because these patients avoid effective treatment, some alternative therapies are actively harmful (e.g. cyanide poisoning from amygdalin, or the intentional ingestion of hydrogen peroxide) or actively interfere with effective treatments. The alternative medicine sector is a highly profitable industry with a strong lobby, and faces far less regulation over the use and marketing of unproven treatments. Its marketing often advertises the treatments as being "natural" or "holistic", in comparison to those offered by medical science. Billions of dollars have been spent studying alternative medicine, with few or no positive results. Some of the successful practices are only considered alternative under very specific definitions, such as those which include all physical activity under the umbrella of "alternative medicine".

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. alternative medicine

   Alternative medicine refers to a broad set of healthcare practices, therapies, and techniques that are not currently considered part of conventional, mainstream medical practice. These may include natural products such as herbs, dietary supplements, and vitamins, as well as practices like acupuncture, yoga, meditation, homeopathy, chiropractic treatments, and traditional healing practices. Alternative medicine is often used in place of conventional medicine, but also may be used in conjunction with it in a complementary manner.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Alternative medicine

   Alternative medicine is any of a wide range of health care practices, products and therapies, using methods of medical diagnosis and treatments which, at least up to the end of the twentieth century, were typically not included in the degree courses of established medical schools teaching medicine, including surgery, in the tradition of the Flexner Report or similar. Examples include homeopathy, Ayurveda, chiropractic and acupuncture. Complementary medicine is alternative medicine used together with conventional medical treatment in a belief, not proven by using scientific methods, that it "complements" the treatment. CAM is the abbreviation for Complementary and alternative medicine. Integrative medicine is the combination of the practices and methods of alternative medicine with evidence-based medicine. The term alternative medicine is used in information issued by public bodies in the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Regulation and licensing of alternative medicine and health care providers varies from country to country, and state to state.

Matched Categories

1. • Medicine

How to pronounce alternative medicine?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say alternative medicine in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of alternative medicine in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of alternative medicine in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of alternative medicine in a Sentence

1. Dan Larhammer:

   The most important risk is that people and patients rely on unproven methods and refrain from using evidence-based methods, patients lose time and money by relying on useless methods that can, at best, provide placebo response which is usually transient. Some alternative medicine methods, including TCM, involve side effects, especially herbal extracts.

2. Amit Ray:

   In reality, Allopathic medicine should be called as alternative medicine and Ayurveda as the main line medicine. As Ayurveda is more mature, holistic, time tested, fewer side effects, and older than the allopathy.

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=alternative medicine
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Alternative_Medicine
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_Medicine
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=alternative medicine