Complementary Care

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common disease of the nervous system. Most people with MS use some form of conventional medical treatment. In addition, many people also use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), which refers to unconventional medical practices that are not part of mainstream medicine. Despite the fact that CAM is used frequently and multiple sclerosis is a common neurologic disorder, it is difficult to obtain accurate and unbiased information specific to the use of CAM for MS.

Before considering the relevance of unconventional medicine to multiple sclerosis, it is important to understand the approach of conventional medicine to this disease. There have been dramatic advances recently in the field of MS research. Through scientific studies, we now have an increased understanding of the disease process itself. Also, clinical studies with experimental medications have yielded new therapies that slow the progression of multiple sclerosis and control MS-related symptoms, such as stiffness or pain.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a controversial area. In fact, even the term and its definition are not entirely agreed upon. Besides complementary and alternative medicine, other frequently used terms are unconventional medicine and integrative medicine. The term complementary medicine refers to therapies that are used in addition to conventional medicine, while the term alternative medicine is used to describe treatment that is used instead of conventional medicine.

There are many different definitions of CAM. These definitions frequently state what CAM “is not” as opposed to what it “is.” For example, in the United States, CAM is sometimes defined as medical therapy that is not widely taught at American medical schools or is not generally available in American hospitals. This definition recently has become less clear because CAM is now part of the curricula of many medical schools and is provided more often in the medical community. Also, as clinical trials are done to evaluate the effectiveness of CAM therapies, some forms of CAM may eventually become components of conventional medicine.

To read more, please join our Living Well Community!