Complementary And Alternative Medicine: A Literature Review

Complementary and Alternative medicine, known as CAM, is a growing area of medicine in the United States. About 40% of adults use CAM, and a growing number of children do as well. Some of these people use CAM as complementary to their current medical regime, while others prefer to exclusively use CAM without any other medical treatments. Without proper knowledge of CAM, practitioners cannot provide care to the extent needed by these patients. The article was written on a study done “to establish a baseline description of American occupational therapy educators’ knowledge, attitudes, and personal use of complementary and alternative medicine.” By doing this, the researchers could begin to determine how prepared future practitioners will be at meeting needs related to CAM services. The point stated by the researchers was that having little or no knowledge about CAM would create a risk for occupational therapy practitioners to have a little role in this type of health care. Knowledge of CAM is important for practitioners to have, since patients can use it in one of two ways. Some patients use a complementary approach, meaning they use these practices while using traditional …show more content…
Therapists can use CAM in their services “when they are used as preparatory methods of purposeful activities to facilitate the ability of clients to engage in their daily life occupations.” Although CAM might not be the main focus from this definition, it is regarded as an applicable step in ensuring a person can function at their full potential, and therefore may be a necessity to some. CAM related to occupational therapy can take on several different forms. One form growing in popularity is yoga, which reduces tension in the body and the mind. Aromatherapy can also be used to help with mental disorders as well as muscle tension. Reiki and tai chi are also frequently practiced forms of