CAM
Complementary and alternative medicine
Complementary medicine
Some evidence backing it, to be used in conjunction with evidence-based medicine
Alternative medicine
No evidence, based off of traditional beliefs, supernatural energy, advertisement, or pseudoscience
Pseudoscience
Claims that use scientific vocabulary without any actual meaning to trick the uninformed
Placebo effect
Occurs when a perceived or actual improvement in condition results from receiving a stimulated treatment (placebo)
Nocebo effect
Occurs when one feels degradation in condition after something that is harmless but is perceived as harmful (nocebo)
Humorism
Belief that the body is made of 4 elements (humors)
Eucrasia
State of having balanced humors, being healthy
Dycrasia
State of having unbalanced humors, being ill
Factors that could affect humors (3)
Lifestyle, seasonality, climate
Phlebotomy
Bloodletting. Surgical removal of blood to restore eucrasia
Most important humor
Blood, because it is easy to extract
Wuxing
5 Phases. Chinese medical belief similar to humorism
Hypnotherapy
Altered state of consciousness where the subject gains a heightened sense of concentration on one thing, but loses peripheral awareness, becoming subject to suggestion
Treatable by hypnotherapy
Psychological ailments
Acupuncture
Complementary medicine originating from China, based on the belief that the body operates by life force energy (qi). Restore flow of qi by stimulating acupoints with a needle
Acupoints
Points connected along pathways called meridians, existing at anatomically significant locations (tendon, muscle midpoints, where nerve enters muscle)
Cun
Traditional unit of measure used to locate acupoints
Traditional TCM diagnosis (4)
- inspection (looking)
- auscultation, olfaction (listening, scent)
- palpation (feeling)
- inquiry (questioning)
Moxibustion
Creating heat near acupoints with burning mugwort leaves
Cupping
Suction with cups on skin to increase bloodflow
Acupressure
Stimulating acupoints with a massage
Reflexology
Acupoints concentrated on hands, feet, and ears
Faith Healing
Belief that improvement in condition can be brought about by religious beliefs or practices. Purpose is to call on divinity to tend to someone’s suffering
