Whole medical systems
All-encompassing approaches that include philosophy, diagnosis, and treatment
Ayurveda
Aims to restore balance within the body
Uses diet, massage, herbs, meditation, therapeutic elimination, and yoga
Homeopathy
Based on the law of similars: A substance that causes certain symptoms when given in large doses can cure the same symptoms when it is used in minute doses*
Naturopathy
Aims to prevent and treat disease by promoting a healthy lifestyle, treating the whole person, and using the body’s natural ability to heal itself
Uses a combination of therapies, including acupuncture, counseling, exercise therapy, guided imagery, homeopathy, hydrotherapy, medicinal herbs, natural childbirth, nutrition, physical therapies, and stress management
Traditional Chinese medicine
Aims to restore the proper flow of life force (qi) in the body by balancing the opposing forces of yin and yang within the body
Uses acupuncture, massage, medicinal herbs, and meditative exercise (qi gong)
Mind-body medicine
Use of behavioral, psychologic, social, and spiritual techniques to enhance the mind’s capacity to affect the body and thus to preserve health and prevent or cure disease
Biofeedback
Uses electronic devices to provide people with information about biologic functions (such as heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle tension) and teaches people how to control these functions
Guided imagery
Uses mental images to help people relax or to promote wellness or healing of a particular condition, such as insomnia or psychologic trauma
Hypnotherapy
Puts people into a state of relaxation and heightened attention to help them change their behavior and thus improve their health
Meditation, including mindfulness
Intentionally regulating attention or systematically focusing on particular aspects of experience
Relaxation techniques
Using techniques to slow certain body functions down (for example, by slowing the heart rate) and thus to relieve tension and stress
Biologically based practices
Use of naturally occurring substances (such as particular foods and micronutrients) to promote wellness
Botanical medicine and natural products
Uses substances that occur naturally in plants or animals to treat symptoms or disease (such as cartilage used to treat joint pain)
Chelation therapy
Uses a drug to bind with and remove a metal or mineral that is believed to be present in excess or toxic amounts in the body
Diet therapies
Use specialized dietary regimens (such as the macrobiotic, Paleo, low carbohydrate, or Mediterranean diet) to treat or prevent a specific disease, to generally promote wellness, or to detoxify the body
Manipulative and body-based practices
Manipulation of parts of the body (such as joints and muscles) to treat various conditions and symptoms
Based on the belief that the body in balance will improve certain symptoms and that its parts are interdependent
Chiropractic
Involves manipulating the spine (mainly) to restore the normal relationship between the spine and nervous system
May involve physical therapy (such as heat and cold therapy and electrical stimulation), massage, acupressure, and/or exercises or lifestyle changes
Cupping
Uses heated cups, inverted and placed on the skin to create vacuum that sucks the skin partway into the cup, which may be left in place for several minutes
Considered a form of massage that increases blood flow to targeted regions in an effort to alter inflammation and certain conditions
Massage
Involves manipulating muscles and other tissues to reduce pain and muscle spasm and to reduce stress and enhance relaxation
Moxibustion
Uses dried moxa herb (a mugwort) that is burned usually just above but sometimes directly on the skin over acupuncture points
Reflexology
Involves applying manual pressure to specific areas of the foot, hand, or ear that are believed to correspond to different organs or systems of the body
Gua sha (for example, scraping, coining, spooning)
Involves rubbing a dull implement such as a coin or a spoon across skin, usually on the back, neck, or extremities
Considered a form of massage, also called gua sha
Energy therapies
Manipulation of energy fields thought to exist in and around the body (biofields) to maintain or restore health
Based on the belief that a universal life force or subtle energy resides in and around the body and throughout the universe
Acupuncture
Stimulates specific points on the body, usually by inserting very thin needles into the skin and underlying tissues to affect the flow of qi along energy pathways (meridians) and thus restore balance in the body
Qi gong
A gentle movement practice in traditional Chinese medicine using postures, breathing, and meditation to improve healing
Magnets
An energy therapy involving placing magnets on the body to reduce pain or enhance healing
Reiki
An energy therapy involving practitioners channeling energy through their hands and transferring it into a person's body to promote healing
Therapeutic touch
An energy therapy using the therapist’s healing energy, usually without touching the person, to identify and repair imbalances in the person's biofield