Health Care Manag (Frederick). 2002 Mar; 20(3): 11-21.

The growing acceptance of complementary and alternative medicine.

Bodane C, Brownson K.

Center for Energy Medicine, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.

Alternative and complementary medicine is becoming more popular among consumers and prescribed more by health care professionals. Alternative medicine can be traced back thousands of years, however, it wasn't introduced to the United States until the early 1900s. Alternative medicine encompasses a wide range of therapies including homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic, massage and bodywork therapy, meditation, nutritional supplements, and herbal remedies. Understanding the background and benefits of these alternatives is important to all health care professionals.