What do you get when you cross conventional medicine with alternative therapies? More ways to feel better.

Not so long ago physicians and nurses worked in one world while practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) had their own niche. Rarely did the two worlds intersect. But that's changing rapidly, thanks to the emergence of integrative health care, a blend of both conventional and complementary approaches. Today growing numbers of physicians are prescribing approaches such as herbal supplements and acupuncture in addition to medications and medical procedures.

Mix-and-Match Medicine
Integrative medicine offers more options to prevent or treat illness. It's especially appealing to proactive patients who have done their research and want to be full partners in their own health care. Such patients may not be content to go home with nothing more than a prescription.

"Conventional medicine is well-suited to the problems in about 20 percent of people," says Todd Robinson, M.D., an integrative physician in Lakeland, Florida. It's great for trauma, acute infectious disease and problems requiring surgery, he says. But for chronic illness, standard medical approaches often fall short. While conventional treatments may help relieve symptoms, they don't always give people the tools to manage their health as a whole.

CAM therapies can help fill the gap. Some of the most widely used approaches include:

• Nutrition. Proper diet is one of the fundamental building blocks of good health. It's also the foundation of the integrative health movement, says J.E. Williams, a doctor of oriental and naturopathic medicine in Sarasota, Florida. Williams notes that the seeds of the movement were planted in the 1960s with the rise of health food stores and macrobiotic diets - largely vegetarian regimens that consisted mainly of whole grains, cereals and raw vegetables. The turning point for the movement came in the 1990s, when research into the health-promoting benefits of nutrition and exercise exploded. "The evidence became so overwhelming, you couldn't refute it," says Williams. Today integrative medicine places a high premium on a healthful diet for prevention of disease and promotion of optimal health.
• Herbs and dietary supplements. "A whole host of diseases can be helped with various supplements," says Robinson. Over the years, some uses of dietary supplements have made their way into conventional medicine as research evidence accumulated in support of their safety and effectiveness. For example it's now known that a combination of vitamins and zinc can slow the progression of the eye disease called age-related macular degeneration.
• Exercise. "We recommend it to all our patients with instructions to start where they are and advance slowly in length of time and difficulty," says Robinson. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, regular physical activity substantially lowers the risk of dying from heart disease, and it also decreases the risk of having a stroke, colon cancer and diabetes. Plus, it helps control weight, build strong bones and muscles, relieve arthritis pain and reduce anxiety and depression.
• Mind/body therapies. These techniques use the interaction between mind and body to promote better mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health. Examples include relaxation exercises, meditation, hypnosis, guided imagery and biofeedback.
• Moving meditation. This term is sometimes used for approaches that combine a system of physical exercise with mental focus and controlled breathing. Tai chi and yoga are two popular examples. Besides improving strength, flexibility and balance, such practices may help manage a wide range of health problems. For example some physicians recommend gentle tai chi movements to help ease arthritis pain and stiffness or yoga breathing exercises to help control asthma symptoms.
• Acupuncture. One of the oldest and most widely used medical procedures in the world, acupuncture involves the stimulation of key points on the body by various methods, including the insertion of hair-thin needles. According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, acupuncture can help reduce nausea from chemotherapy and pain after dental surgery. It also may be a useful addition to conventional treatments for addiction, headaches, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, low-back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and asthma.
• Massage therapy. A trained practitioner presses, rubs and otherwise manipulates the muscles and other soft tissues of the body. The goal is to relax the soft tissues and increase the flow of blood and oxygen to the area. This type of hands-on healing has been practiced for millennia. Today it's sometimes used to decrease pain, rehabilitate from sports injuries, relieve stress and promote wellness. Integrative medicine offers the best of both worlds by letting you combine the most effective medical treatments with the most appropriate CAM approaches. A good integrative physician can help you choose a combination that's right for you. "Most really good physicians on the cutting edge of therapies know we have to treat the entire person - mind, body and spirit - no matter what the illness is. "It can make a tremendous difference in our wellness."

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