Complementary and alternative medicine is more than New Age mumbo jumbo about supplements and herbal remedies. According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is an umbrella name for a diverse group of medical practices and products currently not considered part of conventional medicine.

Complementary alternatives to medicine

At UI Hospitals and Clinics, complementary and alternative medicine practitioners are found in many obvious and not-so-obvious places.

Nicole Nisly, MD, a board-certified internist, sees patients in the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Clinic (Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to noon in the Internal Medicine Specialties Clinic, Pomerantz Family Pavilion, Level 3). She makes recommendations about the potential benefits of complementary and alternative therapies and evaluates concerns about interactions between drugs and herbal preparations. Nisly says her goal is to safely integrate CAM with standard medical care. Therapy options include herbal medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, massage therapy, healing touch, and biofeedback. For more information, call 319-356-2115.

An area that falls comfortably within the CAM description is one most people may not think of — music therapy. Music therapy is the clinical use of music to meet specific inpatient needs and increase the patient's quality of life. The music therapy program at UI Hospital and Clinics serves both adult and pediatric inpatients. Kim Hawkins, board-certified music therapist, says the program is tailored to meet the cognitive, motor, social, and/or emotional needs of the patient. Examples of how music therapy can help include teaching harmonica to promote deep breathing and teaching music relaxation techniques to decrease pain and anxiety.

Another example of the integrated CAM services at UI Hospitals and Clinics are the mindfulness based programs. Bev Klug, director of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program, says the program is often used to complement conventional medicine in the management of chronic conditions such as stress, chronic pain or illness, anxiety, or situational depression. The program helps people use their internal resources to change their relationship with stress and promote healthy living. The mindfulness program may help improve the ability to respond to stress more effectively, decrease pain levels, and improve the ability to cope with chronic pain or illness. For more information, call 319-384-7553.

There are five types of CAM

• Whole medicine services include homeopathic and naturopathic medicine
• Mind-body medicine includes cognitivebehavior therapy, meditation, and art
• Biologically based practices include herbs, dietary supplements, foods, and vitamins
• Manipulative and body-based practices include chiropractic or massage
• Energy medicine involves the use of biofield therapies like Reiki or bioelectromagnetic-based therapies using electromagnetic fields

There is a difference

Complementary medicine and alternative medicine are different.

• Complementary medicine is used with conventional medicine. For example, chiropractic manipulation has been used with physical therapy and medication in treating back pain.
• Alternative medicine can be used in place of conventional medicine. For example, fish oil has been prescribed for high triglycerides