Accurate Education - Integrative, Complementary and Alternative Medicine

“America’s health care system is in crisis precisely because we systematically neglect wellness and prevention.”
– Tom Harkin

Integrative & Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)

The goal of the clinicians at Accurate Clinic is to provide an “integrative” approach to our patients’ medical concerns that is safe, effective and evidence-based. Integrative Medicine includes conventional medical care but also extends beyond conventional medicine to also include Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM).

CAM is defined by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) as, “those treatments and healthcare practices that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine, not taught widely in medical schools, not generally used in hospitals, and not usually reimbursed by medical insurance companies.”

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) is the Federal Government’s lead agency for scientific research on the diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine. NCCIH works to determine what is promising, what helps and why, what doesn’t work, and what is safe.

For more information about Integrative Medicine & Complementary and Alternative Medicine, please scroll down and see below.

See: Naturopathic Medicine – Dr. Lisa Chambers Pate

See also:

CAM – Medications for Pain
CAM – Depression
CAM – Fibromyalgia
CAM – Headaches
CAM – Interstitial Cystitis
CAM & Conventional – Neuropathic (nerve) Pain
CAM & Conventional – Nutrition and Supplements
CAM & Conventional – Osteoarthritis
CAM – SUD, Addiction Recovery

Diet:

Purchasing Supplements

When purchasing supplements reviewed on this web site and discussed with Dr. Ehlenberger, a discount on usual commercial pricing can be obtained by purchasing from Accurate Clinic’s online Supplement Store after acquiring the discount code from Accurate Clinic:

Accurate Clinic’s Supplement Store

or call Toll-Free: 877-846-7122 (Option 1)

For additional links to CAM treatment for other diagnoses and symptoms, see below

Definitions and Terms Related to Pain

Key to Links:

Grey text – handout
Red text – another page on this website
Blue text – Journal publication

Integrative Medicine

Integrative Medicine combines mainstream, conventional medical therapies and CAM therapies.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine

‘Complementary’ describes a therapy that is used ‘in addition to’, and ‘alternative’ therapy is one that is used ‘instead of’ conventional therapy. CAM practitioners may be doctors of conventional medicine (MD) or may be doctors of naturopathic medicine (ND), nutritionists, herbalists, Chinese medicine practitioners, chiropractors, or energy healers.

The NCCIH classifies CAM treatments into seven categories:

1. Alternative systems of medical care

2. Bio-electromagnetic therapies

3. Diet, nutrition and lifestyle changes

4. Herbal medicine

5. Manual healing methods

6. Mind–body medicine

7. Pharmacological and biological therapies

Therefore, CAM therapies may incorporate nutrient therapies, botanical medicines, dietary changes, Ayurvedic medicine, energy healing, hypnosis, acupuncture, spinal manipulation, animal-assisted therapy, physical medicines, and so forth.

The distinction between conventional and CAM treatment is often blurry as CAM treatment that gradually gains acceptance by mainstream clinicians becomes slowly absorbed into the realm of conventional medicine. Acupuncture is a contemporary example, as this discipline continues to strengthen its foothold into conventional treatment. The reader is referred to other sites for detailed information on acupuncture as well as other disciplines including Ayurvedic and Chinese herbal medicine, and bio-eclectromeagnetic therapy.

Instead, this web site provides focused spotlights on the use of CAM treatment emphasizing conditions primarily treated at Accurate Clinic including chronic pain, weight loss, addiction and certain comorbidities associated with these conditions including anxiety, depression and PTSD.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine – Prevalence of Use

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics recently reported that 62% of adults employed some form of CAM therapy during the past 12 months. Forms of CAM, in order of popularity, included prayer, natural products (nutrient therapies, botanicals), deep breathing, meditation, chiropractic care, yoga, massage, and dietary changes. Recent data finds prayer to be the most popular alternative therapy, as 35% of the population makes use of prayer for their health concerns. CAM was most often used to treat anxiety or depression, back pain or back problems, head or chest colds, neck pain or neck problems, and joint pain or stiffness.

Why CAM?

It is the belief of the clinicians at Accurate Clinic that conventional medicine is inadequate to address the many medical problems faced by our population and this is especially true for the management of chronic pain, anxiety, depression, substance abuse and weight loss. The choice of CAM treatment is up to the patient, but seems to be population-dependent, as age group, specific medical condition, and geographic location may predispose a particular set of patients to explore CAM treatment. Certain conditions, such as fibromyalgia, are not served well by conventional medicine and do respond well to CAM treatment in many cases.

The first step in any approach to medical management is education. Due to time constraints limiting office visits as a means to educate our patients, Accurate Clinic has emphasized the use of educational handouts as a means of providing more health-related information to our patients than office visits allow. However, handouts are cumbersome, limited by printing restrictions and easily misplaced or damaged. As such, Dr. Ehlenberger has established the education links on this web site to provide his patients with the opportunity to explore in greater depth the topics presented during his visits including the evidence basis of treatments advised or recommended.

Please explore these pages and the links to the publications provided so that you can make informed decisions regarding the many alternative options for health care presented here. Please discuss the specifics of use of complementary and alternative treatment modalities with Dr. Ehlenberger prior to engaging therapy.

Educational Resources:

Dietary Supplement Testing and Safety:

Information on Herbal and Dietary Supplements:

Resources – Acupuncture

Resources – Chiropractic

American Chiropractic Association

Resources – Massage

American Massage Therapy Association

CAM – Treatment for Pain

CAM Treatment – Overviews of Alternative Treatments for Pain

Non-Drug Pain Management – Opportunities to Explore – 2019

CAM Treatment – Medications for Pain

CAM Treatment – Cognitive Behavior Training (CBT)

CAM Treatment – Meditation, Yoga and Tai Chi

CAM Treatment – Hypnosis

CAM – Treatment of Diagnoses Associated with Chronic Pain:

CAM Treatment – Fibromyalgia

CAM Treatment – Headaches

CAM Treatment – Insomnia

CAM Treatment – Interstitial Cystitis

CAM Treatment – Osteoarthritis

CAM – Psych

CAM Treatment – Anxiety & Stress (Conventional & CAM)

CAM Treatment – Depression

CAM Treatment – PTSD

CAM – Addiction Recovery

CAM Treatment – Addiction Recovery

CAM – Weight Loss and Obesity

CAM Treatment – Weight Loss and Obesity (Conventional & CAM)

CAM – Misc

CAM Treatment – Leaky Gut

CAM Treatment – Prostate Cancer

CAM Treatment – Sleep

Please check back for frequent updates and new entries.

Emphasis on Education

Accurate Clinic promotes patient education as the foundation of it’s medical care. In Dr. Ehlenberger’s integrative approach to patient care, including conventional and complementary and alternative medical (CAM) treatments, he may encourage or provide advice about the use of supplements. However, the specifics of choice of supplement, dosing and duration of treatment should be individualized through discussion with Dr. Ehlenberger. The following information and reference articles are presented to provide the reader with some of the latest research to facilitate evidence-based, informed decisions regarding the use of conventional as well as CAM treatments.

For medical-legal reasons, access to these links is limited to patients enrolled in an Accurate Clinic medical program.

Should you wish more information regarding any of the subjects listed – or not listed – here, please contact Dr. Ehlenberger. He has literally thousands of published articles to share on hundreds of topics associated with pain management, weight loss, nutrition, addiction recovery and emergency medicine. It would take years for you to read them, as it did him.

For more information, please contact Accurate Clinic.

Supplements recommended by Dr. Ehlenberger may be purchased commercially online or at Accurate Clinic.

Please read about our statement regarding the sale of products recommended by Dr. Ehlenberger.

Accurate Education – Integrative, Complementary and Alternative Medicine