Complementary therapies in medicine
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Complement Ther Med · Aug 2013
ReviewPlant extracts with appetite suppressing properties for body weight control: a systematic review of double blind randomized controlled clinical trials.
As obesity has reached epidemic proportions, the management of this global disease is of clinical importance. The availability and popularity of natural dietary supplements for the treatment of obesity has risen dramatically in recent years. ⋯ According to the findings from this systematic review, the evidence is not convincing in demonstrating that most dietary supplements used as appetite suppressants for weight loss in the treatment of obesity are effective and safe. A balance between conclusive findings by double blind RCTs and advertisement is required to avoid safety concerns and dissatisfaction from consumers.
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Complement Ther Med · Aug 2013
A checklist to assess the quality of reports on spa therapy and balneotherapy trials was developed using the Delphi consensus method: the SPAC checklist.
The purpose of this study was to develop a checklist of items that describes and measures the quality of reports of interventional trials assessing spa therapy. ⋯ This checklist is simple and quick to complete, and should help clinicians and researchers critically appraise the medical and healthcare literature, reviewers assess the quality of reports included in systematic reviews, and researchers plan interventional trials of spa therapy.
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Complement Ther Med · Aug 2013
Review Meta AnalysisA systematic review and meta-analysis of Tai Chi for osteoarthritis of the knee.
This paper aimed to systematically review and meta-analyze the effectiveness of Tai Chi for osteoarthritis of the knee. ⋯ This systematic review found moderate evidence for short-term improvement of pain, physical function and stiffness in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee practicing Tai Chi. Assuming that Tai Chi is at least short-term effective and safe it might be preliminarily recommended as an adjuvant treatment for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. More high quality RCTs are urgently needed to confirm these results.
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Complement Ther Med · Aug 2013
ReviewThe role of mindfulness based interventions in the treatment of obesity and eating disorders: an integrative review.
More than one-third of U. S. adults over the age of 20 years are classified as obese and nearly two-thirds are overweight or obese. The prevalence of obesity among U. ⋯ Mindfulness based interventions, combined with other traditional weight loss strategies, have the potential to offer a long-term, holistic approach to wellness. However, research reports examining the complementary addition of mindfulness based approaches in the treatment obesity and eating disorders are relatively scarce in the empirical literature. This paper describes what is currently known about the role of mindfulness based interventions when used alone, or in combination with, other traditional approaches in the treatment of obesity and eating disorders.
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Complement Ther Med · Aug 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialClinically meaningful differences in pain, disability and quality of life for chronic nonspecific neck pain - a reanalysis of 4 randomized controlled trials of cupping therapy.
The assessment of clinically meaningful differences in patients' self-reported outcomes has become increasingly important when interpreting the results of clinical studies. Although these assessments have become quite common there are hardly any data for nonspecific neck pain, especially in the context of complementary and alternative medicine. The aim of this analysis is the determination of minimal clinically important differences (MCID) and substantial clinical benefits (SCB) in patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain after cupping treatment. ⋯ The results support the assumption that patients' perceptions of treatment benefits measured by VAS in these trials might be comparable to others in conventional therapies. For NDI and SF-36-PCS the estimated differences were smaller than in previous reports indicating that context factors such as patient characteristics and specific treatment conditions might play an important role. Further studies on MCIDS and SCBs for chronic nonspecific neck pain seem warranted.