Complementary therapies in medicine
-
Complement Ther Med · Feb 2019
Randomized Controlled TrialComplementary medicine use and health literacy in older Australians.
to investigate whether complementary medicine (CAM) use is associated with health literacy levels and decision self-efficacy. ⋯ CAM is used by older Australians to maintain their health. Use of CAM was not associated with decision self-efficacy and health literacy. However, CAM users who have less skills with appraising information are possibly more likely to access their CAM from trusted sources such as a CAM practitioners.
-
Complement Ther Med · Feb 2019
ReviewShould acupuncture, biofeedback, massage, Qi gong, relaxation therapy, device-guided breathing, yoga and tai chi be used to reduce blood pressure?: Recommendations based on high-quality systematic reviews.
This review aims to rate the quality of evidence and the strength of recommendations in high-quality systematic reviews of non-drug therapies. Hypertensive patients who are resistant or non-adherent to antihypertensive drugs may be easier to manage if they choose alternative non-drug therapies for hypertension, based on this review. ⋯ Many non-drug therapies were excluded due to the low methodological quality of their systematic reviews, and only 14 therapies were evaluated in this review. As no patient-important outcomes were reviewed, surrogate outcomes were used to rate the strength of recommendations. This approach may cause a decrease in evidence quality according to GRADE, but we argue that this is appropriate in the context of this review.
-
Complement Ther Med · Feb 2019
ReviewAcupuncture for treatment of insomnia: An overview of systematic reviews.
To evaluate the reliability of the methodological quality and outcome measures of systematic review (SR) /meta-analysis (MA) of acupuncture for insomnia. ⋯ Most of the reviews included suggested that the acupuncture group was more effective than the control group in the treatment of insomnia, but the methodological quality of most of the studies and the quality of evidence were low.
-
Complement Ther Med · Feb 2019
Randomized Controlled TrialA randomized placebo-controlled study of aromatherapy for the treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting.
The purpose of this study was to compare the aromatherapy treatment effects on PONV patients using ginger, lavender and rose oils and a placebo. ⋯ The aromatherapy can be used as an alternative or complementary method for managing PONV. Specifically, the ginger and lavender essential oils were superior to the rose oil and pure water for the aromatherapy treatments. However, further studies with larger sample sizes are necessary to confirm these results.
-
Complement Ther Med · Feb 2019
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyEfficacy of rhythmical massage in comparison to heart rate variability biofeedback in patients with dysmenorrhea-A randomized, controlled trial.
20-90% of all women suffer from dysmenorrhea. Standard therapy of primary dysmenorrhea (PD) are NSAIDs and oral contraceptives, effective but not without possible side effects. ⋯ Preliminary evidence suggests that rhythmical massage might improve pain intensity after 12 weeks compared to usual care.