Your Guide to Complementary Medicine

This encyclopedic guide should be just the ticket for those looking for concise explanations of alternative medical practices that, in combination with Western approaches, comprise the two elements of ""complementary"" medicine. The introduction cites the oft-told tale about how a 1971 front-page account in the New York Times on how acupuncture provided relief of aftereffects of an appendectomy ""awakened"" Americans to the practice of complementary medicine. The chapter, ""Guidelines for Choosing Therapy,"" offers sound advice applicable to any type of treatment--conventional or alternative--as well as an invaluable form for assessing a potential health-care provider. A ""Quick-Reference Table"" lists various common ailments and appropriate complementary-care approaches. The bulk of the book is devoted to jargon-free descriptions of therapies from acupuncture to trigger-point therapy. A real boon for the wary consumer is that the authors--respectively an acupuncturist, a clinical social worker and a massage therapist--give price ranges and estimates of the proper duration for initial sessions of various treatments. They also clarify what credentials a practitioner should have and recommend relevant books. A glossary, list of professional organizations and bibliography round out a practical, well-conceived volume. (June)