Hospitals are catching on. Slowly. A recent study from Brigham and Women's [1] Hospital in Boston found that patients with lower back pain experienced less discomfort when given a combination of conventional and CAM [2] treatments than with conventional treatment alone.

Over the course of 12 weeks, the patients who received integrative care had a greater reduction in their pain scores — from 0.37 per week down to 0.14 per week.

Hospitals that offer this type of integrated care allow patients to receive the benefits of both worlds — the science-based treatment of conventional doctors and the mind/body approach of CAM practitioners like acupuncturists, chiropractors, massage therapists, counselors, and others.

[via HealthScout [3]]