Impacts of Use of Contemporary and Alternative Medicine on Athletes

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Impacts of Use of Contemporary and Alternative Medicine on Athletes
Contemporary and alternative medicine (CAM) use has various impacts on athletes. This
has become an issue especially in modern western society. CAM is referred to products and
medical practices which are not found in standard medical care. Complementary medicine are
used along with the standard medical treatments but not considered to be medically professional.
Alternative medicine on the other hand are used instead of standard medical treatment. Most
importantly, their safety needs to be evaluated. Secondly, their effects on human bodies need to
be assessed. Finally, evidence level trends for body-based and manipulative therapies found in
sports and exercise will be studied. The relevance of this topic is that, the research will illustrate
on the right modalities of CAM in all ages. Thus, use of CAM can only be recommended when
the right modalities have been employed.
In the article of integrative and contemporary approaches for adult use for athletic
performance improvement, the main argument is that CAM has been used in various ways. The
most commonly used are natural, non-mineral and non-vitamin products among adults. The use
has been applied to other several therapies which include massage therapy, deep-breathing
exercises, yoga and meditation (Brunelle, p23). Conventional western medicine are used in
conjunction with the CAM to treat a person wholly. Use of CAM by older women and men
which was reviewed in US found out that in order to meet the intended purpose, they had to

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apply a variety of techniques. These techniques ended up boosting their physical performance,
enhancing their immune system and increasing their energy. However, CAM therapies that are
personally integrated by athletes for performance improvement is yet to be understood despite
the fact that athletes have used them for both recreational and professional purpose. For instance,
in division one university in the National Collegiate Athletics Association, both females and
males have attested to have sought to use CAM. On top of that, high performance female athletes
at the national level also reported to have used CAM. Besides, assessment for evidence of CAM
use for sports and exercise only found out that massage, manipulation and acupuncture had
effective measures (Wadsworth, p1). Additionally, research conducted indicated that athletes
who integrated dietary supplements to improve performance were endangering their health
(Perko et al, p90). Thus, it was suggested that they find other safer ways to accomplish the same.
In the case of CAM use for children who participate in athletics they indicated use of herbal,
mineral, vitamins and others to improve their performance. Although, these were not
recommended by pediatric organizations or sports medicine because the children were young for
such. Moreover, other children were found to have used a dietary supplement while others used a
combination of dietary supplement. Concerning that, it was reported that for asthma, stress,
anxiety relief, attention-deficit disorders, pain in neck and back were relieved by relaxation or
breathing techniques which were the only positively perceived integrated methods. All in all, the
current study from the year 2012 has indicated that coaches have turned to CIC therapies for
chronic pain management and athletic performance (Evans & Marion Willard, p3). For example,
acupuncture, massage, manipulation, spiritual imagination and energy healing therapy. Other
methods applied have been relaxation methods, sports psychology training methods,
visualization techniques, self-talks and positive motivation.

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In the second article by Aleksandra et al, the research is aimed at identifying evidence
level trends for body-based and manipulative therapies found in Sports and Exercise Medicine
(SEM) literature. The aforementioned therapies focus on lymphatic, circulatory and
musculoskeletal systems (Toda, p9). the main argument in it is that athletes have been found to
seek CAM remedies when they want to minimize time off, are frustrated with management of
recurrent injuries, optimize performance and when their peers have recommended them to. As a
result, clinicians have been forced to understand efficacy of the therapies and adopt them
because some clients might end up seeking for the services. Due to that, a research had to be
conducted which revealed that for over 60 years, trends have been increasing in the quality and
quantity of the published body-based and manipulative therapies (Mącznik et al, p2). This has
been said to drive to a corresponding increase of research so as to give evidence for therapies
which have only been justified by traditional and cultural use, and anecdotal evidence. The
research will be supported by National Key Basic Research Development Program (China) and
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (USA). On top of that, a further
analysis will be required to evaluate how effective the therapies are to the clinical practice. The
development of CAM evidence has therefore been associated with reflection of the move that is
meant to provide scientific support for modalities that had initially been justified by traditional
and cultural use, and anecdotal evidence. Besides, literature on massage, manipulation and
acupuncture can be accessed by clinicians confidently so as to assess whether they would be of
any benefit to their athletes (Bundon et al, p131). However, they will be required to be cognizant
of paucity of the available acupressure articles, Rolfing, Feldenkrais, Pilates and applied
kinesiology. Moreover, clinicians will have the ability to come up with better solutions
concerning SEM and use of CAM as more evidence becomes available.