English 100 Research: Contemporary and Alternative Medicine in Sports

This essay examines the impacts of contemporary and alternative medicine (CAM) on athletes, addressing its use for performance enhancement, injury rehabilitation, and overall well-being. It analyzes the safety and effectiveness of various CAM therapies, including massage, acupuncture, and dietary supplements, while also considering the ethical implications related to doping in sports. The essay references multiple research articles to provide a comprehensive overview of CAM's role in athletics, highlighting the need for further research and the importance of understanding World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) regulations. It concludes by emphasizing the potential benefits and risks associated with CAM use among athletes and suggests that proper modalities should be employed.

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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.

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The third article is about alternative medicine and doping in sports by Benjamin et al. The
main argument is that athletes may look for unconventional methods or creative ways to improve
their performance (Koh et al, p1). It has been argued that athletes are among people who heavily
use CAM. They have used CAM not only for rehabilitating and treating injuries and sickness but
also for the purpose of improving their performance (Gart et al, p208). In that case, because
using CAM for such purpose is illegal, the athletes associated in the act have been doping. It
means that they have failed to recognize CAM for pharmacological use. Concerning the matter,
World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA), legally proposed that, the athletes should be responsible
for anything applied, injected or swallowed thus ignorance is no excuse. Therefore, whether it
happens knowingly or unknowingly, unintentionally or intentionally, and negligent or otherwise
found to have been using method or a substance that has been prohibited, the athlete is said to
have violated the laws of WADA. They are therefore supposed to not only understand what has
been prohibited but also other possible causes of inadvertent doping. However, knowledge of
doping is deficient in athletes and WADA’s position on prohibited substances or methods is
bound to changes sometimes. Additionally, anti-doping experts in media who have a conflicting
stance confound the situation further. As a result of the disagreements, anti-doping guidelines
become inconsistent hence athletes rely on what the dominant political zeitgeist considers
doping. This results them to believing that the guidelines are open to interpretation thus acting as
a motivation for them to go against them. This is followed by roping risk-taking behaviors so as
to gain socially and financially. Therefore, this discussion seeks to point out where CAM
intersects with elite level sports. This is through illustrating what motivates athletes to use CAM
and doping thus the need to reposition anti-doping rules to control the prevalence. Evidently, the
above reasons have caused an increase in use of CAM in the western countries whereby in U.S, a

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third of those who used CAM were adults with more than 18 years. Despite that, the definition of
CAM has remained to be subjective and not accepted universally thus general perceptions of
what CAM is have ended up varying tremendously. This has resulted to serious implications for
the athletes. Therefore, the fact that there is increased participation of non-westernized countries
in international sports, anti-doping rules have had to be multi-cultural. Moreover some athletes
have indicated they use CAM because it is natural hence not doping. Concerning that, WADA
has clarified on what doping is to them indicating that it is violation of various rules such as,
attempted administration or administration of methods or substance that were prohibited to any
athlete, presence of substance which is prohibited on athlete’s body, and abetting, encouraging,
covering up, assisting, aiding or in any other way involving violation of anti-doping rule,
possession of prohibited methods and substances, and attempted use or using of prohibited
methods or substance.
Conclusion
In summary, various people have used CAM for distinct reasons. For instance, it has been
used for physical fitness by aging women and men, and athletes. Specifically, most of athletes
have been said to use CAM for the purpose of improving their performance. Clearly, according
to WADA, this has been found to be one of the roping behaviors outlined (O’Connor, p1).
However, some of them could have used CAM because their peers asked them to. In that case,
this research will be helpful in illustrating the right modalities for CAM if need be. This research
can therefore be recommended worldwide especially to countries with high use of CAM such as
the western countries for instance. All in all, use of CAM is bound to further research so as to
find solutions concerning the same.

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Work Cited
Evans Jr, Marion Willard, et al. "Adult Use of Complementary and Integrative Approaches to
Improve Athletic Performance." Alternative therapies in health and medicine 24.1
(2018): 30-37.
Mącznik, Aleksandra K., et al. "What “CAM” we learn about the level of evidence from 60 years
of research into manipulative and body-based therapies in sports and exercise medicine?"
Complementary therapies in medicine 22.2 (2014): 349-353.
Koh, Benjamin, Lynne Freeman, and Christopher Zaslawski. "Alternative medicine and doping
in sports." The Australasian medical journal 5.1 (2012): 18.
Brunelle, Jean-François, et al. "Influences of a yoga intervention on the postural skills of the
Italian short track speed skating team." Open access journal of sports medicine 6 (2015):
23.
Gart, Michael S., and Thomas A. Wiedrich. "Therapy and Rehabilitation for Upper Extremity
Injuries in Athletes." Hand clinics 33.1 (2017): 207-220.
Wadsworth, L. Tyler. "Acupuncture in sports medicine." Current sports medicine reports 5.1
(2010): 1-3.
Bundon, Andrea M., and Laura C. Hurd Clarke. "‘Keeping us from breaking’: elite athletes'
access to and use of complementary and alternative medicine." Qualitative research in
sport, exercise and health 6.1 (2014): 121-138.
Toda, Shizuo. "Effect of acupuncture on carnitine for skeletal muscle fatigue." Chinese Medicine
3.01 (2012): 9.
O’Connor, P. "Doping is now a public health issue, conference told. Reuters, 22 September."
(2012).
Koh, B., et al. "Doping in aquatic sports Part 1: Actus Reus versus mens rea." Be Active (2012).
Perko, Mike A., Ronald D. Williams Jr, and Marion W. Evans. "Sports Supplements and Female
Athletes: Reality, Risks and Recommendations." Women in Sport and Physical Activity
Journal 23.2 (2015): 89-92.

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Perko, M., M. W. Evans, and R. Williams. "Does evidence support the use of performance-
enhancing supplements in youth sports? A qualitative review of literature and policy." J
Clin Chiropr Pediatr 11.1 (2010): 726-730.