What’s in a name?

Are you confused?

What's the difference between; alternative medicine, complementary medicine and integrative medicine? And does it really matter?

If you look on the Internet, they seem to be defined in terms of conventional western medicine:

• Alternative medicine is used instead of it
• Complementary medicine is used in conjunction with it
• Integrative medicine is also used in conjunction with it, but needs to be a bit more mainstream than a complementary medicine to qualify.

So far so good.

Now let's assume you don't know much about non-conventional medicines. However, you'd like to try one for your cat, dog, horse or another type of pet / animal. Where do you start?

You could begin by searching for a list of integrative medicines as they seem to be the most accepted by the medical profession. Then you might try looking for the various different types of alternative medicines and complementary medicines to give yourself a few more options.

As you read and compare the lists, confusion sets in. Chiropractic seems to be classified as an alternative medicine, a complementary medicine and an integrative medicine. So are acupuncture and osteopathy and the list goes on and your confusion grows.

For many people this won't matter. I know from my own experience that chiropractic, massage, reiki and a whole host of other non-conventional medicines can be incredibly beneficial for cats, dogs, horses and other pets. The results speak for themselves.

But if the professions can't decide how to define themselves, what chance does the public have of easily finding someone to help their pet? At the very least, it must be a confusing & frustrating experience. At worst, it could damage perception of the professions putting owners off trying these effective forms of treatment.

With the above in mind the naturallycomplementary.com website was created. It explains the various different types of animal alternative medicines and animal complementary medicines available for cats, dogs, horses and other pets and is designed to make the process of finding a practitioner for your pet a whole lot easier.

So anyway, is terminology like size i.e. does it matter?

At the risk of sounding cliched, I agree with Shakespeare.

'That which we call a rose, by any other word would smell as sweet.'

At the end of the day as long as it works for your pet, it doesn't really matter what you call it!