More Americans turn to alternative medicine

• Dr. Sandy Skates strategically punctured the skin and pressed dozens of needles into energy points along one of Jenny Ivovico's meridians to ease the pain around her gall bladder.
• Ivovico, 33, came to Skate's Vacaville office hoping that her upper stomach pain would go away after a second round of acupuncture, making the 20 Pilates classes she teaches each week much more enjoyable.
• Skates is a doctor of osteopathy, meaning she attended a four-year medical school and completed an internship and residency program just like medical doctors, but she focused on a different healing philosophy.
• Acupuncture, natural supplements, meditation and other health treatments and therapies commonly deemed as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are gaining acceptance as viable treatment options among the general public and conventional medical doctors.
• At least 36 percent of American adults used some form of complementary and alternative medicine in 2002, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study based on a survey of 31,000 people.
• Patients often first come for chronic back pain or other musculoskeletal disorders, but many soon realize acupuncture, massage and herbs can treat a broad range of ailments, she said.
• In the current health industry climate of rising prices, increasing demands on medical doctors and decreasing patient satisfaction, Skates said she's not surprised more people are turning to complementary and alternative medicine both as a cheaper method for self-medication and also a more personal relationship with their health care provider.
• Poor communication can lead to dire consequences, said Dr. Lee Ballance, an orthopedist who chairs the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Advisory Committee at Kaiser in Vallejo.
• One exciting tool nearing completion is an online medication interaction checker that will allow patients to enter all their medications and herbal supplements into a chart to cross check them for negative interactions.