In December, 2008, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) / National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) released results of their 2007 survey on complementary and alternative medicine use in the US.

According to the pres release, which can be found by clicking here, 38 percent of adults in the United States aged 18 years and over and nearly 12 percent of U.S. children aged 17 years and under use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

Adults used CAM to help manage chronic pain such as back, neck, or joint pain, as well as arthritis.

Most commonly used by adults were:

• Nonvitamin, nonmineral, natural products (17.7 percent) Most common: fish oil/omega 3/DHA, glucosamine, echinacea, flaxseed oil or pills, and ginseng3
• Deep breathing exercises (12.7 percent)
• Meditation (9.4 percent)
• Chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation (8.6 percent)
• Massage (8.3 percent)
• Yoga (6.1 percent)

To view all the statistics and for more information on the survey, please click on the press release linked above.

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