Thread by @gilpgilp2

It's standard when our doctor recommends a drug or a procedure. But we might be surprised if they suggested hypnosis. Complementary medicine, like hypnosis or acupuncture, and herbs, can be effective and less harmful. Why then does standard care not use these practices? #ph260720

Here is an example. Inflammatory bowel disease is an autoimmune condition resulting from chronic gastrointestinal inflammation. IBD is on the rise globally, with prevalence increasing by 85% between 1990 and 2017 (thelancet.com/action/showPdf…). #IBD #ph260720

Patients with IBD have a limited number of medication options, and many develop nonresponse to even the strongest drug options on the treatment pyramid. Additionally, relapse after surgery is common. So what are other options for these patients? #IBD #ph260720

Surprisingly, alternatives are rarely mentioned in standard practice and not part of the traditional step-up treatment. However, early research has shown the promise of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for IBD. What does this mean? #IBD #CAM #ph260720

A study of patients with endoscopy confirmed mild or moderately severe IBD showed that patients who were treated with gut-directed hypnotherapy (HYP) went longer without a relapse than attention controls. (onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ap…) #IBD #CAM #ph260720

Another study showed that patients receiving tumeric vs a placebo were more likely to have a positive clinical response and/or remission. At one month, a striking 50% of patients on tumeric went into remission vs 0% without. (cghjournal.org/article/S1542-…) #IBD #CAM #ph260720

Have you ever used CAM, such as meditation, tai chi, homeopathy, naturopathy, acupuncture, or Chiropractic and osteopathic medicine #CAM #complementarymed #integrativemed #preventativemed #integrativephysician #ph260720

Though 50% of patients in the US use CAM, 80% do not discuss this use with their doctors. Most physicians report asking about CAM in at most 0-20% of visits (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…) #CAM #complementarymed #integrativemed #preventativemed #integrativephysician #ph260720

Have you ever spoken to your doctor about complementary practices? #CAM #complementarymed #integrativemed #preventativemed #integrativephysician #ph260720

Additional research is needed to deepen and expand our understanding of which CAM therapies are beneficial, and when to use them. @NIH funding should be further allocated toward this area. #ph260720

@AmerMedicalAssn should work to incorporate training into standard curriculum and certification for physicians. This is crucial to opening up discussions with patients about safe use of these therapies, and seamlessly incorporating them into mainstream practice #ph260720