Rehabilitation medicine and alternative therapies: new words, old practices

"Alternative" medicine is receiving increased interest from the public, the media, government, and academic medical centers. Although currently being defined as encompassing practices outside of the medical mainstream, what are now being called "alternative" therapies have long been used by practitioners of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Recently identified by the National Institutes of Health as a legitimate area for research, alternative medicine is now receiving new sources of funding. Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) expertise encompasses many of the therapies and health care issues that are being categorized as alternative. Practitioners and researchers in PM&R should seize the opportunity to provide leadership in this emerging area in American medicine.