What is included under complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)?

There is increasing interest among many patients and some clinicians in learning more about “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM). In another article, we clarified the meanings of the terms complementary, alternative, and integrated medicine. Please see the following article on this website:

What do the terms complementary, alternative, integrative, and functional medicine mean?

What interventions are considered to be part of CAM? If a person takes a multivitamin or a probiotic, are these part of CAM? What about meditation or massage?

In learning about CAM, it is helpful to understand the different categories of CAM interventions. Though sources differ to some extent in how they group CAM interventions, the categorization below is widely accepted.