More and more Brits are turning to complementary medicine as it offers patients greater control over their own course of treatment, according to Institute for Complementary Medicine (ICM).
Director of ICM, Clive Teal, said that complementary medicine takes a totally different approach to that of orthodox medicine in that practitioners tend to have more time to spend with their patients than a GP would and can as such get to the root of a problem.
"Complementary medicine tends to put the client a little bit more in charge of their own self," he added.
Mintel's British Lifestyles report for 2008 shows that the most impressive growth seen in the over-the-counter pharmaceutical market was in sales of alternative medicines and self-diagnostics.
As a nation, the UK spent up to £191 million on complementary medicines in 2007, a 32 per cent increase in sales since 2002.
Alternative therapies such as reflexology acupuncture have grown in popularity over the past few years as more people look to natural ways of easing chronic symptoms.
More and more Brits are turning to complementary medicine as it offers patients greater control over their own course of treatment, according to Institute for Complementary Medicine (ICM). 