Frontier Medicine: The Future and Integrative Medicine

Integrative medicine is a combination of conventional and nonconventional health care, which includes modalities such as acupuncture, manipulative therapies, botanical medicine, and homeopathy. As we have evolved, so have paradigms of medicine. To date, no single paradigm is legitimately able to lay claim to the prevention and relief of all animal suffering. The ultimate test of any medical modality is that it stands on its own merit, is shown to be safe and effective, and (over time) is adopted into mainstream medical practice. The merit of healing modalities may require precise analysis sensitive to the methodology of the different health care paradigms. Because the success of many veterinary procedures is operator dependent, the integration of our individual strengths will synergistically advance the science and art of healing and disease prevention in equine practice.