A547intensity was, on average, moderate. The majority of respondents suffered pain in the head (e.g. headache and migraine) and back (e.g. lower back pain). Thirtyfour respondents (17.6%) were migraine sufferers. A third (37.3%) of respondents indicated that other family members also use CAM. The CAM classifications indicated for treating pain were cross-cultural (e.g. yoga), external (e.g. chiropractors, massage and heat therapy), internal (e.g. herbal supplements) and mind-body healing therapies (e.g. prayer therapy, sleep and meditation). The CAM modality reported to be most effective in treating pain was cross-cultural therapies with an average effectiveness of 3.6 out of a maximum score of 4.0. The most popular therapies were external body healing therapies (reported by 33.6% of respondents). Nearly half of the therapies were used in conjunction with conventional analgesics, with 43.0% indicating that they obtain their treatment for pain from pharmacies. ConClusions: CAM was used either on its own or in combination with conventional medication for the treatment of pain. Therapies seemed to be effective. The choice of CAM therapy was highly individualised.
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