Alternative Treatment Approaches

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) interventions have been used as alternative or integrative options for the prevention and management of acute COVID-19 infection. Various CAM interventions including dietary supplements, acupuncture, Tai chi (or qigong), massage, and traditional medicinal interventions can also be applied to Long COVID symptoms, but only limited numbers of clinical studies for these interventions are available currently. In this chapter, we review research evidence on the effectiveness and safety of various CAM interventions and mention ongoing clinical studies. In general, unless serious safety issues are suggested, there are no major concerns when applying CAM interventions for Long COVID symptoms in clinical practice. However, clinical application needs to be cautious due to insufficient evidence, although there is potential for therapeutic effects. Clinical trials of CAM interventions for Long COVID need to be promoted.