CAMs Go Mainstream: 43% of UK Adults Now Using Complementary Therapies

Study shows complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) are no longer alternatives with 43% of UK adults using them

• There is almost one CAM therapy user on average to every two people seeking conventional treatment for conditions surveyed.¹
• 13% of those taking CAMs do so owing to barriers to accessing treatment on the NHS
• 78% of users report positive results from CAMs, three quarters expect to use them again and 69% say they will likely recommend them to a friend or family member.

23 March, London: New findings published today by the Integrated Medicine Alliance (IMA) show that complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) are rapidly achieving mainstream adoption with 43% of UK adults surveyed – equating to 24.5 million people if applied nationwide - having used them at least once.² The research commissioned by the IMA, based on a nationally representative Censuswide survey of over 2,000 adults across the UK, also found that 48% of people knew someone else who had used a CAM therapy.

CAMs Plugging the Healthcare Gap

There is now almost one CAM therapy user on average for every two people seeking conventional treatment for sufferers of surveyed conditions, with CAMs seemingly forming an increasingly integral and supportive part of the healthcare system. This trend is partly fuelled by the healthcare system itself, with more than one in five people being recommended CAMs by their GP, rising to 30% among Londoners. 16% of people using or considering CAMs did so because of a GP recommendation, making it the third most common reason for doing so after a recommendation from friend or family member (20%) and personal research (17%).

Massage Comes out Top

The survey also reveals which CAMs are the most widely used. Massage is the most popular by far with over a quarter of people having tried it (27%), followed by herbal medicine (19%), aromatherapy (14%), and acupuncture (13%). Meanwhile, the CAM therapies with the lowest level of use were the Alexander technique (4%), ayurvedic medicine (5%), tai chi (7%), reiki (7%) and osteopathy (8%). 

*Note in the survey, aromatherapy and massage were treated as separate categories.

Aromatherapy data:

• Over half (54%) of UK adults have either used aromatherapy or haven’t but would consider using it
• 14.1% of UK adults have used aromatherapy
• 39.0% have not used it but would consider using it
• Highest usage of aromatherapy is among:
  o    Millennials (ages 29-44): 17.03%
  o    Gen X (ages 45-60): 12.68%
•  Of those that were recommended CAM usage by their GP, 13.5% were recommended aromatherapy

Demographic Trends

Millennials are by far the most enthusiastic generation about CAMs. They are the most likely to have found CAMs helpful compared to any other generation (83%), the most likely to expect to use CAMs again (82%), and the most likely to agree that CAMs should be available for free on the NHS with 68% concurring compared to 59% of the wider population. Millennials also expressed the highest confidence in the CAMs (74%). They are more than 10 percentage points more likely to express confidence than both Gen-Z (63%) and Gen-X (62%). Scepticism increases with age, with 52% of baby boomers expressing confidence and only 33% of the silent generation, suggesting that growing use and acceptance of CAMs will continue alongside demographic shifts, while traditional attitudes are a significant source of scepticism. 

Interaction with the Healthcare System: Patchy, with Regional Disparities

Respondents are more likely to raise the potential use of CAMs with their GP themselves than their GP is to suggest it first, with 28% of people having done so. There are concerns about GP attitudes to CAMs with 20% of respondents saying they would not discuss CAMs with their GP over fears of being dismissed, while 6% said they did raise CAMs and were dismissed. 

There are also significant geographical disparities, with Scottish respondents less than half as likely to have had a GP recommend them CAMs (12%) as their colleagues in London (30%). The proportion falls to just 10% of respondents in Glasgow, the city ranked last in the survey. Scottish respondents were also the most likely (37%) to have relied upon friends and family for information about CAMs, with the proportion rising as high as 45% in Edinburgh. This regional disparity is particularly concerning given that respondents in Glasgow were the most likely in the survey to report experiencing both sleep issues (29%) and cognitive conditions (6%). They were also the second most-likely to report experiencing chronic pain (25%) after respondents in Newcastle (28%).

Overall, the CAMs most recommended by GPs are massage (37% of respondents who were recommended a CAM therapy by their GP), acupuncture (27%) yoga therapy (23%), herbal medicine (22%) and chiropractic (20%).

Barriers to Adoption

Despite the seemingly widespread use of CAMs, the survey’s findings point to continuing barriers to further adoption. The most significant was some scepticism over the efficacy of CAMs, with 24% of people giving it as a reason against their use.

Accessibility also poses a major obstacle with 18% of people highlighting issues with cost, 10% having difficulty finding qualified or regulated practitioners and 8% finding it too time-consuming or hard to access CAMs. Lack of knowledge and information was another barrier with 16% uncertain about CAM use due to being unfamiliar with the therapy offered to them, and 14% unable to access relevant information. Some perceived reticence in the healthcare system was also a reason for uncertainty, with 13% attributing a lack of recommendation by a GP as a cause for doubt and 11% citing insufficient advocacy by the NHS.

Social media on par with GPs when it comes to patients seeking information

Friends and family were the most common source of information for people researching CAMs for potential use, used 31% of the time. This was followed by GPs (23%) and YouTube (22%), official health websites (20%), Facebook (17%), TikTok (16%), CAM practitioners (15%), Instagram (14%), medical reports/scientific studies (14%), and news or press articles (10%). Together, social media formed 38% of all sources consulted.³

Commenting on the data, Dr Naveed Akhtar, Chair of the Integrated Medicine Alliance said: “The evidence points to a decisive shift towards a more integrated model of healthcare, one in which complementary therapies are not alternatives to medicine, but partners to it, working alongside conventional care for the benefit of patients, and also the wider system. High levels of satisfaction and confidence indicate real benefit for many, alongside meaningful cost savings for the NHS and the potential to reduce over-reliance on pharmacological treatments.  

The message is clear: it is time to move beyond the false divide between believers and sceptics. While professional debate has remained polarised, the public has quietly made its choice. Complementary therapies are already helping large numbers of people and easing pressure on the NHS. When an approach delivers genuine benefit, meets patient need and conserves public resources, the question is no longer whether it belongs, but how we organise healthcare around what genuinely helps patients.”

 “While the rise in complementary therapy usage is encouraging, it’s concerning that social media is being more widely consulted than official health sources. There is an urgent need to foster greater understanding of CAM therapies and provide greater access to reliable sources of information.”

 Professor Sir Sam Everington, Co-Chair of the College of Medicine said: “The best outcomes for patients are delivered when the focus is on what matters to them and when they are allowed to take the lead. We call this personal medicine, a blend of traditional bio-medicine and alternatives which focuses on the simple question: what makes you well? - physically, mentally and socially. Patients tell us that CAMs play a really important part in this balance.”

About the Integrated Medical Alliance
The IMA, part of the College of Medicine, is a group of organisations that have been brought together for the purpose of encouraging and optimising the best use of complementary therapies alongside conventional healthcare for the benefit of all. It promotes communication between conventional and complementary therapists to increase the knowledge and understanding of complementary therapists by conventional practitioners and essential biomedical knowledge by complementary therapists.

 For more information, please visit: https://collegeofmedicine.org.uk/ima/

Footnotes: 

¹ From an extensive list of health conditions, 30% of respondents used CAMs, while 67% used conventional techniques as treatment

² Based on ONS data which shows there are 57 million adults in the UK. A mid-2025 ONS estimate put the UK population at 69.5 million, of which 82.5% were aged 18 or over. 

³ Taken as a percentage of all information sources consulted by respondents