Generally, the meaning of “alternative medicine” is clear.
Nowadays, the term itself may be thought of anachronistic, since most clinicians utilize therapies once not thought to be part of mainstream medicine. The important fact is though, that these boundaries, between what is accepted, practiced, and scientifically validated, are porous and permeable, and what was once “alternative” is now mainstream, and what was once mainstream may turn out to be nothing more than fashionable, not scientific.