Too often, the prevalence of right wing domestic terrorism in the US gets ignored. The Oklahoma City bombing, Dylann Roof, anti-abortion violence, and the Orlando nightclub shooting just to name a few. As far back as 1870, the KKK was formally considered to be a terrorist organization. Lynching is considered a terrorist act.
Difficult to prove whether acupuncture is placebo or not, because you can’t really make a control group believe that they’ve been poked with needles without actually poking them with needles.
But at the very least, you are poking people with needles, so unlike homeopathy, it will have some non-placebo effect. The question is rather whether that’s the medicinal effect you’re trying to achieve.
Having said that, I’ve had acupuncture, because my mum dragged me there. I was not convinced that it’d help, yet it did reduce pain. That still does not fully exclude the possibility of a placebo effect, but it seems rather unlikely to me either way.
I remember many years ago New Scientist magazine did a review study of many different alternative medicine techniques and found that the only benefits they provided were placebo effect.
Except acupuncture. That was the only one with an effect greater than placebo.
In a 2018 review, data from 12 studies (8,003 participants) showed acupuncture was more effective than no treatment for back or neck pain, and data from 10 studies (1,963 participants) showed acupuncture was more effective than sham acupuncture. The pain-relieving effect of acupuncture was comparable to that of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
Physiotherapists use a form of acupuncture called dry needling, which can be used to trigger muscle twitching/relaxation (I’m not really super knowledgeable on it, I’ve just been to the physio, who use this in combination with massage, specific exercises etc)
Acupuncture is amazing. I live in South Korea where acupuncture is a very common practice and it downright works. I don’t know well enough to say this but I seriously doubt that while there’s no doubt it plays a big role in its effectiveness but it’s definitely more than just placebo effect. It definitely does something.
It’s when you start to add spiritual significance and meaning to it accupuncture becomes bonkers. Otherwise it’s a specific form of a massage that lets one single out and affect specific muscles. Therefore a knowledgeable person can make wonders by applying it correctly. As a bonus: the whole experience of laying like a hedgehog.
There’s a very famous case of frostbite so bad that the doctors insisted that the patient needed amputation(severance? Not sure how you say cutting off toes) but a traditional Korean doctor cured it only with acupuncture and some herbal medicine. The patient recently made an interview about it as well. I was able to find this related paper as well.
Still not sure if this can be achieved only with some form of placebo. Guess I am too familiar with the idea of acupuncture being real?
the crazy thing about placebo is just how effective it is. because yes, placebo could do that.
we have piles of studies that prove beyond a doubt that placebo can measurably and significantly aid in the healing of physical injuries like broken legs. you don’t Even need to believe in it. there’s studies where patients are told they’re being given a placebo that will do nothing, and they STILL got better faster than the group given nothing.
I specified when it’s not placebo and is real. Even in that rare case it wasn’t aligning chackras or whatever but served as a surprise remedy to return normal blood circulation. Was it that timely or maybe doctors were too amputation-happy? Either way, not that much mystery, more luck.
Placebo comes when there are claims it treats what’s out of it’s reach, like cancer, or improves overall quality of life in some mystical way. The worst offence there is cases where patients refuse medications and therapy because they get in a great mood and have some pain relief after a session, like with many other semi-pseudoscientifical treatments. Otherwise it’s a nice kind of a physical therapy.
There’s another patient who didn’t get the toe amputation, and gangrene spread to where he lost the entire leg and 80% of his kidney function. This one did not thank acupuncture for his outcome.
This one very famous case of a guy who got very lucky, and ended up alive and uncrippled and didn’t have to take time off from perpetual dialysis treatments to smile for magazine covers maybe doesn’t represent what generally happens to people in his situation.
Yeah I had acupuncture to induce labor with one of my kids, the water had broken and I was “on the clock” so the midwife called an acupuncturist and they did some sort of electrified needles and it absolutely did work, and is apparently as effective as pitocin, or slightly more so. It was an unsettling feeling to get acupuncture done to induce pain.
Nah the traditional American medicine is basically a shot of vodka used as the solvent to hold a mixture of cannabis, morphine, cocaine, and placebo. Its advertised by a traveling cowboy themed circus and it’s why we regulate medicine now
As far as I know, acupuncture has only one or two indications in which it performed better than a placebo. Interestingly the exact position of the needles didn’t matter at all in any indication.
I still have a checkbook for the occasional handy man that doesn’t want cash or transfer. I’m pretty sure most apps take a cut from business accounts, and others will report to the IRS when you make a certain amount, so for some workers it makes sense to avoid the apps.
Zelle is somehow the one that is usually free and does not report, but my credit union has a daily limit for Zelle transfers, so if the bill is larger, I offer payment in check as an alternative to cash since it’s safer.
Every conservative accusation is a confession. I’m one of these pussies who sees how men like you treat women and don’t blame them for choosing the bear. I’m also raising daughters and I warn them about people like you and your sons.
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