Accupuncture

I had weeks of physio for a back problem in my early 20s; acupuncture was a part of it. Acupuncture offered some moderate, temporary pain relief but that was about it.

As mentioned, it's not a cure for the problems, more of a relief.
 
A.N.Other said:
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/reference/acupuncture/ ... Nuff said.
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Science can't currently explain things like what has been dubbed "ASMR" which is quite real and a lot of that article is based on little more than likely sounding logic without anything actually backing it up other than it sounds more sensible than superstition.

Don't get me wrong - a lot of practitioners of acupuncture are little more than shams and a lot of it is based on superstition, with different people often coming up with completely arbitary and different charts of points to suit themselves - but some aspects of it especially some aspects of acupressure does seem to provide some real relief for the treatment of certain conditions - especially things like headaches, migraines and even eczema which in the case of migraines and eczema theres absolutely no way to produce those kind of results via placebos (trust me no amount of placebo will shift a proper migraine :| ). The science behind it seems to be in relation to stimulation of the nervous system and/or endorphin release rather than any life force or "chi". Writing the whole thing off due to much of it being rooted in superstition is almost as mis-guided as those pushing it as a cure all or an alternative to proper modern medicine where a better or real alternative exists.
 
Rroff said:
Writing the whole thing off due to much of it being rooted in superstition is almost as mis-guided as those pushing it as a cure all or an alternative to proper modern medicine where a better or real alternative exists.
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People write it off because it consistently fails trails under controlled scientific conditions.
 
I had it done for chest pain but i never went back. I had a massive woody as she had a sexy russian voice and dark hair. I was in my boxers :(

Red faced lol
 
The whole point of a placebo is you believe that the treatment is effective, therefore when you receive it you believe that it has helped. What you're describing sounds like a perfect example of a placebo.
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Where is it Gillywibble said he was expecting it to work? It may well be that he was but I'm not sure he actually said it? In any event, are there people who have had acupuncture not expecting it to work only to be pleasantly surprised as this would be interesting?
 
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ethan said:
Where is it Gillywibble said he was expecting it to work? It may well be that he was but I'm not sure he actually said it? In any event, are there people who have had acupuncture not expecting it to work only to be pleasantly surprised as this would be interesting?
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Interesting, but not conclusive. The placebo effect doesn't necessarily require conscious belief that it will work. Subconscious will do.

I can give an example from my own life. If I have a cold, Beecham's powders work better at relieving my symptoms than anything else, but only in the sachets of powder that you mix into water. Water and some Beecham's powders capsules are less effective despite being the same thing. I know it doesn't matter, just as I know that Beecham's powders is only caffeine and aspirin and therefore no different to taking a couple of aspirin tablets with some coffee (or some caffeine tablets and water). I don't believe there's anything special about Beecham's powders but only when it comes as a powder in folded paper. I know that there isn't. But it still works better for me because my subconcious mind associates the powder in bits of folded paper with relieving the symptoms of a cold.
 
If you want to get rid of a cold get a can of Relentless, drink about 1/4 of it, then put a blackcurrant beechams powder in the can, swill it round abit to get rid of the lumps, works a treat lol
It might work with other flavours but I've always used the blackcurrant ones.
And make sure you drink enough of it beforehand other wise it fizzes out everywhere...
 
Angilion said:
Interesting, but not conclusive. The placebo effect doesn't necessarily require conscious belief that it will work. Subconscious will do.

I can give an example from my own life. If I have a cold, Beecham's powders work better at relieving my symptoms than anything else, but only in the sachets of powder that you mix into water. Water and some Beecham's powders capsules are less effective despite being the same thing. I know it doesn't matter, just as I know that Beecham's powders is only caffeine and aspirin and therefore no different to taking a couple of aspirin tablets with some coffee (or some caffeine tablets and water). I don't believe there's anything special about Beecham's powders but only when it comes as a powder in folded paper. I know that there isn't. But it still works better for me because my subconcious mind associates the powder in bits of folded paper with relieving the symptoms of a cold.
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Actually, the powders mixed with water will most likely be absorbed into your system more quickly than the capsules (which need to a) break down, and b) for the powder to dissolve before you can absorb them). So it would make sense that the powders are more effective ;)
 
Lol. So there we have a perfectly logical explanation for it working the way that it does. I thinks it's too easy to shout placebo all the time there appears to be some benefit unaccounted for. I mean how many of us go to the quacks with no expectations or indeed a negative one concerning a treatment. I'm not pushing for miracle cures but if I were trying acupuncture I would be reserving any expectations regarding treatment pending the result. The subconscious or indeed my conscious need not be a factor.
 
I find acupuncture to be quite relaxing. Sometimes, if I have knots in my muscles or what not, it alleviates those.

It won't cure cancer or owt. Give it a go, what's the harm?
 
ethan said:
Lol. So there we have a perfectly logical explanation for it working the way that it does. I thinks it's too easy to shout placebo all the time there appears to be some benefit unaccounted for. I mean how many of us go to the quacks with no expectations or indeed a negative one concerning a treatment. I'm not pushing for miracle cures but if I were trying acupuncture I would be reserving any expectations regarding treatment pending the result. The subconscious or indeed my conscious need not be a factor.
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The point I was trying to make earlier is that while the reasoning behind traditional acupuncture is well a load of rubbish to be quite frank but people use that to write it off entirely, certain aspects of it more by accident than design do actually have some effect - some placebo some seemingly real (generally thought due to triggering or stimulating certain body systems/chemical release). There are certain studies of some of the techniques used to relieve headaches that seem to show them actually working but they get lost amongst all the stuff used to debunk the wider topic and/or dismissed because people fear they will give validity to the wider topic.
 
Had mine done this morning. Eight needles 4 in each arm (3 around elbow and one in the hand). Never felt a thing apart from the one right in the elbow but was nothing really. Took 15 minutes minutes and back in two weeks for more. Still have to keep going with the stretches etc but anything to stop the pain when lifting things with my hand in a crane style.
 
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