Acupuncture May Be Useful for Migraines
Acupuncture May Have Potent Placebo Effect, Like Many Complex Medical Procedures, Say Researchers
The study is not the first to find "sham" acupuncture to be as effective as the real thing. While it is not clear why, Linde says there are probably both physical and psychological factors involved.
It has been suggested that hands-on therapies that involve repetitive stimuli like acupuncture and massage can alter the perception of pain.
The benefits may also be derived from the patient's belief that acupuncture works -- the so-called "placebo effect" -- and the ritual associated with treatment, Linde says.
Acupuncture expert Peter Wayne, PhD, says the impact of the hands-on interaction between the patient and the acupuncture provider can't be underestimated. Most acupuncture sessions take around 30 minutes, far longer than the average patient sees a doctor during a routine office visit.
Wayne is research director of the New England School of Acupuncture in Watertown, Mass.
"There are some very creative studies under way right now examining the effect of the interaction between patients and their practitioners," he tells WebMD. "In conventional medicine the time spent with a doctor is getting shorter and shorter, and we don't really understand the implications of this."
Acupuncture May Be Useful for Migraines
Acupuncture May Have Potent Placebo Effect, Like Many Complex Medical Procedures, Say Researchers
Treatment Not a Sham
The study is not the first to find "sham" acupuncture to be as effective as the real thing. While it is not clear why, Linde says there are probably both physical and psychological factors involved.
It has been suggested that hands-on therapies that involve repetitive stimuli like acupuncture and massage can alter the perception of pain.
The benefits may also be derived from the patient's belief that acupuncture works -- the so-called "placebo effect" -- and the ritual associated with treatment, Linde says.
Acupuncture expert Peter Wayne, PhD, says the impact of the hands-on interaction between the patient and the acupuncture provider can't be underestimated. Most acupuncture sessions take around 30 minutes, far longer than the average patient sees a doctor during a routine office visit.
Wayne is research director of the New England School of Acupuncture in Watertown, Mass.
"There are some very creative studies under way right now examining the effect of the interaction between patients and their practitioners," he tells WebMD. "In conventional medicine the time spent with a doctor is getting shorter and shorter, and we don't really understand the implications of this."
SHARE
