re: #257 Anymouse 🌹

I found it. I did not see the link.

It is not a study. It is a meta-analysis of studies.

From the conclusion of that analysis, the lede:

Emphasis in the summary mine.

Theatrical placebo. Doesn’t matter where you put the needle.

I suppose that I could boil up and sterilise my own needles, hang my shingle out, and go to work. According to the meta-analysis (not study), 50% of people reported improvement in pain. (That’s pretty low.) Doesn’t matter whether my “boil my own needles” method is effective or no, I get paid (and acupuncture is very expensive).

Moreover, there are no acupuncturists within a couple hundred miles of here. If I was unethical, I could take my state’s required courses, get my FREE license after sitting an “acupuncture examination” (whatever the hell that is), and I’m set. (No continuing education required to maintain the license.)

Or I could sell placebo pills (since the meta-analysis notes that’s the principal effect of acupuncture) and I don’t even need a license.

By comparison, I have to sit nearly the same number of hours for a Public Water System Operator, the license is $150 every year, and I have to go through continuing education which costs way more than that every year.

Forgive me if I view acupuncture as quackery. There’s a reason it’s called “alternative medicine” (it’s not medicine).

From the link:

“Significant differences between true and sham acupuncture indicate that acupuncture is more than a placebo.”

And by the way, whether you deem acupuncture to have therapeutic effects or not, one thing is clear is that you don’t understand acupuncture licensing in most states or the training involved.

Lastly, I’d point out that a lot of people use acupuncture as a method of last resort, because they have a lot of pain, and don’t want to use heavy duty pain meds or even OTC stuff or maybe don’t want surgery, and want a non drug-related way to manage pain. So even if it’s only 50% of people that see results, it’s still worth it.