The news that acupuncture works better than non-needle therapies for the relief of back pain might seem to be good news for acupuncturists. Not so. Take another look at the figures. What the German survey of 1,200 sufferers actually shows is that traditional acupuncture is a load of old cobblers.
Yes, the Chinese needle treatment provided significant relief for 47.6 per cent of people who received it, as opposed to 27.4 per cent who received physiotherapy and medication. But hang on.A “sham acupuncture” treatment in which the needles were placed in the “wrong” places worked for 44.2 per cent of sufferers. In other words, it’s the way the body deals with needle pain, not the choice of pressure points, that makes the difference. Or, as the great Ben Goldacre puts it on his Bad Science blog with characteristic gusto:
“The pretend acupuncture group, where they just bunged needles in any old place with a bit of ceremony, did just as well as the people having proper, posh, theatrical genuine acupuncture.”
So much for unblocking qi to balance the opposing forces of yin and yang. As another great man, the skeptical physicist Professor Bob Park, noted ages ago: “Scientists suggest the needles stimulate the release of endorphins. Jalapeno peppers do the same thing. So it wouldn’t matter where you stuck the needles, would it?”
And now we know: it doesn’t.
If you enjoyed this post, why not subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter? You might also consider making a donation to the Counterknowledge.com fighting fund.
Click here to sign up for free RSS updates.
Download the free 
Join 
7 responses
Brainless Parrots…
Yeah, but no but … ask any decent acupuncturist about that trial and they’ll pull a wry smile and tell you that they would always treat back pain by ‘bunging’ in needles where it hurts: they’d probably not use traditional acupuncture points.
So what exactly was ’sham’ acupuncture in this case, and what exactly was the ‘acupunture’ administered. Are the results really so surprising ? Sticking needles in damaged muscles seems to promote pain relief and some kind of healing.
Please get your facts right. I’m not an acupuncturist by the way, although I’ve used Traditional Chinese Medicine over the years.
I have never experienced ‘pain’, the idea that the application of the needle is to cause pain is incorrect. This is not the objective of the needle placements. Siting certain needles in certain points does appear to bring up emotional and psychological impressions for me. I have always found these useful. You might want to look into current research at the interface between ’science’ and energy medicine. Remember, your cynicism about things you cannot ‘prove’ is just an expression your own belief system, since others do not share it and nothing that is not universally demonstrable, as in ’science’ is certain neither are your assertions as to what is bogus, cod, or whatever.
You’ve started this ‘tear down charlatans’ website in order to meet an emotional need of your own. On some counts you will be correct, on others you will not.
I’ve just noted that Damian Thompson works for the Daily Telegraph and is a practising Catholic.
Hardly a person of neutrality when it comes to tearing down other people’s beliefs about medicine, spirituality, religion and politics.
How can a person who believes in transubstantiation not understand why a billion Chinese people believe in acupuncture? How can someone who works for a publication which markets itself purely to people of a certain bias comment on conspiracy theories about 9/11?
I think, Damian, that you are unhappy, angry and suffering from constant doubt about your own beliefs and the things which comfort YOU. This is called projection. That means, attacking the very thing which you most fear in yourself, in case you need a more in depth explanation.
Perhaps you are afraid that Catholicism is based on esoteric lies and that a Conservative political system/world view is equally inappropriate?
Acupuncture does work. it helps me deal with my allergies and also i use acupunture for relaxation )
Incoming links from other sites