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Acupuncture: Mystic Therapy or Ancient Hoax?
While an estimated 10% of the global population possesses a phobic aversion to pins and needles, it remains to be seen just how comfortable the other 90% should be with the practice of acupuncture, even without the irrational fear of sharp objects.
While traditional Chinese and alternative medicines have often been controversial in Western practice, acupuncture rests squarely between the extremes of ludicrous and miraculous, being simply unsubstantiated one way or the other, despite its extensive history. To be clear, those who practice and undergo treatments of acupuncture for its potential benefits are at no fault for the poorly-defined reputation of the art. There is simply an unnerving lack of reasonable, empirical evidence either for or against this mysterious form of medicine.
One noteworthy attempt at researching the ancient therapy of acupuncture was undertaken by scientists in Denmark, published in the February 7th, 2009 edition of the British Medical Journal. The researchers, through the thirteen studies undertaken, came to the conclusion that true acupuncture seems to just barely alleviate pain any better than sticking needles into non-specific parts of the body.
The aforementioned studies seem to indicate that a placebo effect is at play, though this only further complicates attempts at further research on the subject. In the case of acupuncture, testing for a placebo effect is difficult, in that it would involve repeatedly puncturing subjects' muscles at random, or at least in places not recommended by acupuncture experts. This raises obvious questions of both ethics and safety in a scientific study. Unlike drug tests where it is simple and safe to give someone a fake pill, it is difficult to perform a "fake" series of punctures in the flesh of an individual. Due to the hardships in attaining reputable evidence as to the presence of a placebo effect, real answers on the effectiveness of true acupuncture are hard to find. One thing, however, is certain: whether a placebo or not, acupuncture generally produces an observable change in condition.
Despite a tendency for producing at least minor results, acupuncture is not officially supported by either the American Medical Association or the National Institute of Health.
The World Health Organization, on the other hand, has cited a list of over two dozen conditions that acupuncture is allegedly proven to help treat, standing in direct opposition to critics of the practice.
For the individual seeking treatment, this division amongst health organizations only serves to further confuse the situation. If leading experts cannot agree on the subject, what becomes the reasonable course of action in our attempts to relieve our ever-increasing aches, pains, and ailments?
Well, if being poked, prodded, and stabbed without certainty of effectiveness leaves a bad taste in your mouth, there is little luck to be had with acupuncture, where certainty is in short supply and the poking and prodding is plentiful. However, if you hold traditional Chinese ideology in high esteem, and have exhausted other methods of pain relief, rest assured that there have been a remarkably low amount of incidents or dangers associated with acupuncture, only a poorly defined body of evidence to support its practice. To put it another way, it is a low-risk option with a potentially high-reward. For some, it might just be worth taking a "stab" at.
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