http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/40535/title/Needles_can_stick_it_to_pain
"Acupuncture, the ancient Chinese practice of sticking needles into a patient at specific points to relieve pain and treat other conditions, seems to alleviate pain just barely better than sticking needles into nonspecified parts of the body, a new analysis shows. Acupuncture purports to hit key spots along channels called meridians that run throughout the body. But the narrow difference in the findings of sham needle sticks and real acupuncture raises the question of how acupuncture works. The placebo effect, in which patients get some benefit from a fake treatment because they assume it is real, probably plays a role in acupuncture and may explain some of the sham acupuncture benefit, says Andrea Furlan, a physician and pain researcher at the University of Toronto and the Institute for Work & Health, also in Toronto. But the placebo effect is unlikely to account for all the pain reduction, she says. "There might be physiological changes" brought on as needle sticks affect the nervous system, she says. The experience of undergoing the ritual of acupuncture also influences the therapy's effectiveness, she says. "Belief is a big part of this," says Furlan, a trained acupuncturist who no longer practices." On Wed, Feb 18, 2009 at 9:10 PM, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote: > > I don't think this thread is going to fly orn. > > On Feb 18, 5:58 pm, ornamentalmind <[email protected]> wrote: >> http://www.chinesemedicinetimes.com/forum/showthread.php?t=532 > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
