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Is there any legitimacy to accupuncture?
#11
RE: Is there any legitimacy to accupuncture?
My understanding is that studies show acupuncture is not more effective than placebo. I actually almost lost a friend who was using it for migraine relief when I showed her the studies. But she stopped the acupuncture anyway, because it wasn't actually helping her migraines, so...~shrugs~ (I also don't think she has migraines, because she has no other symptoms aside from sever headache, and no migraine treatment of any sort has ever worked. I told her I wasn't downplaying her suffering, just urging her to get a proper diagnosis so she could get better treatment, but that upset her too. I guess the word "migraine" gets more sympathy or something. I don't understand people sometimes). Anyway, sorry for rambling on there.

Chairopraty varies. Since they are actually moving things around, it can relieve pinched nerves and things like that, but some of it is also just placebo.
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#12
RE: Is there any legitimacy to accupuncture?
(July 29, 2018 at 8:28 am)Aroura Wrote: Chairopraty varies.  Since they are actually moving things around, it can relieve pinched nerves and things like that, but some of it is also just placebo.

Quote:There is now a lot of evidence showing that more than half of all patients suffer mild to moderate adverse effects after seeing a chiropractor. These are mostly local and referred pains that usually last for two to three days. Chiropractors often claim that these are necessary steps on the road to getting better. On a good day, we might even believe them.

But unfortunately there is more, much more. Several hundred cases have been documented in which patients were seriously and often permanently damaged after chiropractic manipulations. The latest to hit the headlines was that of a 32-year-old woman from Jakarta who died after being treated by an American chiropractor. What usually happens in these tragic instances is that, upon manipulation of the upper spine, an artery supplying the brain is over-stretched and simply breaks up, leading to a stroke which can prove fatal.

Chiropractors do not like to hear any of this, and either claim that these are extremely rare events, or deny any connection with their manipulations. Regrettably, the hard evidence is not as solid as one would wish. In conventional medicine we have effective systems to monitor adverse effects of all interventions — not so in alternative medicine. Therefore, the true frequency of such tragedies is anyone’s guess. About 30 deaths after chiropractic have been documented in medical literature, but they are probably just the tip of a much bigger iceberg. We have shown, for instance, that in the UK the under-reporting of such instances is very close to 100 per cent.

All clinicians, alternative or conventional, must obtain informed consent from patients before starting a therapy. This ethical imperative means chiropractors must tell their patients firstly about the very limited evidence that spinal manipulations are effective; secondly, about the possibility of causing serious harm; and thirdly about other treatments which might be better. But who would give their consent, knowing all this? The way many chiropractors solve this dilemma is simple: they ignore the ethical imperative by treating patients without informed consent. There is evidence to suggest that ‘only 23 per cent [of UK chiropractors] report always discussing serious risk’.

The evidence shows that chiropractors do more harm than good
In several hundred cases patients have been seriously and often permanently damaged
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#13
RE: Is there any legitimacy to accupuncture?
(July 29, 2018 at 8:44 am)Jörmungandr Wrote:
(July 29, 2018 at 8:28 am)Aroura Wrote: Chairopraty varies.  Since they are actually moving things around, it can relieve pinched nerves and things like that, but some of it is also just placebo.

Quote:There is now a lot of evidence showing that more than half of all patients suffer mild to moderate adverse effects after seeing a chiropractor. These are mostly local and referred pains that usually last for two to three days. Chiropractors often claim that these are necessary steps on the road to getting better. On a good day, we might even believe them.

But unfortunately there is more, much more. Several hundred cases have been documented in which patients were seriously and often permanently damaged after chiropractic manipulations. The latest to hit the headlines was that of a 32-year-old woman from Jakarta who died after being treated by an American chiropractor. What usually happens in these tragic instances is that, upon manipulation of the upper spine, an artery supplying the brain is over-stretched and simply breaks up, leading to a stroke which can prove fatal.

Chiropractors do not like to hear any of this, and either claim that these are extremely rare events, or deny any connection with their manipulations. Regrettably, the hard evidence is not as solid as one would wish. In conventional medicine we have effective systems to monitor adverse effects of all interventions — not so in alternative medicine. Therefore, the true frequency of such tragedies is anyone’s guess. About 30 deaths after chiropractic have been documented in medical literature, but they are probably just the tip of a much bigger iceberg. We have shown, for instance, that in the UK the under-reporting of such instances is very close to 100 per cent.

All clinicians, alternative or conventional, must obtain informed consent from patients before starting a therapy. This ethical imperative means chiropractors must tell their patients firstly about the very limited evidence that spinal manipulations are effective; secondly, about the possibility of causing serious harm; and thirdly about other treatments which might be better. But who would give their consent, knowing all this? The way many chiropractors solve this dilemma is simple: they ignore the ethical imperative by treating patients without informed consent. There is evidence to suggest that ‘only 23 per cent [of UK chiropractors] report always discussing serious risk’.

The evidence shows that chiropractors do more harm than good
In several hundred cases patients have been seriously and often permanently damaged
Yikes!

Good to know, and also not really surprising I guess. That's terrible though! I used to see one in my 20's, and it's a violent process.  And it never really helped me either. I was simply desperate.  I stopped going after my chiropractor shamed me for taking anxiety medication for my debilitating anxiety attacks.
“Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, where's it going to end?” 
― Tom StoppardRosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
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#14
RE: Is there any legitimacy to accupuncture?
One personal story in favor of chiropractors.

In my late twenties I developed a kink or soreness in my neck that became so painful that I couldn't lay down at night and barely slept at all in a reclining chair. My doctor could do nothing that helped and acupuncture was a joke. But when I went to the chiropractor, he did one 'adjustment' with his hands which was an instant fix. No woo. No talk of a return visit. If I experienced anything like that again, a chiropractor would be my first stop.
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#15
RE: Is there any legitimacy to accupuncture?
(July 29, 2018 at 9:11 am)Whateverist Wrote: One personal story in favor of chiropractors.

In my late twenties I developed a kink or soreness in my neck that became so painful that I couldn't lay down at night and barely slept at all in a reclining chair.  My doctor could do nothing that helped and acupuncture was a joke.  But when I went to the chiropractor, he did one 'adjustment' with his hands which was an instant fix.  No woo.  No talk of a return visit.  If I experienced anything like that again, a chiropractor would be my first stop.

"Research has also shown chiropractic to be helpful in treating neck pain and headaches." ~ WebMD

Meh.



"Americans spend at least $50 billion each year on back pain—and that’s just for the more easily identified costs." ~ Back Pain Facts and Statistics
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#16
RE: Is there any legitimacy to accupuncture?
(July 29, 2018 at 9:17 am)Jörmungandr Wrote:
(July 29, 2018 at 9:11 am)Whateverist Wrote: One personal story in favor of chiropractors.

In my late twenties I developed a kink or soreness in my neck that became so painful that I couldn't lay down at night and barely slept at all in a reclining chair.  My doctor could do nothing that helped and acupuncture was a joke.  But when I went to the chiropractor, he did one 'adjustment' with his hands which was an instant fix.  No woo.  No talk of a return visit.  If I experienced anything like that again, a chiropractor would be my first stop.

"Research has also shown chiropractic to be helpful in treating neck pain and headaches." ~ WebMD

Meh.


But still I wonder how homogenous they may be as a group.  Are they certified in a way I can rely on, or did I just get lucky?  It does give me some concern.
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#17
RE: Is there any legitimacy to accupuncture?
(July 29, 2018 at 7:47 am)Jörmungandr Wrote:  Millions of people have experienced the beneficial effects of acupuncture and thousands of scientific studies have concluded that acupuncture is effective for such things as the relief of pain, increasing fertility, treating rheumatoid arthritis, and relieving nausea after chemotherapy.

Wait..what, lol?
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#18
RE: Is there any legitimacy to accupuncture?
(July 29, 2018 at 9:23 am)Whateverist Wrote:
(July 29, 2018 at 9:17 am)Jörmungandr Wrote: "Research has also shown chiropractic to be helpful in treating neck pain and headaches." ~ WebMD

Meh.


But still I wonder how homogenous they may be as a group.  Are they certified in a way I can rely on, or did I just get lucky?  It does give me some concern.
Honestly, I think what they do can help with certain things. It sounds like there is simply a large risk for a small possible benefit.

Looking into it, it appears massage and stretching will often fix similar issues and with much less risk. For slipped sockets and picked nerves, there are safer options.
“Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, where's it going to end?” 
― Tom StoppardRosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
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#19
RE: Is there any legitimacy to accupuncture?
We have some people in the dog rescue who swear by acupuncture to the point where they employ it on their dogs.  It seems to me that if people believe in it they think it helps their dogs.

The funny thing is that the dogs are not as stupid as the people.  They do not fall for the placebo effect.
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#20
RE: Is there any legitimacy to accupuncture?
(July 29, 2018 at 1:31 pm)Minimalist Wrote: We have some people in the dog rescue who swear by acupuncture to the point where they employ it on their dogs.  It seems to me that if people believe in it they think it helps their dogs.

The funny thing is that the dogs are not as stupid as the people.  They do not fall for the placebo effect.

A friend of mine, who lives in Chevy Chase, wanted to get acupuncture on her wolf-hybrid. Some practitioners agree on the phone, but when they saw a 235 pound half-wolf they decided sticking needles into it wasn't the best treatment option for the beast.
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