h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Acupuncture - A24001859
Author: Son of Roj Blake - U114627


First draft. Reasonably balanced, I'd like to think. Enough? Too much? Comments...?

Very nice. I didn't notice any backbends at all.

However, you don't go into the process of acupuncture itself very much. Previously, I had only the vaguest idea of what acupuncture was and what it did and what actually happens to you when you go get acupunctured. I still do. You only address the actual process in three lines:

>>t flows through the body along a number of known 'meridians', lines running the length of the body and connecting organs to one another. In a healthy person there is an uninterrupted flow of chi to all parts of the body. Health problems are caused by blockages to the flow of chi, and it is these blockages with the practice of acupuncture aims to address.

So what will happen when a patient shows up at the acupuncture clinic? They knock 'em flat and stick pins into them? Or what?

Good entry, SoRB.

Some minor points:

Remove the header at the start. You might like to use it somewhere else.

"life force" -- change the double quotes to single ones

I think you should stick to calling it chi after the first reference, so you don't need to say Qi/chi.

You might like to say "the Force of the Star Wars films" to be more specific.

it is these blockages with the practice of acupuncture aims to address-->
it is these blockages which the practice of acupuncture aims to address

Western medicine is evidence based -->
Western medicine is evidence-based.

"there is relatively little research on the subject outside China, where it is considered unethical to pretend to treat a patient with a placebo" -- do you mean that it is unethical in China, or it is unethical outside China?

G

Updated.

different than for conventional medicine -->
different to that of conventional medicine

(you should never say different than)

I think it ends rather suddenly now. You could get solve this problem by moving the risks section to the end. It ends in a nice conclusive way.

Done

I think you have achieved balance between the yin and yang of the original thread.

Don't want to needle, but I do think you need more about the actual process of receiving acupuncture. Otherwise, this should be entitled "A Balanced View on the Efficacy of Acupuncture".

What's to say about the process? I'll state upfront - I've never had acupuncture (surprised?), so my entry is based on anecdotes I've researched, rather than personal experience. But to me it seems what you need to know is:

1. It doesn't hurt.
2. You might bleed a bit.
3. You'll do a lot more talking than you would to your doctor.
4. The needles might stay in for a while, or not, and might get heated, or not.

What is there about the experience that you think is missing? Have *you* had it?

SoRB

Looking good:

A few years ago there was a 'trial' carried out on acupunture on a BBC2 programme called: 'Alternative Medicine:Acupuncture.

It seemed to have real needles inserted into a patient and 'placeboic' needles which only appeared to be insterted. A Magnetoencephelography (MEG) scan showed a change in brain activity. I have only just had another look at the trial and it seems they did not use the control needles. I thought there was something dodgy about the results.

A few links to for and against reports of the trials:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,,1739393,00.html

http://www.yorkclinic.com/bbc2.htm

http://www.acupuncture.com/news/acudeactivates.htm

The pro sites show how much can be exptrapolated from so few and skewed results.

No I haven't, but you just provided disconnected details.
Maybe it pays to find someone who *has* had it?

So you show up at the doctor's office:

now what? you chat up the doctor about what?
What symptoms can he relieve?
How does he decide where to poke you?
How does he decide how big or what shape or whether to heat the needles or how long to leave them in?
Do you strip? lie down? stand up?
Are there aromatic candles burning nearby and oriental music in the background?
Will the doctor ask you "how does that feel"?
How long are you supposed to wait for an effect? Immediate or after a few days? Hours? Several visits required or just one?
How long is a session?
Does an acupuncture doctor need to be certified by someone? Does insurance cover it?

Those are a few of my questions.
Anyone else wondering about this aspect of it?

The entry looks fine to me, but...

I had accupressure therapy on my neck (right trapezium) about 18 months ago and the effect was immediate and obvious. I hadn't even realised how little I could turn my neck before then, and I'm 100% positive it was more than a placebo. I'm sure needles would have had the same effect, which was, apparently, to release 'pressure points' which was where the muscle hadn't healed properly from a previous injury. I've no idea how it worked, but it did work, and instantly at that.

It was magic.

pedro

Are you sure they would? Sounds to me you got a very localised massage.

Wee you still able to move your neck as much sometime later after the treatment?


>which was, apparently, to release 'pressure points' which was where the muscle hadn't healed properly from a previous injury.>

Hmmm, yes 'pressure points'. If the muscle had not healed properly did the acupunture heal it or just move the muscle?



So, you were happy...great glad it solved the problem... you have no idea how it worked but you are repeating what they told you. Would you be interested in finding otu how it actually worked or are you happy with the 'pressure points' reason?

Why, do you know why it worked?

Am I sure needles would have worked? Fairly, yeah. The pressure points had, erm, pressure applied to them and basically vanished, and you can't get more localised than a needle, can you? My neck's mobility has gone steadily (but slowly) downhill since the treatment, but before that I had brutal spasms which had me off work for a few days at a time, and the present situation is markedly better 20 months later. The physio told me I must have had an injury that hadn't healed properly. Later I remembered an injury playing rugby in the same area. It wasn't particularly painful, but it felt 'wrong' somehow, like there was less pain but more damage than the usual bruises, knocks etc.

<>

As a patient, I don't really care *why* it works, as long as it does. More generally, I'd love to have a better answer than energy meridians, or whatever. They don't seem like 'proper' explanations, but that's my prejudice and ignorance as much as anything, I suppose. Although I can't see any reason why a muscle which hadn't healed properly recovering through acupressure/puncture massage (with or without needles, the same principal applies I think) would conflict with Western-style medicine or a 'rational' explanation.

As an aside, I'm *very* confident it wasn't a placebo effect. The effect was just too strong, and instantaneous. But how would I know if it was or wasn't a placebo?

"now what? you chat up the doctor about what? "

As the entry says - all kinds of things.

"What symptoms can he relieve?"

The entry tells you what he CAN relieve. He may tell you a LOT of other things he may claim to be able to treat.

"How does he decide where to poke you?"

As the entry says - known meridians on the body.

"How does he decide how big or what shape or whether to heat the needles or how long to leave them in?"

It varies. No simple answer.

"Do you strip? lie down? stand up?"

It depends.

"Are there aromatic candles burning nearby and oriental music in the background?"

It depends.

"Will the doctor ask you "how does that feel"?"

I cannot imagine any practitioner of any kind of "contact" medicine who would be uninterested in how it feels.

"How long are you supposed to wait for an effect? Immediate or after a few days? Hours? Several visits required or just one?"

It depends.

"How long is a session? "

It depends.

"Does an acupuncture doctor need to be certified by someone? Does insurance cover it?"

It depends.

I don't see any value in listing a whole bunch of things that might, or might not apply to any given session of acupuncture. You WILL have needles put in you. Beyond that, it really does just come down to where you go, who you see, what for, how much you pay, etc. etc. etc.

Would you expect an entry on physiotherapy to mention background music? Would you expect an entry on sports massage to specify whether you sit or lie down for treatment?

Don't wish to seem uncooperative, but all these questions are so tied to local specifics that answering them seems worse than pointless.

SoRB

>

I agree I don't think it is placebo. That's a very important point to make and is certainly not an aside.

However, trials have shown that acupuncture is *most likely* placeboic. Acupessure, as far as I know is a different technique(see below).



But a needle and applied pressure are two different things.

As I said a good precise massage will help to make muscle more mobile. That's the main reason why one massages...apart from a good technique for getting your leg over. One can actually feel tense muscle very easily and tight tendons and therefore apply the massage in the right place. Breaking down and moving the muscle and the tension. If you know some one who complain of sore shoulders and feel there back muscles you will probably feel lumpy areas that crack like pushing a smal sachet of sugar.

Anyway, a needle would not do his. A needle would simply be held in a particular place and sit there...doing nothing...unless meridians etc really do etc. (Look up reflexology as it is supposed to work by a similar method.)



He probably untrapped a nerve in the area. You may want to go to a physiotherapist to find out what massge techniques you can use to keep the mobility up.



That's not your prejudice that's your rational mind not soaking in any rubbish explanation.

As a patient I would want to know how it works because if it is just placebo or some method that is easy and cheap to do then I don't want to keep going back to someone who puports to be curing me through some ancient medical method invovle Qi and meridians etc when a could massage or some self-hypnosis(to replace the placebo effect) would do the trick.

It's also the 'as long as it works I don't care' attitude that allows these quackery pseudo-science things to survive.



As I mentioned above the acupressure and needles are doing two different things. The acupressure is massage wrapped in a ancient explanation - so no real conflict once you get rid of the 'pressure point release' or energy release as one assumes it to be...blocked Qi.

The needles do conflict with Western-style medicine as there is no equivilent but more importantantly no good double-blind trials.

You could do a double-blind trial on acupressure. you do acupressure on an area, you massage that area, you do nothing on that area.

Do not look up reflexology... It's even quackier than acupuncture. On Penn and Teller's Bullshit, the inventor of reflexology actually encourages his students to start practicing before they've been trained to help pay for their very expensive training.

And by practicing I don't mean self-training... I mean selling their services.