Acupuncture is a mysterious healing method, but the results are real

What a pain (reliever)

If you want to start a conversation that makes people hot under, over and all around the collar, just start talking about natural medicine.

And to ratchet up the drama, bring in two articulate, intelligent doctors who cover the opposite ends of the spectrum, from integrative medicine practitioner on one side to a complete natural medicine skeptic on the other.

That’s how the stage was set during a recent radio program on our local NPR affiliate here in Baltimore.

Usually, this mid-day show covers local events, sports, politics, that sort of thing. But following the ridiculous announcement on the danger of multivitamins a couple weeks ago, the booming widespread use of natural medicine has become such a hot topic that the entire 2-hour program was devoted to a discussion of herbal healing, supplements, and other treatments considered outside the mainstream.

During this show(down), the subject of acupuncture came up with such frequency that it sort of became the battleground issue. The skeptic (Steven Salzberg, a professor of medicine and biostatistics at Johns Hopkins) claimed that no studies have produced solid evidence that acupuncture works. At best, he said, acupuncture produces a placebo effect.

But the integrative medicine practitioner (Delia Chiaramonte, who heads up the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland) was having none of that.

She calmly cited research — some conducted at UMD — that showed very clearly that acupuncture is an effective treatment for pain relief and other conditions. You may even remember that a few years ago, UMD conducted a study funded by NIH that used real acupuncture points vs. placebo points that proved acupuncture was significantly effective in relieving the pain of osteoarthritis.

There was no “winner” in this informal debate. I expect that some listeners came away with more respect for acupuncture, while others remained skeptical.

To those skeptics I would just say this: I don’t blame you. Your skepticism is completely reasonable. After all, we’re talking about a treatment that uses needles to stimulate the movement of energy through invisible channels in the body.

Why WOULDN’T you be skeptical?

Unless, of course, you tried it…

A tale of two skeptics

Shortly after I listened to the radio debate, I came across an article by Beth Capriotti on the Philadelphia Magazine website. Beth introduces herself as a lifelong skeptic, especially concerning natural medicine. But then, as she says, along came a couple of herniated disks.

Physical therapy didn’t relieve the pain. Spinal steroid injections didn’t help. Chiropractic sessions did nothing. So she finally agreed to try “that voodoo stuff” — acupuncture.

Beth: “My relief was immediate, overwhelming and lasting.”

And another skeptic bites the dust.

I enjoyed Beth’s account because it closely parallels my own experience with acupuncture — or rather my beagle’s experience.

Having been attacked by a Lab (I know…Labs never attack but this one did) when she was a puppy, she had terrible neck and back pain her whole life.

When steroids made her incontinent, we were desperate to try something else and I decided to give acupuncture a try.

I didn’t think she’d sit still for it (she did) and wasn’t sure it would help, but for $65 and a half an hour, what did I have to lose?

Now realizing there is no placebo effect with dogs — and that beagles are particularly dramatic when they are garnering sympathy — I was SHOCKED to see that after one treatment she sprang right up and jumped off the sofa and ran around like a puppy.

And from that day on, she actually got excited when our acupuncturist came over for her treatment.

And another skeptic bites the dust.

I highly recommend that anyone (or any pup) with back pain, neck pain, or other nagging health problems investigate acupuncture. Pain relief without side effects might turn you into a very happy skeptic.

You can find integrative and natural medicine doctors who offer acupuncture treatments in the Find a Doc feature on our HSI website.

Sources: 
“Alternative Medicine” Midday with Dan Rodricks, WYPR, 10/25/11, wypr.org

“Acupuncture Cures a Skeptic’s Back Pain” Beth Capriotti, Philadelphia Magazine, 10/19/11, blogs.phillymag.com