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placebo effect
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is there any scientific evidence to suggest that alternative therapies (homeopathy, faith healing,reiki etc.)work other than by the placebo effect?
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Don't know if there is evidence but hypnotherapy stopped my anxiety attacks! For months doctors just gave me pills and sent me to see an EMDR therapist and then I took it upon myself to see someone and it helped beyond belief! Also I had problems with my stomach as I was anxious all the time and doctors just gave me things like Gaviscon... then the hypnotherapist gave me some homeopath remedies... and they worked! Placebo or not.... it did better than the doctors did!
Before the doctors and people of medicine we see today there were many practitioners of the healing arts that used remedies utilising plant extracts and incorporating various techniques: holistic,aromatherapy,reflexology,crystal healing....and so on. It is the G.P's of today that are really using mostly synthetically produced medicines based on the natural so-called alternatives.
Tourman, Quackwatch is just another website with the opinions of two doctors. Is is only as valid as all the other pros and cons really.
Fact is that therapies like Indian head / body massage, acupuncture, acupressure and many, many others were used by the ancient Greeks, Indians, Romans etc. These were the classical medicines of those times and many were proven to work for millions of people over centuries. I don't think we can say that these people were pretending to be healed or were duped into believing they were healed.
And if indeed such things as massage, acupuncture, Chinese and Indian medicine etc. belonged in the "quack medicines" category, then why is it that an increasing number of the world's leading hospitals now offer these treatments alongside classical medicine?
An example would be the fact that when classical medicine fails in healing eczema, psoriasis and other skin ailments, renowned hospitals like Guys in London work together with specialists in ancient Chinese medicine with great success! This is but one example. Several so called holistic / complementary / alternative therapies have in the past few years been scientifically proven to work and the list is growing all the time.
Fact is that therapies like Indian head / body massage, acupuncture, acupressure and many, many others were used by the ancient Greeks, Indians, Romans etc. These were the classical medicines of those times and many were proven to work for millions of people over centuries. I don't think we can say that these people were pretending to be healed or were duped into believing they were healed.
And if indeed such things as massage, acupuncture, Chinese and Indian medicine etc. belonged in the "quack medicines" category, then why is it that an increasing number of the world's leading hospitals now offer these treatments alongside classical medicine?
An example would be the fact that when classical medicine fails in healing eczema, psoriasis and other skin ailments, renowned hospitals like Guys in London work together with specialists in ancient Chinese medicine with great success! This is but one example. Several so called holistic / complementary / alternative therapies have in the past few years been scientifically proven to work and the list is growing all the time.
There is an article in todays Daily Mail about spiritual/faith healing by Dr Danny Penman.
I have used homeopathy on my dogs with results that convinced me it worked. After all animals don't know they are taking anything!! There are also qualified vets who abandon conventional medicine and use only homeopathic treatments, they must be convinced it works.
I have used homeopathy on my dogs with results that convinced me it worked. After all animals don't know they are taking anything!! There are also qualified vets who abandon conventional medicine and use only homeopathic treatments, they must be convinced it works.
By definition 'alternative therpaies' do NOT have any scientific evidence to support their use. If they did they would not be known as 'alternative'.
That's not to say they do not work, nor that they indeed do work for everyone.
The placebo effect can be observed not only with alternative therapies but also evidence based medicine.
This may be seen as aneqdotal evidence that a positive mental state can induce a positive physical one.
That's not to say they do not work, nor that they indeed do work for everyone.
The placebo effect can be observed not only with alternative therapies but also evidence based medicine.
This may be seen as aneqdotal evidence that a positive mental state can induce a positive physical one.
The placebo effect is more than just a positive mental attitude. There has been work showing physological effects from placebo treatments specifically dopamine production in patients with Parkinsons.
Ironically you really can treat people with placebos.
http://www.pbs.org/saf/1307/segments/1307-3.ht m
A lot of alternative medecines work on this principle (whether or not they think they do) which is why they tend to fail in double-blind tests and why they are most effective in treating conditions of chronic pain.
So you'd want to be careful about dismissing things as "just" the placebo effect.
There have also been sucessful double blind tests with some herbs. I think there's about 7. I can't remember them all but garlic was definately one and surprisingly (given it's popularity) evening primrose was not.
Just because people used a treatment for thousands of years does not make it effective. Often treatment would be based on a similarity. So a frog would be placed in the mouth to cure a sore throat - the logic being because the frog croaked! - funny but similar logic applied to herbalism Walnuts to treat headache - walnuts look like brains of course.
On the other hand willow bark was used and that contained asprin! It gets real tough sorting out real effects from placebo in herbalism
Ironically you really can treat people with placebos.
http://www.pbs.org/saf/1307/segments/1307-3.ht m
A lot of alternative medecines work on this principle (whether or not they think they do) which is why they tend to fail in double-blind tests and why they are most effective in treating conditions of chronic pain.
So you'd want to be careful about dismissing things as "just" the placebo effect.
There have also been sucessful double blind tests with some herbs. I think there's about 7. I can't remember them all but garlic was definately one and surprisingly (given it's popularity) evening primrose was not.
Just because people used a treatment for thousands of years does not make it effective. Often treatment would be based on a similarity. So a frog would be placed in the mouth to cure a sore throat - the logic being because the frog croaked! - funny but similar logic applied to herbalism Walnuts to treat headache - walnuts look like brains of course.
On the other hand willow bark was used and that contained asprin! It gets real tough sorting out real effects from placebo in herbalism
I have used herbal remedies fro menopause, arthritis, & other ailments for over 30 years. I was told by a gp that nothing could be done re my arthritis & I would gradually get worse. I took no notice of this, went to my herbalist & 30 years later I`m no worse. I even took the remedies into hospital with me when I had to have an op. The consultant gave permission for me to take them. Apart from the post op pain relief & usual post op iv , I did not have any other meds. I`m a big believer in alternative therapies.
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