Acupunture for migraine

That's a problem with acupuncture trials, what constitutes a placebo? I think the results were telling that acupuncture was somewhat effective in preventing a migraine (more psychological component) yet not effective in relieving a migraine (more physiological component).
 
Acupuncture did nothing for my headaches. When I've said that to 'believers' they have said or implied that I just didn't have a good acupuncturist. How would one know if one did or didn't? This guy stuck needles in places that were supposed to be the 'headache places'. Is there a way to weed out the false acupuncturists? Or could it be that if one is helped, then the acupuncturist is good, but if one feels no relief then, obviously, one used a bad acupuncturist? Or maybe I had a bad attitude.:rolleyes:
 
popsy said:
Acupuncture did nothing for my headaches. When I've said that to 'believers' they have said or implied that I just didn't have a good acupuncturist. How would one know if one did or didn't? This guy stuck needles in places that were supposed to be the 'headache places'. Is there a way to weed out the false acupuncturists? Or could it be that if one is helped, then the acupuncturist is good, but if one feels no relief then, obviously, one used a bad acupuncturist? Or maybe I had a bad attitude.:rolleyes:
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Yeah, well, if you believed like you SHOULD HAVE Popsy, you would be feeling better. But since (I don't think) you don't speak to gods angels fairies demons dryads and you're not an Indigo Child, you are unblessed and doomed to follow in the unenlightened footsteps of your forefathers. :p
 
There are studies being done right now with a placebo acupuncture needle. The device looks just like a regular acupuncutre needle, but there's a hollow tube up inside, with a blunt tip. When the tip touches the skin, the person doing the treatment makes a motion like they're breaking the surface of the skin. The patient even feels a jolt like the needle is piercing their skin. However, the blunt tip doesn't pierce. Also, the patient (both groups) being treated has a towel or curtain up so they can't see if the treating person is using the real needle or the placebo one.

Over the years, scientists have tried various methods for mimicking the sensation of an acupuncture needle, including the sharp end of a pencil; a practitioner's fingernail; a needle guide tube - even the end of a cocktail swizzle stick - all without producing the desired effect. Researchers in Germany may have finally solved this problem with an experimental placebo needle used as part of a headache study, the results of which have been published in Forschende Komplement¼rmedizin und Klassiche Naturheilkunde (Research in Complementary and Classical Natural Medicine).1
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http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/archives2002/apr/04needle.html

http://www.icmart.org/icmart00/abstract/abst46.html
 
Suezoled said:


Yeah, well, if you believed like you SHOULD HAVE Popsy, you would be feeling better. But since (I don't think) you don't speak to gods angels fairies demons dryads and you're not an Indigo Child, you are unblessed and doomed to follow in the unenlightened footsteps of your forefathers. :p
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Bummer!

Strangely enough, when I started paying attention to signals I was getting from my body - such as "you're feeling really crummy and you need to lay down in a cool, quiet, dark, room", the headaches improved. And I didn't even use needles.

BTW I recall having read about Indigo Children, but don't remember the particulars. Could you refresh my memory. I may be one, after all. ;):crazy:
 
Someone in my family did this for migraines, all it did was relieve them of 5000 US dollars. Still have migraines, and literally no effect even though they "believed" in acupuncture at the time. Although this is just one anecdote, the acupuncturist claimed this was a 100% sure cure. Again, CAM lies for money.
 
Quasi said:
Someone in my family did this for migraines, all it did was relieve them of 5000 US dollars.
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That's a horrendous amount of money!

Real migraine (as opposed to general headaches) isn't something that will respond to a placebo effect. Of course, the failure with your family member won't stop the scam-artist from going on claiming that it's a 100% sure-fire cure.

Somebody needs to sue somebody. Trouble is, in real medicine the doctor still gets paid even if the treatment isn't successful. That's generally seen as fair, assuming that the doctor knows what he's doing and is making his best efforts to help the patient. One could debate the possibility of abuse of this situation in real medicine till the cows come home, but when it comes to unqualified quacks offering a service costing a lot of money, with completely unsubstantiated claims, you'd think there ought to be some sort of comeback.

By the way, do have a look at the articles on acupuncture accessible from this page of the Bandolier site. Several relate to headaches.

Rolfe.
 
Thanks,

However, in Massachusetts, the state I used to live in, acupuncture is licensed. This means the board is there only to protect the quacks from being succesfully sued, just like in chiropractic. Technically, the acupuncturist performed within the bounds of licensure, therefore cannot be sued or disciplined. All this law is of course based on anecdotal evidence. Anyway, the current regime of drugs is effective and is cheap. About 6-12 months worth is only around 40 US. Thats a solid savings of 4960 US!
 
popsy said:


Bummer!

Strangely enough, when I started paying attention to signals I was getting from my body - such as "you're feeling really crummy and you need to lay down in a cool, quiet, dark, room", the headaches improved. And I didn't even use needles.

BTW I recall having read about Indigo Children, but don't remember the particulars. Could you refresh my memory. I may be one, after all. ;):crazy:
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Here ya go Popsy dear! Sorry about the delay!
http://www.indigochild.com/
 
Suezoled, Thanks for the link. What a relief to know that I'm not an Indigo Child. :clap:
 
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