Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5865684 | Complementary Therapies in Medicine | 2014 | 20 Pages |
Abstract
Complementary therapies such as acupuncture are suggested to have enhanced placebo effects. Numerous high quality randomized controlled trials found that acupuncture is no better than its placebo control; however, patients in both real and sham acupuncture groups report clinically meaningful symptom improvements. A possible interpretation of these trials is that acupuncture acts entirely by engaging placebo mechanisms. This article provides further evidence supporting that acupuncture might be a potent placebo, and explains how to address major concerns following this suggestion.
Keywords
Related Topics
Health Sciences
Medicine and Dentistry
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Authors
Yong-Chen Zheng, Ting-Ting Yuan, Tao Liu,