Study: Acupuncture Does Reduce Pain -- Really and "Mentally" Too

It turns out the popular alternative medicine treatment called acupuncture really does work for reducing perceived pain in the body... probably in more than one way. A new study shows the pain-relief experienced by many acupuncture patients is real and probably not just due to a placebo affect, although much of the benefit is probably due to the human brain.

This is fairly surprising because skeptics have for years stated that the procedure involving placing thin needles into the skin is a pure scam that provides no real benefits. Still, acupuncture has been used in Asia for thousands of years so many alternative and natural health practitioners recommend it for dealing with pain and other health conditions without drugs.

Researchers from the Archives of Internal Medicine looked at 29 high-quality clinical trials involving about 18,000 people who underwent acupuncture treatments for chronic pain related to back/neck problems, arthritis, headaches, etc. They found evidence that real genuine acupuncture done by an expert in the proper systematic way does appear to significantly reduce pain.

Still, many experts -- including some involved in this new study -- say that at least part of acupuncture's beneficial effects are most likely due to patients believing and wanting the treatment to work.

We say: Even if there is a strong placebo effect involved in reducing pain with acupuncture (or any other alternative drug-free treatment for that matter) who cares?? If someone feels less pain overall that certainly isn't a bad thing, no matter what the mechanism is.

Learn some mo': Acupuncture works, one way or another