Acupuncture More than Just a Placebo
Acupuncture Proven to have an Effect Beyond Placebo
A joint MIT-Harvard study reports that acupuncture has an effect beyond placebo in relieving pain.
The study, published in the November 2008 issue of Behavioral Brain Research, utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) to examine the effects of acupuncture versus “sham acupuncture” in relieving pain.
The study found that subjects receiving real acupuncture experienced significantly greater pre- and post-treatment pain reductions compared to the placebo group. In addition to the subjects’ reports, brain scans revealed increased brain activity and opioid release during the real acupuncture.
Researchers are still unclear just how acupuncture achieves its effects, but it is clear that acupuncture is more than just a sugar pill.
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