Category Archives: Acupuncture

One consistent theme in acupuncture research is that it has proven very difficult to show any difference between the effects of acupuncture intended to treat a symptom or disease and the effects of various kinds of fake or sham acupuncture … Continue reading →

The latest lectures in my acupuncture course have covered the use of acupuncture (and, incidentally, massage and laser therapy) for “neuromodulation” of the twelve cranial nerves. “Neuromodulation” is a somewhat vague term often used to suggest some clinically relevant and … Continue reading →

Introduction The latest lecture in my acupuncture course concerns the use of acupuncture in patients undergoing anesthesia and surgery. Most of the lecture focuses on the potential role of acupuncture in reducing pain or mitigating some of the undesirable effects … Continue reading →

Introduction This lecture had surprisingly little information about acupuncture itself. It began with a review of the pathophysiology of spinal cord injury and the typical steps for evaluating and stabilizing patients presenting with acute spinal cord injury. Most of the … Continue reading →

Acupuncture and the Evidence I have spent several hours, now, listening to lectures discussing scientific evidence and acupuncture. I have also made an effort to find and read many of the specific papers discussed so that I can evaluate their … Continue reading →

Having begun the online portion of my acupuncture course, I am beginning to get into the work of identifying, remembering, and locating the main acupuncture channels and points that are used for clinical treatment in several varieties of acupuncture. This … Continue reading →

I have written extensively about acupuncture since it is one of the most widely used and accepted of the alternative therapies. It is also complex, with many different definitions, associated theories, and a huge body of relevant research evidence. Sorting … Continue reading →

I have previously discussed in detail the reasons why, despite a fairly large and often positive research literature, I believe the evidence is strong that acupuncture works almost entirely as a placebo. Shortly after posting my most recent discussion of … Continue reading →

Acupuncture is among the most popular alternative therapies in the mainstream medical community. There appears to be a widespread belief that it has been scientifically proven to be a safe and effective therapy, at least for pain and nausea, and … Continue reading →

The evidence has been accumulating for some time that acupuncture is an elaborate and very potent placebo that can effectively make subjective symptoms better without actually influencing the underlying disease. I have written about a number of studies illustrating this … Continue reading →