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SleekExorcist t1_j1n90iy wrote

Reply to comment by Baud_Olofsson in Machine learning model reliably predicts risk of opioid use disorder for individual patients, that could aid in prevention by marketrent

Ehhh acupuncture has some clinical support. So does physical therapy, which can and does include massage. But seriously no one wants to cover appropriate PT.

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Baud_Olofsson t1_j1nj40v wrote

Acupuncture is pure placebo.
One of my favorite studies compared actual acupuncture (needles inserted at extremely specific woo-woo energy sites) to a sham treatment of poking the subjects at random with toothpicks. The real acupuncture and the toothpicks were equally as effective at relieving pain.
(And note that unlike poking people with toothpicks, inserting actual needles carries actual risks (mostly infection))

Pain is very, very subjective. It can be greatly relieved by things like simple distraction and personal attention (hell, even swearing has an analgesic effect). Acupuncture provides both personal attention and distraction. So it "works", but it doesn't work better than sham treatment. Meaning it only works as well as a placebo. Meaning it is a placebo.

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