Does Acupuncture Work?

Does Acupuncture Work?

Do you suffer from chronic pain? Maybe acupuncture is just what the doctor ordered. Millions of people say that acupuncture has alleviated their suffering and boosted their bodies, but others insist that it's more rooted in belief than scientific fact. Is acupuncture really the cure for what ails you, or does it only turn you into a human pincushion?

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You are seeing 2 Comments on this Argument. See all 128 Comments on this Question.
Regarding Argument
The Ancient Chinese Theories are Not Correct
- From Edzard Ernst
No Side
By Edzard Ernst - Doctor/Author: Trick Or Treatment

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Regarding Objection
There's Been STRONG and REPRODUCIBLE Evidence of Meridians
- From Bill Reddy
Yes Side
By Bill Reddy - American Association of Acupuncture...

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  • JJM
    The "German paper" is nonsense

    Mr. Reddy, can you tell me exactly how the resistance measurements were made? The paper does not say, most particularly, where the reference electrode was and how it was applied? Presumably you read and understood this.

    Look at Figures 1 & 2. Where are the error bars? How many experiments were performed? Was the experimenter blinded to the readout? Speaking (myself) as someone who measured skin-resistance several decades ago, such measurements are easily manipulated by the experimenter. The reported pressure (in grams) variation of conductivity is way too small, suggesting the data is incompetently obtained, or faked.

    Did I read correctly that vegetables have acupuncture points, as do severed limbs??

    They also cover Kirlian auras, and electroacupuncture according to Voll; which have been thoroughly debunked.

    In other words, a proper referee for this article would demand a lot more information, or reject it.

    It might help if you could supply a proper citation to the technetium experiment, even if it is not available OnLine. Why is it that you cannot cite high-quality support for your claims?

    - JJMUS September 12, 2008 10:07AM

    Reply to this Recommend (0) Icon flag Side: No

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  • Edzard Ernst
    Recent review

    You need to inform yourself better: a recent review of the literature (by acupuncture proponents) concluded that the evidence for the existence of meridians etc was insufficient!

    - Edzard ErnstGB September 15, 2008 3:44AM

    Reply to this Recommend (0) Icon flag Side: Uncommitted

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Does Acupuncture Really Work?

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  • Steven Novella MD
    Dr. Novella is an academic clinical neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine. He is the president and co-founder of the New England Skeptical Society.... More

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