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...toothpicks. Researchers at the Group Health Center for Health Studies in Seattle found that "fake" acupuncture using toothpicks instead of needles was as effective as the traditional Chinese healing method for relieving back pain. (See pictures of spiritual healing around the world...
Daniel Cherkin, a senior investigator at the center, gathered 638 patients with chronic low back pain, none of whom had ever had acupuncture, and gave them one of three different acupuncture treatments. One group received individual care in the classic model of the ancient Chinese practice in which the acupuncturist analyzes the patient's overall health by studying his body and lifestyle, taking his pulse and looking at his tongue (practitioners believe that the condition of a person's tongue is indicative of his total health state) and designs a customized set of acupuncture points that are most likely...
Another group received acupuncture at standardized points, which experienced practitioners agree can help the majority of back-pain sufferers. A final group received the toothpick treatment. These patients were poked with toothpicks inserted through the acupuncture needle tube at the standard points - but unlike with traditional acupuncture, practitioners did not penetrate the patient's skin. Instead, they pricked and then twirled the toothpick to simulate a needle going...
None of the patients in any of the groups knew which treatment they were receiving; all were blindfolded and lay face down with their head in a face cradle when the treatments were given. Each patient received 10 treatments over seven weeks. A control group of similar back-pain patients were told to continue doing whatever it was they did to relieve their pain, whether it was taking over-the-counter pain relievers or using massage or chiropractic services. The acupuncture patients were also allowed to continue using pain relievers if they were already taking them. (Read about...
Cherkin and his team followed up with the patients at eight weeks, 26 weeks and a year after their sessions to find out how much pain they were experiencing. After eight weeks, twice the number of patients getting any type of acupuncture - whether it was customized, standard or sham - reported improvements in their ability to function, such as walking or going up and down steps without pain, compared with those sticking with traditional care. That improvement was expected, to a certain extent, since physicians are increasingly aware that acupuncture does have physiological effects on the body. "There...