{"id":13802,"date":"2014-05-13T16:56:30","date_gmt":"2014-05-13T22:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.miridiatech.com\/news\/?p=13802"},"modified":"2026-06-30T14:04:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T20:04:48","slug":"belief-and-healing-what-you-may-not-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.miridiatech.com\/news\/2014\/05\/belief-and-healing-what-you-may-not-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Belief and Healing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"Female<\/a><\/figure>\n

John Matzke was told he had only 18 months to live. His oncologist insisted he immediately begin aggressive treatment for the melanoma that had metastasized to his lung.<\/p>\n

But John instead took a month off to strengthen his body before the grueling treatment began. He hiked, meditated, exercised and ate organic food. A month later, his lung tumor had completely disappeared on its own.<\/p>\n

Though melanoma is one of the deadliest cancers, John never started treatment and thrived another 18 years.<\/p>\n

Have you ever\u00a0heard stories of \u201cspontaneous remission?\u201d You know, someone has a terrible, even life-threatening disease–only to have it disappear for completely unknown reasons?<\/span><\/h5>\n

The scientific and medical communities have struggled for decades to learn the combination needed to <\/strong>allow the body\u2019s natural ability to heal.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the mystery of healing\u2014whether from disease, injury, trauma, or myriad other afflictions\u2014 has been at or near the heart of mysticism, philosophy, science,\u00a0religion, and medicine since the beginning of human civilization. And yet, it seems the more we learn about the miracle, the less we understand.<\/p>\n

But one thing is certain:<\/p>\n

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\"Paths<\/figure>\n
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The mind<\/span> is important, and perhaps even the MOST important factor in healing and recovery.<\/span><\/h4>\n

And yet this “mind effect” is most often spoken of in extremely negative terms. Ever heard of the\u00a0placebo effect?<\/span><\/p>\n

As you likely know, a\u00a0placebo <\/span>is a chemically or physically ineffective treatment, such as a sugar pill, given to patients who believe it works. The patient\u2019s belief itself becomes the healing agent. Interestingly, red\u00a0sugar pills seem to have a greater effect than blue sugar pills (colors have meanings), and two sugar pills work better than one. In fact, packaging even has a role\u2014with fake name-brand drugs in fancy packaging working better than fake generic brand drugs in generic packaging.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Placebos don\u2019t even have to be pills to be effective. Studies have shown that fake injections are more effective than fake pills and that some phony surgeries are just as effective as their real counterparts. In some studies, sham acupuncture works just as well as real acupuncture.\u00a0It’s all rooted in the patient’s belief.
Controlled studies of the placebo effect have shown it to improve chest pain, warts, asthma, arthritis, cancer, and side effects of medication.<\/p>\n

Clearly, the patient\u2019s belief is strong medicine.<\/span><\/h4>\n

And speaking of medicine, the placebo effect is often the bane of medical care. New drugs must beat the placebo effect in clinical trials, which is becoming increasingly hard to do. Ubiquitous\u00a0drug advertising and more powerful marketing have ironically increased public belief that a pill, any pill<\/em>, is the cure for every ill. New drugs in clinical trials often have a difficult time showing any greater effect than\u00a0the fake pill they must beat.<\/p>\n

\"Acupuncture<\/figure>\n

For ill or for good, the placebo effect is the manifestation of the first mental process the patient must <\/span>possess before the healing process can have its full effect: Namely, the patient must believe s\/he is receiving effective treatment. <\/span>Patients will form this belief based on evidence and will seek evidence to support this belief until they find it.<\/p>\n

In acupuncture, as in any other branch of medicine, patient’s belief MUST be engaged properly to bring about the maximum belief and healing.<\/p>\n

Consider these questions, and leave a comment:<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n
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  1. Is acupuncture merely an elaborate placebo?<\/li>\n
  2. Should we be encouraging patient belief, or trying to remain neutral to minimize the placebo effect?<\/li>\n
  3. In what ways does the atmosphere of your office encourage healing?<\/li>\n
  4. In what ways do\u00a0your demeanor and bedside manner encourage healing?<\/li>\n
  5. What inadvertent messages, positive and negative, are you giving to your patients? How do those message affect outcomes?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \u00a0<\/h5>\n
    It’s worth considering. Let me know your thoughts, and I’ll finish this topic in a couple of days.\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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    I also posed the question whether acupuncture is merely an elaborate placebo treatment, which, as you might imagine, elicited a number of responses.<\/span> Thanks to everyone\u00a0who commented.<\/h5>\n

    \"needling\"I’ll tell you what I think: Yes, there’s a placebo dimension to acupuncture.<\/strong> There undoubtedly must be, just as there’s a placebo dimension to every other treatment, medication, procedure or interaction with a healthcare provider.<\/em> Each of these does something to influence patient belief, which in turn influences healing. Just as the presence of a doctor in a white coat has been shown to increase blood pressure, the presence of a caring acupuncturist may bring feelings of well being. This is no surprise to anyone.<\/p>\n

    Of course, there are real problems designing good studies of “sham” acupuncture, because it’s hard to “fake” inserting a needle into the skin. The sham studies I’ve seen basically take two forms.<\/p>\n

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    1. Studies that use real acupuncture, but in non-acupuncture point areas. This approach is problematic because any needle insertion is going to communicate with the body’s fascial network and affect the main meridians through collateral branches. There is no place in the body where you can insert a needle and not affect the body’s electrical system. Sham locations are not the same as sham acupuncture.<\/li>\n
    2. Studies that use “fake” acupuncture with elaborate, non-piercing fake needles, designed to deceive the patient into believing the needle has actually pierced the skin. In this case, there is a piercing sensation as the sharpened point presses on the skin without penetrating. The problem with this approach is that you are still stimulating the point with acupressure and nociceptive input. Should we be surprised if such stimulation produces the same results as needle penetration? No.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      Not surprisingly, recent studies employing sham acupuncture have wrongly asserted that it is just as effective as real acupuncture. Let’s take a look at a couple of cases:<\/strong><\/h5>\n

      A 2009 study by Daniel C. Cherkin, PhD., treated 638 adults with chronic low back pain, using one of the following approaches:<\/p>\n