http://www.yalemedlaw.com/2011/08/tips-from-the-past-the-ancient-oriental-medical-art-of-acupuncture-and-its-emergence-in-modern-day-alternative-medicine/ Fri, 17 May 2013 18:27:47 -0600 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://www.yalemedlaw.com/2011/08/tips-from-the-past-the-ancient-oriental-medical-art-of-acupuncture-and-its-emergence-in-modern-day-alternative-medicine/comment-page-1/#comment-2677 Carl Bartecchi, MD Thu, 18 Aug 2011 04:05:31 +0000 http://www.yalemedlaw.com/?p=1395#comment-2677 Anyone who believes that acupuncture is any more than a placebo needs to read the books by Simon Sing and Edzard Ernst, MD – TRICK OR TREATMENT and R. Barker Bausell – SNAKE OIL SCIENCE.

]]> http://www.yalemedlaw.com/2011/08/tips-from-the-past-the-ancient-oriental-medical-art-of-acupuncture-and-its-emergence-in-modern-day-alternative-medicine/comment-page-1/#comment-2676 David Ramey Thu, 18 Aug 2011 03:40:27 +0000 http://www.yalemedlaw.com/?p=1395#comment-2676 Acupuncture, as practiced today, is not ancient, unless one considers that 20th century ancient. Further, there are many variations reported, including ear acupuncture (a French invention from the 1950s), and Korean hand acupuncture (with 150 points on the middle finger). While scientific reports show little evidence of any effect beyond placebo, they are in remarkable agreement in showing that where you stick the needle – or even if you use a needle – doesn’t really matter. Add that to the fact that there is no evidence for the existence of acupuncture points, no evidence for the existence of “meridians,” and no evidence of the existence of “qi,” and you have a remarkably persistent ritual, buttressed by layers of false assertions. We are in the fourth wave of western interest in needling, and even the Chinese and Japanese have attempted to ban the practice. One cannot play charades forever.

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