# Accupuncture **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [November 24, 2011, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accupuncture/603951 "2011-11-24T03:33:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jhomebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f04885/32.png) [@jhomebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jhomebrew)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accupuncture/603951/1 "2011-11-24T03:33:40Z")
One personal anecdote in support of acupuncture: I had IBS. I underwent 3 months worth of acupuncture at my wife’s behest, and I have to say that it worked. I’m not a new age hippie spiritualist type - science and the scientific method are my dogma, I only accept what is demonstrable. However, I understood almost immediately after my first acupuncture treatment that this was a viable option for me - each stick of the needle produced very strong physical reactions. It was quite stunning to be poked in one area and have another seemingly disparate area have a sudden strong reaction (a couple examples - a needle near the bellybutton invoked a highly electrical feeling from that point down to the scrotum, and a poke to the upper inner thigh muscle made my entire leg jerk in response). In any event, 3 months after starting the treatments (12 treatments total), my IBS has reduced to nothing more than the occasional twinge. Is it real? Beats me - any number of variables might have contributed to my eventual relief. Am I glad to have relief from my symptoms? Hell yes. Would I try it again for another reason? Yes - it can’t hurt (really, the poke of the needles is nothing), and in the best situation, can actually relieve the symptoms of the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accupuncture/603951/2 "2011-11-24T04:17:33Z")
[This](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2543/does-acupuncture-really-work) might be the Cecil column the previous poster is responding to. It’s from 2000, but the key points remain valid today: \*"(1) People really, really want to believe acupuncture works. (2) There’s pretty sparse evidence that it does.\*" Developments on the research/clinical trials front since then have shown that “sham” acupuncture (using a device that doesn’t actually puncture the skin) is as effective as “real” acupuncture, and using needles on a nonspecific basis works just as well as applying them in so-called meridians. Bottom line: it increasingly looks like acupuncture is yet another form of placebo. Placebos can be just what the, um, doctor ordered, especially for vague and/or chronic complaints incompletely addressed by mainstream therapies, or at least seem to work for a time in certain people, so have at it (assuming the acupuncturists’ sterilization procedures are adequate). Harm is unlikely to occur. Incidentally, I was getting my reflexes tested once upon a time and the doc was surprised to see the vigor of my patellar reflex, until he noticed it was occurring a fraction of a second before the hammer hit my knee. I was certainly not aware of doing it. It’s interesting how we can unconsciously guide our responses. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accupuncture/603951/3 "2011-11-24T13:47:45Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Incidentally, I was getting my reflexes tested once upon a time and the doc was surprised to see the vigor of my patellar reflex, until he noticed it was occurring a fraction of a second before the hammer hit my knee. I was certainly not aware of doing it. It’s interesting how we can unconsciously guide our responses. Maybe that’s an indication of clairvoyance? :D:D ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accupuncture/603951/4 "2011-11-24T14:29:36Z")
Resent research has shown that you don’t even have to use needles penetrating the skin. Placebo needles work well too.