# Acupuncture-vs-Neuropathy **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2022, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166 "2022-05-09T01:18:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![n5tp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@n5tp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/n5tp)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/1 "2022-05-09T01:18:30Z")
Has anyone experienced successful results following acupuncture treatment for neuropathy (specifically numbness/tingling feet)? ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/2 "2022-05-09T01:55:46Z")
Had my chiropractor try it a few times. Didn’t really do anything. Only have had luck with gabapentin for making walking bearable. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/3 "2022-05-09T02:04:59Z")
I’m sure somebody has. I also know of no study showing acupuncture to have any basis beyond the placebo effect. I recommend visits to Quackwatch and The Skeptics Dictionary. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/4 "2022-05-09T02:40:21Z")
I had pins and needles in my feet and tried acupuncture - didn’t help much. (Sorry) I second the Quackwatch suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/5 "2022-05-09T03:47:49Z")
Is acupuncture still a thing in the US? I can’t imagine any licensed medical doctor performing it. Sticking needles in people has never helped anyone beyond the placebo effect (as already noted). ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/6 "2022-05-09T13:32:03Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I’m sure somebody has. > > I also know of no study showing acupuncture to have any basis beyond the placebo effect. I recommend visits to Quackwatch and The Skeptics Dictionary. Thirded. I regularly review medical records where individuals claim to have derived benefit from acupuncture (and other woo.) ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/7 "2022-05-09T14:29:29Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Is acupuncture still a thing in the US? I can’t imagine any licensed medical doctor performing it. Our neighbor, who is a board-certified neurologist, also practices (and teaches) acupuncture. He’s well-respected and not a quack. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/8 "2022-05-09T14:35:45Z")
There was a teacher that demonstrated traditional Chinese medicine to the students. He brought in a doctor and she asked if anyone was willing to be acupunctured. Hell yeah I’ll volunteer for that. IDK is it was my chi flowing, her shuiing my fung or the placebo effect but my knees were pain-free for two weeks after that. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/9 "2022-05-09T14:51:54Z")
Great. Show me valid scientific studies that prove acupuncture works. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience and is not based on actual Science. The fact that there is at least one licensed doctor that uses it doesn’t prove anything. Acupuncture, to use your own words, is quackery, however, the placebo effect is real and neurologists sometimes use the placebo effect to deal with pain. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/10 "2022-05-09T14:57:37Z")
What I said was that our neurologist friend who practices acupuncture is NOT a quack. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/11 "2022-05-09T14:58:47Z")
Your neurologist practices quackery. That says it all. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/12 "2022-05-09T15:02:36Z")
Many quacks are well-respected. ---
**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:** [May 9, 2022, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/13 "2022-05-09T15:30:43Z")
A neurologist who uses acupuncture while telling patients that the needling works by utilitizing specific meridians and affecting the flow of _chi_ is practicing quackery, no question. It gets more complicated if a neurologist uses acupuncture as an adjunct therapy while telling patients that there’s a chance of a nonspecific benefit that may well be due to placebo effect. It’s not that there are _no_ studies validating acupuncture, but that as studies become larger and better designed and controlled, the effect of acupuncture becomes indistinguishable from placebo. Evidence supporting placebo effect includes the finding that[“sham” acupuncture](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19250001/) in which the wrong meridians are used for a particular condition, needles are placed at random locations or retractable needles are used which never penetrate the skin, works just as well as “real” acupuncture. Also, some recent studies combining acupuncture with electrical stimulation have been used to supposedly show that acupuncture works, without acknowledging that the reported effects may well be due to the electrical component. Placebo treatment isn’t necessarily bad, if there’s proper informed consent, known effective remedies are not avoided, and patients realize that positive placebo effects are likely to be short-lived. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/14 "2022-05-09T15:31:47Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > however, the placebo effect is real and neurologists sometimes use the placebo effect to deal with pain. Right. Not all practitioners are quacks, some find the placebo effect is sufficient. There aren’t a lot of great non-quack solutions for nerve pain so if acupuncture provides some temporary relief as a placebo then patients should have that option. If you’ve ever suffered from nerve pain you’d understand how even a temporary relief from the pain can make a big difference. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/15 "2022-05-09T16:02:18Z")
Google “acupuncture site:frontiersin.org” and you’ll find a lot of factual, scientific articles about the effects of acupuncture. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/16 "2022-05-09T16:24:12Z")
For not just articles, but scientifc analysis of studies click on this link [acupuncture - The Skeptic's Dictionary](http://skepdic.com/acupuncture.html) no Googling required. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acupuncture-vs-neuropathy/964166/17 "2022-05-09T16:25:15Z")
The point I was making is that acupuncture, much like rubbing crystals or taking sugar pills is not a scientifically-based treatment for any condition and is quackery, pure and simple, The fact that some doctors use quackery to fool people into thinking it will help them demonstrates the power of the placebo effect. However, that doesn’t change the fact that acupuncture is, and always will be, quackery.