Have a sore throat? No worries! No need for lozenges, medicines, or home remedies. All you need to do is let someone stick needles in your ear! According to a recent study, ear acupuncture relieves sore throats. Do you believe that? I don’t. That’s one of those extraordinary claims that… read more "Stick It In Your Ear! How Not To Do Science"
Dr. David Villarreal’s “Holistic Dentistry:” Full of Holes?
I get a lot of e-mails from publicists offering suggestions for articles and interviews with their clients. I quickly delete most of them, but one recently caught my eye. It said that patients travel from as far as Europe and Africa to have California “holistic dentist” Dr. David Villarreal remove… read more "Dr. David Villarreal’s “Holistic Dentistry:” Full of Holes?"
Smokey the Bear Medicine and Prevention
When I was an intern, we used to joke that we were practicing “Smokey the Bear” medicine: stamping out forest fires. Patients would wait until a spark of disease had developed into a dangerous flame, and then they’d expect us to deal with it. We were mostly doing disaster control,… read more "Smokey the Bear Medicine and Prevention"
Evidence: “It Worked for My Aunt Tillie” Is Not Enough
Evidence means different things to different people. Even quacks and their victims claim to have evidence that their treatments work. Sometimes that evidence consists only of testimonials from satisfied customers or from personal experience. “I tried X and I got better.” “I know Y works because it cured my Aunt… read more "Evidence: “It Worked for My Aunt Tillie” Is Not Enough"
Study of “Acupressure” for Constipation
A recent study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine evaluated a treatment for constipation. It tested whether training patients to massage the perineum (the area between the vagina or scrotum and the anus) would improve their reported bowel function and quality of life at 4 weeks after training. They found that it… read more "Study of “Acupressure” for Constipation"
The Reality of Ancient Wisdom: Acupuncture and TCM Weren’t So Great
A mythology has grown up around traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The ancient wisdom of the inscrutable Orient supposedly helped patients in ways that modern science-based medicine fails to understand or appreciate. A typical claim found on the Internet: “The ancient beliefs and practice of traditional Chinese medicine have been healing… read more "The Reality of Ancient Wisdom: Acupuncture and TCM Weren’t So Great"
Acupuncture for Macular Degeneration: Why I Reject the Evidence
This post is dedicated to two people who are frequent commenters on SBM, Stephen S. Rodrigues and Peter Moran. Rodrigues is an MD/acupuncturist who tries to persuade us that acupuncture is effective. Moran is a retired surgeon who objects to insulting language and thinks more can be accomplished by trying… read more "Acupuncture for Macular Degeneration: Why I Reject the Evidence"
Turmeric: Tasty in Curry, Questionable as Medicine
A correspondent asked me to look into the science behind the health claims for turmeric. He had encountered medical professionals “trying to pass turmeric as some sort of magical herb to cure us from the ‘post-industrial chemical apocalypse.’” It is recommended by the usual promoters of CAM: Oz, Weil, Mercola,… read more "Turmeric: Tasty in Curry, Questionable as Medicine"
Knee Osteoarthritis: Thumbs Down for Acupuncture and Glucosamine
Osteoarthritis is the “wear and tear” kind of arthritis that many of us develop as we get older. Cartilage becomes less resilient with age, collagen can degenerate, and inflammation and new bone outgrowths (osteophytes) can occur. This leads to pain, crepitus (Rice Krispie type crackling noises with movement), swelling and… read more "Knee Osteoarthritis: Thumbs Down for Acupuncture and Glucosamine"
New Developments in Acupuncture: Turtles and Motion-Style Treatments
Note: Lest you think that SBM is becoming “turtles all the way down,” let me apologize for the duplication and explain that I had already written this right before I read Mark Crislip’s Turtle Agony article on Friday. My focus is different, and turtles were only a small part of my article, so… read more "New Developments in Acupuncture: Turtles and Motion-Style Treatments"