Today, I took part in an internet discussion on LinkedIn, which I rarely ever do...Do you believe in traditional Chinese medicine? Such as pulse feeling, acupuncture, etc. was the topic of the discussion appearing on a Medical Device group post.
Jim Capone, who states himself to be a Pharmaceuticals' Medical Device Consultant and Contractor had this to say:
"It's not complicated - it's called placebo (latin = I will please). While in some instances the placebo effect can be quite powerful, in others it is useless."
Often, when I hear comments comparing Acupuncture results to that of Western drug trials and their placebos, I find it is really quite humorous...uncomfortably so, in fact, considering the current noose lobbied by the boys & girls working on the wrong Pharm.
Still, I offer this for anyone who may be left over in that "Acupuncture is based on placebo" group. How does acupuncture work with such great success on injured horses, like those training for the top derbies in the World, if it is based on placebo?
I don't know any horses that talk like in Mr. Ed's case, nor am I a horse whisperer who can ask & hear what they "believe" about someone placing fine needles in their bodies.
However, I have seen and read numerous times, where acupuncture has been amazingly successful according to those working directly with champion horses....
Acupuncture was discovered more than 5,000 years ago and was recorded by the scholars of the first Yellow Emperor of China, making it one of the oldest medical data bases on the planet. The Ling Shu, one of the 4 classical texts, contains specific science relative to many of Einstein's theories that were yet to be discovered.
Whereas, many other forms of medicine in Asia were subjected to hundreds of gurus and various schools of thought, without a set of established governing rules, as does exist in Classical Chinese Medicine, which is what defines something to be scientific or based on belief. Asking if you "believe" in Acupuncture is like asking do you believe in Physics.
Most folks do not understand that TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) is what came to the western world from Mao's China in the 1950 & 60s. I am sorry to inform many acupuncturist, but if you have never read, The Ling Shu, which is commonly referred to as the "Cannon of Acupuncture" then you are a Chinese Herbalist more than an Acupuncturist. TCM is an abridgement of Chinese Medicine, like a cook book recipe version compared to the indepth study of Classical Chinese Medicine, which focuses on the art of needling for best results, and herbs for adjunct therapy.
In the western world, this is often the reverse because most all the Graduate programs in the West, and in the East, teach TCM now, and not from the complete system of Classical Medical text regarding this subject.
The Year of the Black Dragon: "black" metaphorically suggesting masculine aspects of water, symbolized by a cresting wave, where Energy from far away has been building to spill, and rises and dispereses--where sand and rock meet with sky. To understand Acupuncture, one must understand how to tune an instrument, versus how to make an instrument. --j.a. knolls
