Saturday, September 26, 2009

The American Academy of Family Physicians promotes acupuncture

The best scientific critique of acupuncture I ever heard was by Wallace Sampson:

The other mistake people make about acupuncture, Sampson says, is that it offers specific cures. "It is nonspecific," Sampson says. "If it has the effect of, say, releasing endorphins through the application of needles, well, many things release endorphins -- a walk in the woods, a 5-mile run, a pinch on the butt."

Somewhat more pretentious (and promotional) articles on acupuncture have recently appeared in the journal American Family Physician. What’s ironic is that American Family Physician has a reputation as being a champion of evidence based medicine.

1 comment:

Symposier said...

Acupuncture is one of the top "alternative medicine" methods in the whole world. Acupuncture is used as treatment for different conditions/diseases including pain, anxiety, stress, etc in al cases with great results. I think acupuncture has gained a lot of popularity and respect in the Medical Field.
Thanks for sharing this article.