[net.med] Fake treatment shown to relieve back pain.

werner@aecom.UUCP (Craig Werner) (06/20/85)

The following comes from the New York Daily News:

A summary:
A British study looked at 3 kinds of treatment for backache. 1) Manipulation
as practiced by an osteopath, 2) Conventional Heat Treatment (diathermy), and
3) Fake Diathermy Treatment.
	The results:

			Feel better		Feel Worse
	Conventional	   59%			   12%
	Manipulation	   62%			   11%
	Fake Treatment	   67%			    9%

Quotes:
	"When it comes to treating back pain, fake treatment works as well as
the real thing and unorthodox therapy is as effective as the established kind."

	"The third got the same diathermy treatment, complete with electric
noises and flashing lights, except that the machine had been rendered
inactive."

	"Two lessons can be drawn from the experiment, the doctors report in
Lancet, a British medical journal.  The first is that claims for effectiveness
of unorthodox treatment should get close scrutiny.  The second is that 'our
results almost certainly attest th the magnitude of the placebo response
which may be acheived when harmless treatments are applied with conviction.' "

-- 
				Craig Werner
				!philabs!aecom!werner
		"The world is just a straight man for you sometimes"

fsks@unc.UUCP (Frank Silbermann) (06/24/85)

Since when is heat treatment "the real thing" or "conventional treatment"
for chronic lower back pain?  The books I read said that the ONLY known
effective treatment for for simple backache is

	1)  First rest until the pain goes away.
	2)  Then cautiously begin a special exercise program designed for
		back patients (the Williams Exercise Program or a variation).
	3)  Continue this exercise program every day for the rest of your life.

Whether or not you can speed up the first step by a few days is inconsequential.
The measure of the effectiveness of a treatment is how long the pain STAYS away
and how vigorously you can use your back between pain episodes without undo
danger of reinjury.

Making the pain go away for a little while by whatever means is NOT an effective
treatment.  The need is for rehabilitation and better health habits (posture
and exercize).

	Frank Silbermann

In article <aecom.1761> werner@aecom.UUCP (Craig Werner) writes:
>
>A British study looked at 3 kinds of treatment for backache.
>	1) Manipulation as practiced by an osteopath,
>	2) Conventional Heat Treatment (diathermy),
>	3) Fake Diathermy Treatment.
>Quotes:
>	"When it comes to treating back pain, fake treatment works as well as
>the real thing and unorthodox therapy is as effective as the established kind."
>
>	"Two lessons can be drawn from the experiment, the doctors report in
>Lancet, a British medical journal.  The first is that claims for effectiveness
>of unorthodox treatment should get close scrutiny.  The second is that 'our
>results almost certainly attest th the magnitude of the placebo response
>which may be acheived when harmless treatments are applied with conviction.' "