Acupuncture: Effective or placebo?

David Colquhoun PhD and Steven Novella MD, wrote an article which concludes that acupuncture is worthless for pain relief. [Colquhoun D, Novella S. Acupuncture is theatrical placebo. Anesthesia & Analgesia 116:1360-1363, 2013] Their report concludes that "the benefits of acupuncture are likely nonexistent, or at best are too small and too transient to be of any clinical significance." Click here for the ink to the article.

For more information, Colquhoun's blog (http://www.dcscience.net/?p=6060) contains links to supportive documents.

[Source: Consumer Health Digest Digest #13-21, May 30, 2013, edited by Stephen Barrett MD]