Becky Sarah wrote:
> I would suggest that what are called complementary
>therapies--acupuncture, homeopathy, and midwifery practices that differ
>from obstetrical practices--are proper subjects for EBM and should be
>studied and investigated in the same way as conventional allopathic drugs
>and surgeries.
That's the point... So far that I know, not one single proper trial proved
any of these therapies better than placebo. On the other hand, there was one
study in the British Journal of GP, a couple of years ago, showing that
physiotherapy and osteopathic manipulation obtained similar results on low
back pain. Giving the murky nature of LBP, one wonders if this was not a
trial of placebo versus placebo... ;-)
>These therapies may or may not be effective for a specfic
>problem, but they do not operate in different realm. Many people feel
>they've been helped by them.
But of course! I don't prescribe them, but then I don't crucify a patient
that tells me he/she is taking homeopathic preparations or going to a
"straightener" - direct translation for a Portuguese folk version of spinal
manipulation. If they are happy with it and I don't find any undesirable
side effects, then it's ok...
Cheers! (Sunny weather here, half the country on the beach now, eheh! The
best cure for everything, even without controlled trials!)
Armando
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Armando Brito de Sa'
Lisboa, Portugal
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