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Fri Jun 12 22:03:49 BST 2009

Photos! I want photo evidence!!

Fiona.

On 12/06/2009, at 9:55 PM, Gross, Ronald wrote:

> C'mon Fiona, I drink snake oil every day and I feel GREAT!!!  My  
> tongue looks a bit weird, but everything else is OK...................
>
> Ron
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: trauma-list-bounces at trauma.org [mailto:trauma-list-bounces at trauma.org 
> ] On Behalf Of Fiona Wallace
> Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 4:27 AM
> To: Trauma-List [TRAUMA.ORG]
> Subject: Re: Alternative therapies (OT)
>
> Oh, for goodness sake.
>
> The plural of anecdote is not data.
>
> It is well recognised that sticking needles in people has definite
> physiological effects, however it DOESN'T MATTER where you put the
> needles.
>
> There is no such thing as 'life energy' except the stuff that comes
> out of defibrillator paddles (and then only when it works)
>
> My prescription is for a year long course of Pharyngula, Skeptic's
> Guide to the Universe and Quackcast (Google them if you haven't come
> across them). Alternative 'medicine' is no different from any other
> sort in only one respect - it needs an EVIDENCE BASE and sound
> physiological underpinning before it's used in a clinical context.
>
> /rant (but happy to continue the discussion elsewhere)
>
> Fiona Wallace.
>
>
> On 12/06/2009, at 5:32 PM, Lorick Fox, MPAS, PA-C wrote:
>
>>
>> We may want to be slow to totally scoff at some of these therapies.
>> I must admit I generally (still) do, but:
>>
>> About 7 years ago I ended up doing an informal consult on an
>> Egyptian (in
>> Cairo) with marked LV systolic dysfunction who had refused
>> revascularization.  Despite having some really good cardiologists and
>> cardiac surgeons in Egypt, somehow an "American opinion" was valued.
>> I ended
>> up joining his family for dinner one night.
>>
>> At that dinner I met a Japanese practitioner (who spoke no English)
>> who was
>> present because the family had flown him to Egypt from japan to use a
>> "laying on of hands" therapy for a patient with ALS. He specialized
>> in care
>> of neurological disorders and despite the language barrier, with
>> translation, we had an interesting conversation.  I think I still
>> have his
>> business card somewhere.
>> Now, I did NOT see the patient with ALS, nor a medical record to
>> verify the
>> diagnosis.  However, the family was well off (to put it mildly) and
>> the odds
>> are they had high end neurological evaluation.  (The cardiology
>> evaluation
>> of my patient had been first class, the patient just made bad
>> choices.)
>>
>> The remarkable thing was that, after the "treatments" the previous 2
>> days,
>> the family agreed that the patient (who had reportedly not been out
>> of bed
>> without a lot of assistance for > 1 year) got up and walked
>> unassisted. Now
>> I understand placebo effect, but anyone (regardless of dx except
>> perhaps
>> psyc dx) who has not been ambulating for a year suddenly doing so
>> independently is pretty remarkable, regardless of dx.
>>
>> Since that time, I have spoken with MD acupuncturists, Korean and
>> Japanese
>> traditional medicine practitioners (usually with a translator) and
>> anyone
>> else I found with experience and/or knowledge in the area.  I have
>> become
>> fairly convinced that there is far more to acupuncture than sticking
>> needles
>> in the right places.  It appears to me that successful
>> acupuncturists have
>> some ability to manipulate energy (?Chi? for lack of a better term),
>> and the
>> use of a battery connected to the needles just doesn't make up for
>> that
>> lack. This "life energy" what the Japanese practitioner told me he
>> manipulated with his hands.
>>
>> Interestingly, I have also been told that some people are "Chi
>> sinks" - i.e.
>> can soak up a patient's energy and thus they feel worse after tx, not
>> better.  I met one MD who did at least a month in California learning
>> acupuncture, and had almost no positive responses, and some patients
>> felt
>> worse.  He was indeed a competent physician, based on working in  
>> close
>> proximity daily for years. He abandoned the use of acupuncture.
>>
>> It would be really nice to get a better handle on this.  Just
>> because most
>> of us can't sense, much less manipulate, this alleged energy doesn't
>> mean it
>> doesn't exist and can't be of therapeutic value.
>>
>>
>> Lorick Fox, MPAS, PA-C
>> Gianaclis Support Complex
>> +20-3-448-2335 or +20-45-240-9450
>> Fax +20-45-243-1191
>> Mobile +20-18-230-4448
>>
>>
>>
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