Is sham acupuncture a real placebo: Skeptical for sham acupuncture

Abstract

Since acupuncture came to western countries, research has been done to try and prove whether or not it is effective. Current Acupuncture research is most often based on the sham needle which was first designed by K Streitberger and J Kleinhenz in 1998. The sham acupuncture needles are developed for the control group and do not penetrate the skin. Sham acupuncture has been used in randomized controlled trial (RCT) for diseases which normally benefit from acupuncture treatment. The sham needle is not the best placebo needle though. Because of the use of sham acupuncture, the result of those research shows acupuncture having no effect or it shows there is no significant difference between real acupuncture (verum) and sham acupuncture (placebo). However, a detailed introduction of the Nine Classical Needles (ancient) and the Nine Modern Needles (SHI's nine needles) shows that the use of sham acupuncture in RCT research is flawed by design. This then casts doubt on the findings and conclusions reached by using sham acupuncture in RCT acupuncture research.