Alternative medicine: our savior or a waste of money?

Is Alternative Medicine Killing Us? 

Alternative medicine is prevalent in present society and also largely profitable. This ineffective and costly pseudoscience includes but is not limited to reflexology, magnet therapy, colon irrigation and as described by Penn Jillette “even though it might seem mainstream: chiropractic medicine” (Penn & Teller: Bullshit!). Complementary forms of healing are tempting to desperate or poor people, but alternative medicine is useless and can often time make an illness worse by prolonging actual treatment.   

It is shared knowledge that over a century ago people used to practice the barbaric form of medicine called bloodletting which was the method of bleeding someone purposely until the so-called impure blood was drained. People in the 21st century would assume these ass-backwards forms of ineffective healing are in the past, but they’re wrong, DEAD WRONG, because today people have spent billions of dollars on useless shit that will supposedly heal them without the bother of going to a real doctor. These forms of pseudoscience can be just as harmful to a person’s health as the older forms of healing like blood letting. 

An illness such as cancer is known for being more likely to get cured if it is diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. When people choose to waste their time on alternative medicine they are delaying the precious time that real doctors could use to treat the problem. Worse yet there are people who choose to stop conventional medical treatment, which could have saved their lives, in favor of a bogus complementary medical science. Often times this choice of alternative medicine can lead to death such as in the case of Patti Davis who “chose quackery medicine over conventional medicine” (Park, Voodoo Science).

  

According to Hall the acupuncture myth begins lying to people by claiming to be 3,000 years old, but all archaeological evidence proves that humans didn’t have the technology to create such tiny needles until 400 years ago. Another false acupuncture claim has been the number of acupuncture points on the body. Initially the number was claimed to be 360 which was solely based on the number of days in a year. Why? Because the calendar is magical. But later they changed the number of points to more than 2.000. The reason for this large number is that there is no more skin left and it would be impossible for acupuncture to miss a supposed acupuncture spot. 

However, even with all these claims there has still not been a single shred of scientific evidence supporting the existence of acupuncture points. There is also a scientific flaw when trying to determine what acupuncture is, because there are so many different systems from Chinese to Japanese to Thai to Korean methods of acupuncture. If acupuncture were a real science all of the acupuncture doctors would come to the same conclusion for a method of treating a patient.

The non-existence of acupuncture points or lack of scientific consensus would not be as large of a flaw if acupuncture still worked, but it doesn’t. Just because Neo used acupuncture during The Matrix doesn't mean it works, it was cool, but it doesn't work. Acupuncture has been shown to have the same healing effects of placebos, a sugar pill which gives the psychological impression of relieving pain.  In spite of the lack of evidence, acupuncture specialists are still trying new methods of puncturing the skin with needles such as puncturing the whole body, limiting punctures to only the scalp, limiting punctures to only the chin or even electrifying the needles. Predictably all these methods fail because there is no scientific backing for acupuncture to work nor is there a scientific process involved in coming up with these new acupuncture techniques. Acupuncturists came up with these ideas simply because it sounded good or they had some mystical revelation.

Forms of phony doctor induced medicine isn’t limited to just acupuncture. There are many alternative medicines that have employees with an actual medical diploma claiming it is a proved science for example in the case of magnet therapy. Magnet therapy, similar acupuncture, uses the power of suggestion or a placebo effect as a form of alternative medicine.

Magnet therapy is a billion dollar a year industry with medical doctors advocating their effectiveness. Magnet therapists, such as Dr. William Philpott, describe their science as “What magnet therapy does, it’s an energy field, and it activates the enzymes.”(Bullshit!) The doctor claims that the process of activating enzymes will reduce stress in multiple areas of the body including muscles, the heart and brain. Another benefit that Dr. Philpott attributes to the medical benefits of magnet is “So, a person sleeps with these magnets on at night, and they wake up the next morning with an abundance of energy.”(Bullshit!) 

However, the assertions of what magnet therapy can cure doesn’t stop there. Dr. Philpott goes on to mention that magnet therapy can help with cataracts, glaucoma, carpal tunnel, sciatica and psychological ailments such as hallucinations or depression. Despite the attractive allure of magnet therapy acting as a panacea all these claims have no scientific evidence to support them.

The suggested medical benefits of magnet therapy are familiar to Dr. Robert Park, a professor of physics at the University of Maryland. Robert Park recalls his study of magnet therapy in an interview stating “You can find a claim for just about anything. Whatever is ailing you magnet therapy has a cure for you as though there is a great deal of science behind this when in fact, there is absolutely no science at all.”(Bullshit!) In spite of Dr. Philpott supporting magnet therapy he also has to admit “At this stage we, can’t scientifically claim to cure anything.”(Bullshit!) Dr. Park disputes magnet therapy by pointing to the fact they only claim to cure illnesses which have the possibility for spontaneous remission, so basically any disease that can go away by itself or by chance. 

Many of the diseases, injuries and ailments people suffer go away on their own without us having to do anything at all. As a result of the common train of thought, correlation equals causation, multiple people are convinced that what they are doing at the time was the cure for their ailment. Yet, science has shown that correlation should never be trusted to equal causation for a cure. Magnet therapy ignores or flat out defies the scientific method for achieving and proving results which is why it is still viewed as alternative medicine. Until magnet therapists can provide physical evidence for their claims their field will be treated in the same alternative medicine category as acupuncture or reflexology. 

Reflexology is another new form of alternative medicine that is catching on as a possible cure for multiple ailments. Professionals in the field of reflexology prefer to use explanations that sound scientific to the general public. For example Dr. Zachary Brinkerhoff, a reflexologist, describes his procedure as “Reflexology can get your body in a relaxed state. For example stress can really lower your immune system.”(Bullshit!) According to multiple reflexologists their claim is that the foot contains pathways to every nerve and organ in the body. And by putting pressure on different parts of the foot a surplus of diseases can be alleviated.  

These enticing claims sound rational, but are actually using pseudoscience to delude the public into believing this form of alternative medicine is legitimate. Satisfied customers of reflexology are actually falling prey to the power of suggestion. Everyday people saying that the pain from an injury went away shortly after a reflexology are rejected as evidence when Dr. Park states “Testimonials are anecdotal evidence, the very thing that science has learned we cannot rely on.”

Proponents of reflexology could argue that medical science simply hasn’t advanced enough to measure the healing effects of reflexology and in time people will come to accept it as a regular medicine. This is a deceptive argument used by other alternative medicine advocates, but it is still flawed. The problem with reflexology is that not only is there a lack of evidence supporting it, there is plenty of evidence discrediting reflexology. Dr. Barrett, a consumer advocate, elaborates that medical science already knows “Manipulating the feet will do almost nothing in the body. We know what connects what and what goes to what. There are blood vessels all over. There are nerves all over. But there are no reflexology pathways all over.”(Bullshit!)

Reflexology resembles another, more familiar, form of medicine: chiropractic medicine. Seeing a chiropractor is a legitimate medical science for certain ailments such as problems with the back, neck or spine. There are plenty of honest and scientific chiropractors that will speak the truth about the limits of what chiropractors can treat through spine manipulation, but there are also plenty of other chiropractors who irresponsibly promise much more.

One such chiropractor is Dr. Jeffrey Ptak who advertises he can cure eczema, alleviate arthritis and even conducts spinal manipulation on children. In other words Dr. Ptak is treating the human body as a Voodoo doll, which only actually works in movies. Dr. Ptak defines chiropractic medicine as “Chiropractic… is about producing life. So chiropractic states that we come into this life with everything we need to be healthy and to be happy.”(Bullshit!) This is not the only chiropractor to claim creating a panacea, in fact the definition of chiropractic medicine hasn’t changed since one man stated it in 1895 without any supportive evidence Dr. Daniel David Palmer said “Subluxations, the misalignment of the spine, are the cause of most medical problems.”(Voodoo Science)

A warning signal should go off in any rational person’s head when they hear a medical treatment hasn’t changed at all for over a hundred years. But because chiropractors do practice a real medical science it’s next to impossible for the everyday person not to trust a chiropractor when they promise extra remedies. Luckily not all chiropractors are similar to Dr. Ptak such as Dr. Charles E. Duval Jr. who corrects Dr. Ptak by declaring “Yes, the body has recuperative powers. Does getting your spine manipulated every other day help? No. A lot of it is playing to what people want to hear.”(Voodoo Science)

Dr. Duval Jr. also counters a more disturbing practice by Dr. Ptak and other chiropractors who insist on manipulating the spine of children. People who are unfamiliar with medical science might not see a problem with children receiving chiropractic treatment just as their child would receive medical treatment from a pediatrician. Unfortunately for the child there is a severe medical risk with having any sort of manipulation because their bones have not fully fused. Dr. Duval elaborates that “I mean, the child is not even solid bone, for God’s sake. They haven’t developed. What are you treating?”(Bullshit!) in an emotional state because he is obviously appalled at the medical abuse of a child.  Moreover, this is not the fault of the parent because they are not doctors and are only guilty of trusting someone with a legitimate medical degree.

Dr. Prak and his ilk are probably the guiltiest of spreading people’s falsely placed faith in alternative medicine. Due to chiropractic medicine being a completely genuine treatment even the most rational people will believe that panaceas exist. Regrettably there is no panacea in existence, anywhere. Many doctors who dispute alternative medicine agree that science hasn’t reached the technological capacity to create a cure-all and the idea of such an item only exists in science fiction.

 Lastly, there is a far more common form of alternative medicine that people might not even realize is a form of alternative medicine. Special pills, powders, shakes, flowers and other ingestible items are marketed to people through every form of advertisement. These slick, sexy ads convince people that taking an exotic ingredient or intricate formula will easily solve whatever problem they may suffer from. For example a new product called Vitamin O is touted as “Helping thousands of people to live healthier lives” (Voodoo Science)

Ads for the product contain multiple photos of joyful, smiling people and dramatic testimonials such as “After taking ‘Vitamin O’ for several months, I find I have more energy and stamina and have become immune to colds and flu” (Voodoo Science) Disappointingly and yet predictably these promises rely solely on anecdotal evidence and the power of suggestion. After analyzing the ingredients of the product Dr. Park, author of Voodoo Science, determined that Vitamin O is nothing more than salt water.

Dr. Park also studied the claimed benefits by users of Vitamin O and concluded “Most of the things that afflict us we get over without doing anything at all. And whatever we’re doing at the time is going to get the credit.”(Voodoo Science) Clearly Vitamin O only promises to alleviate medical problems that will naturally go away on their own or problems that only exist in a person’s head. Vitamin O’s claim of improving stamina is extremely vague because it cannot be measured at whether someone has more energy and as consumer advocate Dr. Barrett states “The vaguer they can get I suppose, the safer they can be.” The pseudoscience for Vitamin O uses the exact same deceptive approach of other alternative medicine by relying on the power of suggestion.

With all of these cures many people will assume that at least one will work as if they were playing the lottery with human body. It has become a psychological method of self-pleasure because people keep convincing themselves that one day there will be a cheap, effective and easy solution to all their medical problems. Unfortunately medical science has never been easy just as any other science. Medical scientists have been taking educated guesses for decades and still haven’t found a cure for many ailments, so the possibility of these alternative medical cures is mathematically insignificant. 

All of these forms of alternative medicine take advantage of the power of suggestion to trick people into thinking it works. Additionally, they all lack physical scientific evidence to support any of the claims or benefits. Because they are classified as alternative medicine it is safe to assume that other forms of alternative medicine not mentioned would also follow the same pattern of not having enough evidence and relying solely on the power of suggestion. Until the public educates themselves on this topic they will continue to fall prey to alternative medicine’s deception. Finally, there is hope because people have better access to knowledge on alternative medicine and they too can learn the truth about how alternative medicine is pure humbug.