Comments on: What do you think of alternative medicine gizmos? http://the-gadgeteer.com/2008/02/19/what_do_you_think_of_alternative_medicine_gizmos/ Gadget reviews and news by Julie Strietelmeier and friends since 1997 Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:10:23 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Ellen http://the-gadgeteer.com/2008/02/19/what_do_you_think_of_alternative_medicine_gizmos/comment-page-1/#comment-26617 Ellen Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:03:58 +0000 #comment-26617 <p>I say Hooey! to this product.</p> <p>And, I am an alternative health practitioner!</p> I say Hooey! to this product.

And, I am an alternative health practitioner!

]]> By: Chris McNeil http://the-gadgeteer.com/2008/02/19/what_do_you_think_of_alternative_medicine_gizmos/comment-page-1/#comment-26616 Chris McNeil Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:22:51 +0000 #comment-26616 <p>I know that there's a feeling amongst a lot of people that these kinds of gadgets are at worst harmless, and might actually help, but I disagree. Most (all?) of these things give false hope to people, potentially stop them getting real help from the medical profession, and line the pockets of people who prey on the vulnerable. Not great at all. Sorry to be so po faced! Goodness - it's easy to get uptight about some things!</p> <p>PS. I echo the comment about back pain - it's really horrible. One gizmo that did help me (and is itself still somewhat contraversial) is the TENS machine that uses electrical stimulation to interfere with pain signals. Worth a shot!</p> <p><em>[Edited at February 25, 2008 10:26:20 AM.]</em></p> I know that there’s a feeling amongst a lot of people that these kinds of gadgets are at worst harmless, and might actually help, but I disagree. Most (all?) of these things give false hope to people, potentially stop them getting real help from the medical profession, and line the pockets of people who prey on the vulnerable. Not great at all. Sorry to be so po faced!
Goodness – it’s easy to get uptight about some things!

PS. I echo the comment about back pain – it’s really horrible. One gizmo that did help me (and is itself still somewhat contraversial) is the TENS machine that uses electrical stimulation to interfere with pain signals. Worth a shot!

[Edited at February 25, 2008 10:26:20 AM.]

]]> By: Mark Rosengarten http://the-gadgeteer.com/2008/02/19/what_do_you_think_of_alternative_medicine_gizmos/comment-page-1/#comment-26615 Mark Rosengarten Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:15:26 +0000 #comment-26615 <p>These kinds of remedies are often pursued by folks who don't want to face the reality of the seriousness of their situation. Folks who are avoidant about the fact they may have to go to a doctor, take some real medicine or even have surgery. There was a great South Park episode about just this very kind of thing. Life can suck, and there's no easy fix.</p> These kinds of remedies are often pursued by folks who don’t want to face the reality of the seriousness of their situation. Folks who are avoidant about the fact they may have to go to a doctor, take some real medicine or even have surgery. There was a great South Park episode about just this very kind of thing. Life can suck, and there’s no easy fix.

]]> By: Mina http://the-gadgeteer.com/2008/02/19/what_do_you_think_of_alternative_medicine_gizmos/comment-page-1/#comment-26614 Mina Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:46:19 +0000 #comment-26614 <p>I can just see James Randi getting uptight about these products.</p> <p>(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James<em>Randi</em>Educational_Foundation)</p> I can just see James Randi getting uptight about these products.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JamesRandiEducational_Foundation)

]]> By: Don Nelson http://the-gadgeteer.com/2008/02/19/what_do_you_think_of_alternative_medicine_gizmos/comment-page-1/#comment-26613 Don Nelson Wed, 20 Feb 2008 02:41:53 +0000 #comment-26613 <p>Unfortunately, these sorts of items are almost always hooey. For example, some claim that magnets aid in blood flow by acting on the iron in your blood; but the iron in your blood is non ferromagnetic, so magnets have no effect (nor have any well-designed trials demonstrated any clinical effect).</p> <p>http://csicop.org/si/2006-04/magnet-therapy.html</p> <p>As for kinoki footpads, the Skeptoid podcast did a show on the "detoxification" fad and mentioned Kinoki foot pads and explained how they "work":</p> <p>http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4083</p> <p>As for these sticker things, I am an electrical engineer by trade and am immensely skeptical of any claim to act on my "energy fields". In fact, claims of "energy fields" is a red-flag... the same podcaster I linked to above also did a show about such claims:</p> <p>http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4002</p> <p>Still, <em>nothing</em> should be immediately dismissed out of hand until it has been studied carefully. But the plural of "anecdote" is not "data", and I like to see well designed clinical trials demonstrate a positive effect for a therapy before I shell out for one... and these sorts of products can be EXPENSIVE! :-)</p> <p>There are many people who honestly believe that these sorts of products benefit them, and there is no reason to believe that they are lying or deceiving themselves. So why do they feel better if they use one of these dubious products? One of the prevailing hypotheses is that people who truly believe something will help them tend to relax and feel better for having taken such an action. Stress can have physiological effects, so the relief of stress will certainly make them feel better. This is similar to the "placebo effect":</p> <p>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo</p> <p>http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2000/100_heal.html</p> <p>I do hope that Julie's friend feels better. Maybe these sticky thingies will help her, either by the placebo effect or some other mechanism. Regardless chronic back pain is a terrible thing to live through and I wish her the best.</p> <p><em>[Edited at February 19, 2008 20:43:00 PM.]</em></p> Unfortunately, these sorts of items are almost always hooey. For example, some claim that magnets aid in blood flow by acting on the iron in your blood; but the iron in your blood is non ferromagnetic, so magnets have no effect (nor have any well-designed trials demonstrated any clinical effect).

http://csicop.org/si/2006-04/magnet-therapy.html

As for kinoki footpads, the Skeptoid podcast did a show on the “detoxification” fad and mentioned Kinoki foot pads and explained how they “work”:

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4083

As for these sticker things, I am an electrical engineer by trade and am immensely skeptical of any claim to act on my “energy fields”. In fact, claims of “energy fields” is a red-flag… the same podcaster I linked to above also did a show about such claims:

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4002

Still, nothing should be immediately dismissed out of hand until it has been studied carefully. But the plural of “anecdote” is not “data”, and I like to see well designed clinical trials demonstrate a positive effect for a therapy before I shell out for one… and these sorts of products can be EXPENSIVE! :-)

There are many people who honestly believe that these sorts of products benefit them, and there is no reason to believe that they are lying or deceiving themselves. So why do they feel better if they use one of these dubious products? One of the prevailing hypotheses is that people who truly believe something will help them tend to relax and feel better for having taken such an action. Stress can have physiological effects, so the relief of stress will certainly make them feel better. This is similar to the “placebo effect”:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2000/100_heal.html

I do hope that Julie’s friend feels better. Maybe these sticky thingies will help her, either by the placebo effect or some other mechanism. Regardless chronic back pain is a terrible thing to live through and I wish her the best.

[Edited at February 19, 2008 20:43:00 PM.]

]]> By: Hai http://the-gadgeteer.com/2008/02/19/what_do_you_think_of_alternative_medicine_gizmos/comment-page-1/#comment-26612 Hai Wed, 20 Feb 2008 02:15:57 +0000 #comment-26612 <p>When I was in elementary school, my father gave me some leaves and told me to use them as bookmarks because they could increase my memory and improve my grade. After a couple of months, I did notice that my memory power increased and so was my grade. When I grew up, I found out because I believed in those leaves, I studied harder, hence the improvements. </p> <p>My brother also received those same leaves. However, he believed that with those leaves, he did not have to study and still get good grades. You figure out his results.</p> <p>So, to borrow a line from the animated movie Chicken Run: "It's all in me head!"</p> <p><em>[Edited at February 19, 2008 20:16:43 PM.]</em></p> When I was in elementary school, my father gave me some leaves and told me to use them as bookmarks because they could increase my memory and improve my grade. After a couple of months, I did notice that my memory power increased and so was my grade. When I grew up, I found out because I believed in those leaves, I studied harder, hence the improvements.

My brother also received those same leaves. However, he believed that with those leaves, he did not have to study and still get good grades. You figure out his results.

So, to borrow a line from the animated movie Chicken Run: “It’s all in me head!”

[Edited at February 19, 2008 20:16:43 PM.]

]]> By: Jim Latimer http://the-gadgeteer.com/2008/02/19/what_do_you_think_of_alternative_medicine_gizmos/comment-page-1/#comment-26611 Jim Latimer Tue, 19 Feb 2008 21:28:12 +0000 #comment-26611 <p>I think they probably work as well as those stick-on cell phone antenna boosters or the cell phone radiation shields you stick on the earpiece.... ;p</p> I think they probably work as well as those stick-on cell phone antenna boosters or the cell phone radiation shields you stick on the earpiece…. ;p

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