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A recent Boston Globe article reported on the growing trend of people in New England sticking pins in their pets and calling it "medical treatment." When teenagers do that, it's called "an early warning sign," and therapists get involved.
Remarkably, the article doesn't reference any research supporting the use of acupuncture on animals (not to mention humans). It presents only anecdotal evidence: stories from people who believe acupuncture has worked for their pets, like one Tufts scientist who says, "Our dog seems to have benefited tremendously from treatment." Any scientist worth her degree will tell you that when something "seems to" work, you should investigate it further to make sure your senses aren't fooling you.
You may be surprised by how often your senses are wrong. Take the Waltham-based acupuncturist who believes that animals "are impartial to placebo." Actually, there are many ways that animals can experience a placebo effect, like conditioning. And, as you can imagine, it's easy to convince yourself that your pet is feeling better; it's not like he's going to tell you that you're wrong.
It's problems like these that drive scientists to study acupuncture under tight controls. These studies rarely show any benefits and sometimes demonstrate that acupuncture is no better than sham treatment.
Considering that, you can save yourself "three to four" $65 sessions and stab your pet at home. You can pick up needles online for about $10, and the library probably has a book or two on basic technique if you want to really make your pet believe you know what you're doing. Please note: we do not advocate jabbing needles into goldfish, feral cats, or very angry dogs. However, if you do try it, we would like to see video.
The bottom line is that even though the Globe article was in the "local" section as opposed to the "science" section, the paper should really maintain the same high standards of printing facts, not one-sided advertisements for services that aren't proven to work.
What's next? Choosing the best exorcist for the possessed pet in your life?
Post contributed by Rebecca Watson, Bostonist's Skepchick. Read more of her stuff at Skepchick.org.
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Care to, um, cite your references?
Hi Davo! I linked where I thought necessary, but if there's something else you need just let me know specifically and I'll get you a reference.
Thanks,
Rebecca
Thanks... I thought I was losing my mind when I went back to reread your article and saw everything hyperlinked! I felt very much like a sheep. An embarassed one.
What gets me is that there's enough of a glut of vet. school grads that my colleague was reffered to a Feline Opthamologist by his vet, and yet we don't have enough large animal vets to take care of our food supply.
nvm
Nice line: "When teenagers do that, it's called 'an early warning sign,' and therapists get involved."
That pretty much sums up how I feel about these folks. What person in their right mind would allow their loved one to stick pins in them based on reading a few books? Why should animals be subjected to this simply because they can't say no? I would never attempt to poke my dog with a pin in lieu of taking him to a vet for his problems. If you're into natural health vs. traditional medicine, there are holistic vets in the area like the Beverly Animal Natural Health Center (banhc.com).