Trick or Treatment—The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine (Electronic book text)

Hypnotherapy and autogenic training are relatively safe, but they should not be used by people with psychoses or other severe mental problems. With hypnotherapy, the recovery of repressed or false memories can create problems, and cases of false-memory syndrome (i.e. remembering distressing events which, in reality, have never occurred) have been reported.

Conclusion

The prudent use of hypnotherapy can be helpful for some patients. Whether this is a specific effect of the treatment or a non-specific (placebo) effect is difficult to say. Autogenic training has the added advantage of being an economical self-help approach that maximizes each patient’s own involvement. Neither treatment is associated with serious risks when applied correctly.

Leech Therapy

The application of live leeches to the skin in order to treat a range of illnesses.

Background

Hirudo medicinalis is a small, black, worm-like animal. It is capable of attaching itself to humans or animals, sucking substantial amounts of blood from the skin. During this process, it increases considerably in size and finally, when it is saturated with blood, it drops off.

Leeches were used for medicinal purposes in ancient Babylon, and in more recent centuries in Europe as a mode of bloodletting, as discussed in Chapter 1. Today their only use in conventional medicine is in plastic surgery: clinical trials show that applying leeches post-operatively improves the cosmetic results of some operations.

In alternative medicine, leeches are employed for a range of conditions. Some therapists believe that they eliminate toxins from the body; others use them to treat painful local conditions such as osteoarthritis.

While sucking blood, leeches inject pharmacologically active substances into the body. Initially they inject an anaesthetic substance which enables them to bite through the skin without causing pain. Subsequently they excrete a substance that prevents blood from clotting so that they can suck blood easily. This substance is called hirudoine and is a well-researched anticoagulant. It can now be synthesized and is used widely in mainstream medicine for its anticoagulation properties.

What is the evidence?

A German group recently published a series of clinical trials which suggested that the application of several leeches over the knee eases the pain of osteoarthritis. These studies still await independent replication.

All other claims of the alternative use of leech therapy are unsupported by evidence.

If done properly, there are few risks. Many patients, however, might feel uncomfortable about leech therapy, either because of the aesthetic aspects of the treatment or the fact that, after one session, the animals are usually destroyed.

Conclusion

Leeches have a long history of medical use. There is some evidence that their use is effective in reducing the pain of osteoarthritis of the knee. There is no evidence to support their use for any other treatment performed by an alternative therapist.

Magnet Therapy

The use of magnetic fields from static magnets, which are usually worn on the body, to treat various conditions, most frequently pain.

Background

Nowadays, rapidly fluctuating magnetic fields are employed in conventional medicine in hi-tech imaging instruments and for promoting the healing of bone fractures. However, alternative medicine tends to focus on the use of static magnets, which give rise to a permanent magnetic field.

Such static magnets have always attracted the interest of physicians, but the boom in magnet therapy began in Europe in the eighteenth century. Although static magnets fell out of favour as medicine progressed, a plethora of static magnets are today again popular within alternative medicine. Their use is promoted for many conditions, most frequently to alleviate chronic pain. These static magnets are worn as wrist bands, belts, leg wraps, shoe inlays, patches, etc. Magnetic mattresses or seat covers are also available. The magnetic strength of these devices varies between 10 and 1,000 Gauss. Static magnets can be purchased through numerous outlets and, more often than not, the consumer/patient would not have had any contact with a healthcare practitioner.

Subtle effects of magnetic fields are observable, for instance, on cell cultures. The question is whether these translate into any therapeutic benefit.

What is the evidence?