Don't Believe Everything You Read: Skepticism, It's Not a Bad Thing

Several years ago there was a picture circulated in the local paper – the headline read "new acupuncture remedy for migraines" and the picture showed a guy with literally hundreds of needles in his head...

Now, some careful and considerate internet research quickly gave two other explanations for the picture—first, the guy was celebrating the turn of the century by doing a publicity stunt and trying to put 2K needles in his head, or he was going for the Guinness world record for number of needles in the head. I will let you decide what is true...

The moral of the story is don't believe everything that you read. Let me say that again, don't believe everything that you read. We live in a high paced, highly interconnected world and there is an awful lot of information out there. Use your education. Ask some reasonable questions. Figure out what is true. There is as much fake news in health care as any other section of the news. There are an awful lot of hucksters out there willing to take a scrap of something true and manipulate it for personal profit – you need to be able to recognize what is legit.

Several years ago I shared one of my early clinical experiences about a patient presented to my office for acupuncture. She had seen a talk show host on TV tell about how acupuncture could help with weight loss. During the consultation, I told her "yes, acupuncture can help with weight loss, but we also need to talk about diet and exercise." She became very angry. Diet and exercise were not options she was willing to consider. She liked to eat, and despised the idea of working out.

There's No Such Thing as a Quick Fix

The program she had seen clearly informed her that acupuncture was all that was needed for a successful weight loss program. Oh, and by the way, she wanted to lose over 60 lbs. within the next month for her daughter's wedding. I tried to explain that such an outcome was not a physically realistic goal, and again I was told what the "expert" had claimed on the news program. She left my office to pursue other weight loss options. She was looking for the magic bullet – she bought into the fake news of a quick fix.

We have a professional responsibility to be able to engage our patients about what is right and what is not. Just because something is trendy or new doesn't make it right or good. An example of this would be the inversion table. I hate them. It is true they can give a really good stretch to the lower back – but what is the trade off?

Before that traction can get to your back it has to go across your knees, and your knees are not designed to handle the amount of traction it takes to distract the lumbar facets. I have had too many patients who have torn the meniscus or ligaments in the knee trying to stretch the lower back. Trading some temporary lower back relief for a debilitating knee injury is not a good bargain.

Be Prepared With Answers

There are many products out there that tout this or that. Patients are going to come in and ask about them. Make sure you know what you think and why. Have you seen those over-the-counter "ancient Chinese formula" weight loss tablets? Seriously? How many people in ancient China had a problem with weight? They didn't, they were too busy trying to survive. There are formularies for metabolism and health, but just for weight loss? That sounds to me more like a marketing gimmick.

Another gray area for me is magnets. Yes, I know magnets have an effect on the body's energy, but how much about that do we know? Is it better to use a positive field or a negative? Or a bipolar field? Should it be 5 gauss or 50? If 50 is good is 500 better? Personally, I have not seen enough good data for me to endorse this option. I have had a number of friends and colleagues come to my office and give me a presentation on their magnets – usually so I can be a part of their downline. They can give me a whole pile of anecdotal newspaper clippings telling wondrous tales, but no studies with good clinical data.

Fortunately for me my state frowns upon health care professionals engaging in multi-level health care product schemes – it dances on the edge of the ethical question of "are you selling this because it is good for the patient, or for personal profit?" I prefer to avoid that issue and not engage in any multi-level products.

Do you remember the infomercials for the "magic" knee band that put pressure on the "special acupuncture point" to release all back pain? I have had several patients come to see me while wearing that. Guess what? If it worked, they wouldn't be coming to see me. But they bought into the sales pitch.

Take some time and look around – some of the stuff is almost too ridiculous. Have you seen the handle with the spindly wires for massaging your scalp? Have you seen that advertised as a "special ancient tool to stimulate the scalp points?" I have actually seen this advertised as "the Orgasmatron" because of what it will do to your head. Really? I actually find that tool irritating and uncomfortable.

And it is not just over the counter products for patients. There is plenty of stuff out there marketed directly to health care providers too. Specialized silk pillows for pulse diagnosis. Wooden resonance boxes to augment a tuning fork. Specialized tuning forks in different frequencies that are color coded to the matching chakra so you can do color therapy with sonic vibration. Snake massage. Detox patches. The list goes on and on…

Professional Responsibility

Now I am sure someone will take issue with my pointing out one of the products above. I am not targeting anyone's personal practice, but patients will ask you about many of these things over time. Again, we have a professional responsibility to be able to engage our patients about what is right and what is not. Just because something is trendy or "new" doesn't make it right or good. I tend to be very pessimistic. There is no one product that fixes everyone's every problem. Every patient is unique with unique needs.

So, when I get an amazing sales pitch I tend to step back and take a more critical approach. I have to be comfortable and confident with anything I recommend or endorse to a patient. If I don't know I will tell them what my questions and concerns are and advise them to do the research themselves, but not just jump in on blind faith.

We have all had the experience of patients who come into our office asking for a "quick fix" to make them feel better. Some have even gone so far as to question the need for an exam. They could, after all, just as easily go down the street and have some other therapist "work them over" without all the extras. Their only concern is to feel good.

There is no thought as to the cause of the problem, the body's natural healing mechanisms, or the consequences of inappropriate treatment. There is a demand for "immediate gratification." The old, "take two aspirin and call me in the morning" remedy where the doctor gives a certain pill or supplement and the problems melt away. Many people today just want the magic bullet. However, we live and practice in the real world. Many patients have forgotten that the very process of healing is miraculous alone. There is often a gap between what some patients expect, and what is realistically possible. While we could point fingers in all directions as to whose fault that is, but we cannot forget that it is our responsibility to educate patients about the real healing beyond just feeling better.

If you don't like this topic, that's okay. If you have other insight into something I mentioned above, and you are comfortable with that therapy, go for it. But always remember there is fake news out there, even in health care. Don't believe everything you read.