Jonathan Wilhoite Blog: Effects Of Placebos: New Study Shows Positive Response

Friday, October 28, 2016

Effects Of Placebos: New Study Shows Positive Response

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CNN reports that there is a growing response in placebo effects for the past few decades. A study was published in the journal Pain, indicating that even a placebo can have true physical benefits.

Though we consider it as a psychological trick, this new research suggests that these can have such impacting effects. The subjects were people who are experiencing chronic lower back pain. In Lisbon, Portugal, they participated in the research at a public hospital.

The research team assigned the subjects into two groups. The first took the NSAIDS as usual. The other got the usual drugs including placebo pills.

The Real — And Growing — Effects Of Fake Pills

Yet, recent research has shown an increase in the placebo response over the past couple of decades. Just last week, the results of a new study published in the journal Pain suggest that a placebo can have real, even profound, physical benefits. Read more…

Katherine Hobson’s report from NPR tells us that there were 83 people who comprised the sample population of the research, all of these individuals experienced back pain that isn’t caused by serious conditions. The participants were informed that the placebo was inactive. It does not have any medicinal properties but the body can respond to it. They were given instructions to take the pills twice a day for three weeks.

Each participant got to rate their pain levels as well as their capabilities in executing day-to-day activities. The researchers found profound results.

Is A Placebo A Sham, If You Know It’s A Fake And It Still Works?

But there’s a reason your doctor isn’t giving you a sugar pill and telling you it’s a new wonder drug. The thinking has been that you need to actually believe that you’re taking a real drug in order to see any benefits. And a doctor intentionally deceiving a patient is an ethical no-no. Read more…

Forbes author David DiSalvo pondered on the results of the study. It showed that patients from the two groups were able to reduce their pain levels. The first group taking only NSAIDs had a 9 percent reduction (usual level) and 16 percent (maximum level). The second one taking NSAIDS plus placebo had a 30 percent reduction for both usual and maximum pain.

The pain reduction from the “fake pills” was three times as much for normal pain and twice as much for the maximum pain. This presents a remarkable result, considering that all of the participants know about the “fake pills.”

Can The Placebo Effect Really Work Without Deception? Maybe, Maybe Not

True or false: If I give you a placebo pill and tell you it will zap your back pain, it’s crucial that I not also tell you the pill is just made of sugar. Deception is a key ingredient for the mind to manufacture a remedy out of nothing, right? Read more…

Though the research proves that it worked in the sample group, it is still not applicable to all. Just like what the researchers pointed out, “The results might not be generalizable to all patients.” It’s worth investigating why this therapy only works for some people, and how we can take opportunities to use this for therapeutic purposes especially in pain management.

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