Trick or Treatment (44 page)

A treatment session involves partial undressing, insertion of a tube via the rectum and receiving considerable amounts of fluids via this route. The fluid is later extracted and, on closer inspection, appears to be loaded with ‘waste products’.

This visual impression helps to convince patients that colonic irrigation achieves what it claims: the elimination of residues that the body is best rid of. Treatment might last for approximately 30 minutes and long-term therapy is sometimes advised, with weekly or twice weekly sessions. Colonic irrigation is promoted as a treatment for gastrointestinal disorders, allergies, obesity, migraine and many other chronic illnesses.

What is the evidence?

Enemas have an undoubted role in conventional medicine. The use of colonic irrigation as employed in alternative medicine is, however, an entirely different matter. None of the waste products of our body ‘poison’ us; they are eliminated through a range of physiological processes, unless we are suffering from severe organ failure.

There is no reliable clinical evidence that colonic irrigation does any good at all and some evidence that it causes serious harm by, for example, perforating the colon or depleting our body of electrolytes.

Conclusion

Colonic irrigation is unpleasant, ineffective and dangerous. In other words, it’s a waste of money and a hazard to our health.

Craniosacral Therapy (or Cranial Osteopathy)

The gentle manipulation of the skull and sacrum to facilitate unrestricted movement of the cerebrospinal fluid.

Background

William G. Sutherland, who practised as an osteopath in the 1930s, became convinced that our health is governed by minute motions of the bones of the skull and sacrum. These subtle rhythms, he believed, are fundamental to the self-healing processes of our bodies. Craniosacral therapy aims at restoring the rhythmic motions when they are restricted. This is claimed to help with a range of conditions, particularly in children: birth trauma, cerebral palsy, chronic pain, dyslexia, headaches, learning difficulties, sinusitis, trigeminal neuralgia and many others. Today, craniosacral therapy is practised by several alternative therapists, including osteopaths, chiropractors, naturopaths and massage therapists.

A consultation with a craniosacral therapist would include a detailed manual diagnosis, so the first session may last one hour or longer. Subsequent therapeutic sessions, during which the therapist gently manipulates the skull and sacrum, would be shorter. A typical treatment series might involve six or more sessions.

What is the evidence?

Conventional wisdom has it that, during early childhood, the bones of the skull and the sacrum fuse to form solid structures. Even if minute motions between these bones were possible, they would be unlikely to have a significant impact on human health. In other words, craniosacral therapy is biologically implausible.

The little research that exists fails to demonstrate that craniosacral therapy is effective in treating any condition. Moreover, therapists struggle to give consistent diagnoses for the same patient, probably because they are attempting to detect a non-existent phenomenon. Mothers bringing their children to a therapist are sometimes impressed by the positive reaction. This is likely to be a relaxation response caused by the gentle touch and calming manner of the therapist, but these effects are usually shortlived. There are no conceivable risks, but if severely ill children are treated with craniosacral therapy instead of an effective treatment, the approach becomes life threatening.

Conclusion

There is no convincing evidence to demonstrate that craniosacral therapy is effective for any condition. Prolonged treatment series are expensive and unnecessary.

Crystal Therapy

The use of crystals such as quartz or other gemstones, for the purpose of ‘energy healing’.

Background

Crystal therapists claim that crystals can move, absorb, focus and diffuse healing ‘energy’ or ‘vibrations’ within the body of a patient. This, in turn, is said to enhance the self-healing ability of the patient. Illness allegedly occurs when the individual is misaligned with the ‘divine energy’ that is ‘the foundation of all creation’. The approach is not in accordance with our understanding of physics, physiology or any other field of science. Crystal therapy therefore lacks scientific plausibilty.

A treatment session typically involves the fully clothed patient lying down. The therapist then intuitively identifies problem areas such as blockages of energy flow and places crystals over them to restore flow or re-establish balance. One treatment typically lasts for 30–60 minutes.

Crystal therapy is normally used by patients as an addition to conventional treatments. It is employed in the treatment of virtually all medical conditions, for improving the quality of health in individuals or for disease prevention. Therapists sometimes use crystal wands as part of aura therapy in order to cleanse a patient’s aura.

Patients who believe in crystal therapy will often buy their own crystals and carry them about their person in order to treat minor conditions. Although healing crystals can be relatively cheap, healing crystal jewellery sometimes costs several hundred pounds.

What is the evidence?

There is no evidence that crystal therapy is effective for any condition. The positive effects experienced by some patients are almost certainly due to expectation, relaxation or both.

Similarly, there is no evidence that the carrying or wearing of crystals is effective for any condition. If used as an alternative to life-saving treatments, crystal therapy would be life threatening, but there are no conceivable direct risks in this approach.

Conclusion

Crystal therapy is based on irrational, mystical concepts. There is no evidence that it is effective for any medical condition.

Cupping

A treatment that emerged independently in several cultures. A stimulus is applied to certain points of the body surface by attaching cups that generate suction.

Background

Cupping is an ancient treatment that has been practised in places such as China, Vietnam, the Balkans, Russia, Mexico and Iran. Essentially, the air in a glass cup is heated over a flame and the cup is then swiftly placed on the skin. As the air in the cup cools down, a vacuum develops which creates suction. This is visible as the skin and its underlying soft tissue are partly sucked into the cup. Sometimes the skin is lacerated beforehand, and the suction then draws blood from the cutaneous microcirculation. This form of cupping was popular in connection with blood letting in Europe.

In traditional Chinese medicine, cupping can be used as one of several ways of stimulating acupuncture points. Hence, Chinese cupping has the same underlying philosophy as acupuncture.

Cupping is used to treat a variety of conditions, such as musculoskeletal problems, asthma or eczema. Some practitioners even claim to treat conditions such as infertility, influenza and anaemia. Usually it is employed in combination with other therapies. The actual treatment lasts about 20 minutes and repeat sessions are usually advised. Cupping is practised by a range of alternative practitioners including naturopaths, acupuncturists and chiropractors.

What is the evidence?

The only controlled trial of cupping did not demonstrate the effectiveness of this therapy in reducing pain. However, the cupping procedure and its visible aspects (e.g. skin being sucked into the cup as if by ‘magic’) are likely to generate an above-average placebo response.

When handled correctly, there are few risks. On the other hand, the sucking action can leave typical round bruises which can last for several days. There was a very public demonstration of this in 2005, when the actress Gwyneth Paltrow attended a New York film premiere wearing a backless dress and showing dark bruises across her shoulders. Also, the bloodletting version of cupping carries the risk of infection.

Conclusion

Cupping has a long history but there is no evidence that it generates positive effects in any medical condition.

Detox

Detox or detoxification is the elimination of accumulated harmful substances from the body. In alternative medicine, an array of techniques is used for that purpose.

Background

Conventional detoxification has its established place in medicine, e.g. for eliminating poisons that have been ingested or injected. The term is also used for weaning addicts off drugs or alcohol. In alternative medicine, however, detox has been hijacked and has acquired a slightly different meaning. It is suggested that either the waste products of our normal metabolism accumulate in our body and make us ill, or that too much indulgence in unhealthy food and drink generates toxins which can only be eliminated by a wide range of alternative treatments.

Detox is often recommended after periods of over-indulgence, e.g. after the Christmas holiday. It is incessantly promoted by magazines and certain celebrities. In alternative medicine, detox can mean anything from a course of self-administered treatments to a week in the luxury of a health spa. The former, for example, might consist of a mixture of herbal and other supplements or several days of dieting, which costs just a few pounds. The latter, however, can cost a few hundred pounds.

What is the evidence?

The conventional form of detoxification can be life-saving. In alternative medicine, however, detox is a scam. Supporters of alternative detox have never demonstrated that their therapies are able to reduce levels of toxins. This would be very easy to achieve, e.g. by taking blood samples and measuring blood levels of certain toxins. In any case, the human body is well equipped with highly efficient organs (liver, kidney, skin) to eliminate ‘toxins’ due to over-indulgence. Drinking plenty of water, gentle exercise, resting and eating sensibly would rapidly normalize the body after a period of over-indulgence. An expensive detox is not required to achieve this aim.

Conclusion

Detox, as used in alternative medicine, is based on ill-conceived ideas about human physiology, metabolism, toxicology, etc. There is no evidence that it does any good and some treatments, such as chelation or colonic irrigation (see separate entries in this Rapid Guide), can be harmful. The only substance that is being removed from a patient is usually money.

Ear Candles

Thin, hollow structures of wax are inserted into the ear and subsequently ignited. This generates mild suction and is supposed to stimulate energy points.

Background

Allegedly, ear candles were used in China, Egypt, Tibet, by the Hopi Indians in America, and even in Atlantis!

Ear-candling entails placing a hollow candle into the ear of the patient and lighting the far end of the candle, which then burns slowly over about 15 minutes. Thereafter, the candle is extinguished and the content of the near end of the candle is usually displayed for inspection. Many therapists inform their patients that the remnant left behind at the end of treatment is ear wax, suggesting that it has been drawn out of the ear through the ‘chimney effect’ produced by the burning candle.

Ear-candling is used for the removal of ear wax and for the treatment of hay fever, headaches, sinusitis, rhinitis, colds, influenza and tinnitus. It is even claimed candling can lead to ‘sharpening of mental functioning, vision, hearing, smell, taste and colour sensation’.

What is the evidence?

There is no shortage of anecdotes published to promote the use of ear candles. However, a series of experiments concluded that ear candles do not eliminate any substance from the ear.

A study conducted in 1996 by Spokane Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic in America showed that a burning candle does not produce any negative pressure at all, and that the deposit is, in fact, candle wax. Indeed, the same group of researchers also demonstrated that instead of removing ear wax, ear candles leave a deposit of wax in volunteers who, prior to the experiment, had no ear wax.

There is no evidence that candling is effective in the treatment of any of the other conditions mentioned above.

Ear candles are not free of risks: burns, occlusion of the ear canal and perforations of the eardrum are on record. There are also cases of house fires resulting from candling sessions.

Conclusion

Ear candles are based on the absurd idea that this method removes ear wax or toxins from the body; it is not supported by evidence.

Feldenkrais Method

A technique aimed at body and mind integration, based on the notion that correcting poor habits of movement will improve health.

Background

Moshe Feldenkrais (1904–1984) was a physicist and electro-engineer who suffered badly from chronic knee pain. No treatment he tried helped and he thus decided to develop his own cure.

The Feldenkrais method is based on the belief that body and spirit form a fundamental whole. The founder declared, ‘I believe that the unity of mind and body is an objective reality. They are not just parts somehow related to each other, but an inseparable whole while functioning.’ Feldenkrais published his first book outlining his philosophy in 1949 –
Body and Mature Behavior: A Study of Anxiety, Sex, Gravitation and Learning
.