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Review
. 2024 Aug 25;49(8):875-879.
doi: 10.13702/j.1000-0607.20230390.

Analysis of placebo effect of acupuncture

[Article in English, Chinese]
Yu-Ting Wang  1   2 , Pei-Ming Zhang  1   2 , Yu Dong  1   2 , Bao-Chao Fan  1   2 , Li-Ming Lu  3   4
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Analysis of placebo effect of acupuncture

[Article in English, Chinese]
Yu-Ting Wang et al. Zhen Ci Yan Jiu. .
Free article

Abstract
in English, Chinese

Acupuncture is a comprehensive therapy which takes the theory of traditional Chinese medicine as the core. Currently, there is much controversy surrounding the "placebo effect" of acupuncture： some people argue that acupuncture is a "super placebo", while others believe that the so-called placebo effect is just part of the therapeutic effect of acupuncture. To solve the controversy, this article clarified the definition, composition, and research purposes of "placebo acupuncture", pointed out its differences from "sham acupuncture", elucidated the relationship between the placebo effect and the intrinsic efficacy of acupuncture, distinguished the differences between the "observed placebo effect" and the "real placebo effect" in acupuncture clinical trials, and proposed the dilemmas and prospects of implementing "placebo acupuncture" and "sham acupuncture" contrasts at the current stage, in order to provide clues for optimizing randomized controlled trials of acupuncture.

针刺是以中医理论为内核的多因素综合疗法，目前关于针刺“安慰剂效应”的争议颇多。本文旨在阐明“安慰针刺”的定义、组成和研究目的，指出其与“假针刺”的区别；厘清针刺“安慰剂效应”和“内在效力”之间的关系，辨析针刺临床试验中“观察到的安慰剂效应”和“真实的安慰剂效应”之间的差异，并提出现阶段实施“安慰针刺”和“假针刺”对照的困境与展望，以期为优化针刺随机对照试验提供新思路。.

Keywords: Placebo acupuncture; Placebo effect; Randomized controlled trial; Sham acupuncture.

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References

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