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Placebo Effect
Summary:
A placebo is a "sugar pill" or any dummy medication or treatment. The word placebo comes from Latin meaning "I will please." Widely used in controlled clinical trials, one group may be given a medication and another group a placebo to learn if observed differences are due to the medication or to the power of suggestion.
Since placebos are used in clinical trials to eliminate the effect of the power of suggestion, there is the misconception that a response from a placebo demonstrates the psychogenic origin of pain and that the pain is not "real". One of the most fascinating things about the use of placebos in several clinical trials is that many people will get better just because they believe they are taking a medicine that will make them better, even though they are in fact taking the placebo, or sugar pill. This effect, called the placebo effect or placebo response, demonstrates the power the mind has to heal. The placebo effect is what happens when a person believes that something, in this case a medicine, will work, and that belief actually makes the person get better. It's not a trick, it doesn't mean that the person is gullible, but it does mean that the mind affects the body in ways that medical science does not yet fully understand. Many mind-body techniques may work because of the placebo effect. For instance, a person who believes visualization can cure cancer may find his or her cancer has gone into remission after practicing visualization techniques.
One study presented at an American Psychological Association meeting and published in the New England Journal of Medicine combined the results from 39 studies of depression and medication, including the common antidepressants Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil, and concluded that the placebo effect accounted for half the benefits of the drugs. Guy Sapirstein, Ph.D., the psychologist who presented the study, says that patients get better largely because they think the drug is working and that the chemical effect of these drugs may account for only one-quarter of the benefit.
What all this means to you, experiencing pain, is three-fold. First, if you believe your treatment will work, you will have a better chance of success. So if you trust your doctor, have faith that his recommendations will help you (but don't have blind faith - doctors do make mistakes - keep using your judgement.) Second, if you get a positive result from a treatment, realize that the result may be a placebo effect and may only last a month or two. Of course you will be thrilled with the positive effect but don't be alarmed or too disappointed if the treatment loses effectiveness. Also don't jump to the conclusion that you have "found the answer" until a few months go by. Third, don't think that because a single treatment provides only temporary relief that it is only a placebo response. Successful treatment of pain often requires a multi-faceted approach. A single procedure or medication may provide only temporary relief but when used within a comprehensive plan will contribute to a substantive resolution.
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