Do copper bracelets do anything?

[NateTG]

There's a problem because there's a scientific aspect of medicine that's about repeatability, and a pragmatic aspect of medicine that's about healing.

Scientifically oriented people are gernally not interested in using the placebo effect because the repeatability of results is not well understood.

Pragmatically oriented people will generally say - it works, that's good enough for me.

That said, there are a number of different possible mechanism for a copper bracelet to affect something. In theory, it's possible to check them.

Chemical action has been brought up. There are also several varieties of physical action: mechanical effects, heat transportation, and electrical action can all have an effect on the human body. Naturally there is also the placebo effect.

 

[Moonbear]

I actually find the placebo effect fascinating from a scientific standpoint, not just a pragmatic one. We don't understand it, but it is clearly telling us something about pain perception. It certainly fits in with the whole realm of psychosomatic illness.

Back to copper bracelets and the placebo effect, it seems it would be fairly straightforward to test this. All you need is another placebo...a copper-colored bracelet you tell the wearer is copper but actually isn't. Do it have the same effect? Or with magnets, tell the wearer there is a magnet in a bracelet when there isn't. If it makes no difference, then observe subjects wearing the bracelets...do they do anything different in how they hold their arm or move or anything. I know my own tendency when wearing a bracelet it to rotate my wrist and arm more often as I shake the bracelet back into a comfortable position when it moves to far over my hand or back up my arm. If you wear it while sleeping, you may keep your arm in a different position because the bracelet is uncomfortable in your usual position. Stuff like that. Afterall, I have found that something as simple as a pillow can also cure quite a few aches and pains simply by getting me to stop sleeping in a position that stresses some particular part of my shoulders or back or neck. Sure, ibuprofen will treat it too, but it just goes to show that a good deal of Western medicine also only treats symptoms rather than curing disease...and in some cases, the cure can be very simple. What's to say that lying still and relaxed on an acupuncturist's table doesn't go a long way toward curing pain brought on by muscle tension. That's where science comes in, as a way of determining WHY does the placebo effect work...it probably isn't just one answer either. There is something causing a person to feel pain, and something else that alleviates that pain, so what is the mechanism for that action?

 

[NateTG]

Originally posted by Moonbear
I actually find the placebo effect fascinating from a scientific standpoint, not just a pragmatic one. We don't understand it, but it is clearly telling us something about pain perception. It certainly fits in with the whole realm of psychosomatic illness.

One of the more interesting things is that, perhaps because of the mind-body connection, placebos can have some pretty impressive effects.

 

[Evo]

Not all people experience the placebo effect, so perhaps it depends on a person's susceptability to suggestion. Or perhaps the placebo allows them to re-direct their attention from the pain.