The traditional principles of acupuncture are deeply flawed, as there is no evidence at all to demonstrate the existance of Ch'i or meridians.

Over the last three decades, a huge number of clinical trials have tested whether or not acupuncture is effective for treating a variety of disorders. Some of these trials have implied that acupuncture is effective. Unfortunately, most of them have been without placebo control groups and of poor quality-the majority of positive trials are therefore unreliable.

By focussing on the increasing number of high-quality research papers, reliable conclusions from systematic reviews make it clear that acupuncture does not work for a whole range of conditions except as a placebo. Hence if you see acupuncture being advertised by a clinic, then you can assume that it does not really work, except possibly in the treatment of some types of pain and nausea.

There are some high -quality trials that support the use of acupuncture for some types of pain and nausea, but there are also high-quality trials that contradict this conclusion. In short, the evidence is neither consistent nor convincing – it is border-line

An extract from the conclusions of Chapter 2 of Trick or Treatment by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst.

I have a great deal of respect for Prof Ernst as do many people in the sceptical community.

If you applied the same sort of rigorous scientific study to lots of other areas of established medical/conventional therapy, you would probably get similar conclusions. It is surprising how little evidence there is sometimes.
The key thing is that people take on board the evidence and practice changes as a result of it.

do alternative practitioners have indemnity? they should be forced to IMO.

I agree with wot docrobster says – we are slowly trying to get to evidence based practice but we are a long way from it yet.

As for teh acupuncture trials – from what I have read – and I am sceptical as well – there just is a dearth of good evidence either way – the rigorous trials that show no effect are often compromised as well by poor knowledge and skills of the practitioners.

Ultimately I believe that on acupuncture the case is "not proven" either way. More and better quality research is needed

The idea of holistic practice is not something that is the sole preserve of alternative therapists. Trainee GPs are marked in their exams and continuous assessments on several "competencies" eg clinical management, decision making, working as a team etc etc. The first one on the list is "Practising Holistically", which is why it irks the medical profession so much that people set themselves up as "holistic therapists" as if this is some separate speciality that isn't practised in mainstream medicine. GPs are holistic practitioners, it's just the type of "holism" is different- concentrating on psychological/social factors rather than meridians. It's still holistic.

On the other hand, you'd be a fool to think there wasn't a placebo affect at play in traditional "scientific" treatments.

A popular premium brand of strong pain killer comes as a red and white capsule. Why does the drug company choose that formulation? Red and white capsules are more likely to ease pain than a plain white tablet. Patients ask for the branded tabs because they genuinely feel they work better than the same drug in a different form. No science at all to explain it, pure placebo.
The placebo can be the doctor, we all like a good bedside manner yeah?
That's placebo/alt therapy etc at work. A nice chat cheers people up as much as a lot of pills.

OOps didn't expct this response I just posted this to see if I could get some advise on opening a business. Some of the ideas I mentioned are just ideas at the moment and that could change. I am entering into massage as it interests me and after being stuck in jobs that I really detest I decided to just follow what I want to do and I like a challenge. I am under no illusions that it will be hard work and I am going to take a proffesional course next year in Bristol. I am not going into this thinking I will cure anyone what I want to do is make people feel good about themselves and feel less stressed. If I do help their aches and pains then that will be a good thing. I am no dippy hippy who claims to have healing hands. I will also be exploring other avenues and sports massage holds my interest so I may branch out into that but i'll have to wait and see. Anyway thanks for the advice I got some good pointers from someone who has just set up in business. Wish me luck.

Good luck Retrogirl! Some of the early posts offer some useful advice about setting up a business, before the thread went into the usual STW meltdown and anarchy.

Avoiding all the arguments about complementary therapies, holistic treatments and alternative medicine, there are some excellent therapists and massueuses (?) out there and a successful business can be developed. One of the most memorable and completely relaxing experiences I have ever had was an aromatherapy massage at the Relaxation Centre in Bristol which was bought as a gift – I was very sceptical about it initially, but my view was transformed over an hour.

However lots of people are trying similar things and many people I know are finding it difficult to make a consistent and reasonable income from it. As you will see when you come to Bristol for your course some places are saturated with therapy centres, which is why in my early post I suggest you do some serious market research into where you will be setting up business, who your target market(s) are, and what your unique selling points will be over the competition.

I provide business advice to young people thinking of setting up in business in the Bristol area for the Prince's Trust, and would happily chat through some of the business planning, market research, marketing issues over a coffee when you are down in Bristol on your course, or email me if you have any specific questions – my email is in my profile.

Once again good luck with setting up your own business venture!