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> Acupuncturists, chiropractors [...] did far better, with average ratings of 4.5 to 4.6. Surprise, charlatans who promise that they'll make everything ok by p
by jff 11y ago
> Acupuncturists, chiropractors [...] did far better, with average ratings of 4.5 to 4.6.
Surprise, charlatans who promise that they'll make everything ok by poking you with needles/adjusting your spine get better reviews than the honest doctor who says "Quit smoking or you'll get emphysema".
- Tobani 11y agoTo be fair the " Acupuncturists, chiropractors [...]" have to learn to sell themselves, and market themeselves because people are more likely to be paying out-of-pocket for the services. If people have a bad experience they won't come back, they go out of business. With doctors if they have a bad experience they will probably still come back because they need some medicine, whatever.
- hueving 11y agoWell acupuncturists in particular rely on making the person believe something will happen. A big part of that is the mood the person is in.
- waylandsmithers 11y agoCompletely agree, but I think there is definitely a place for the "office staff were rude and/or incompetent" type of stuff. Been to too many places where the staff acts all annoyed or put off at having to reschedule, or update my information, or even just check in when I arrive for an appointment. "Sorry for annoying you with my business"
- jff 11y agoDefinitely, but I always take Yelp complaints of rudeness with a grain of salt. I swear some of these reviewers sit in restaurants with a stopwatch timing how long the waiter takes to check up on them... too long and they were "inattentive and rude", too short and they were "rude and trying to hustle us out the door".
- shiftpgdn 11y agoFYI there have been multiple legitimate studies on acupuncture that show it has a positive effect on the body in regards to arthritis and migraines. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/acupuncture-provides-true-pain-relief-in-study/?_r=0 http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/acupuncture-provide... http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1357516 http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=13575... THAT SAID anybody who claims they can adjust your chi or cure cancer is a charlatan and deserves prison time.
- ferentchak 11y agoI have always been interested in the fact that many insurance companies will pay for acupuncture. My guess was that their statisticians must of been able to determine that getting those treatments will at the very least reduce the overall cost of treating a patient. That always led me to believe it must be having some sort of a provable positive effect on the patients.
- jacquesm 11y agoOr it may simply be cheaper than having them go through the regular medical circuit with essentially no effect at the end of the bunch of expensive diagnosis. Some people just want the attention of a doctor and already feel better just because of that. A real doctor will tell them there is nothing wrong with them so there is nothing to fix which won't leave them satisfied so they'll go back over and over again. By contrast, an acupuncturist that charges a fraction and pretends to cure them is more effective.
- Retric 11y agoA US doctor almost never says there is nothing wrong with you which is a large part of why US healthcare is so expencive.
- lawtguy 11y agoIn my experience it's typically more like this: "Well, there's probably nothing wrong, but there are some test we can run to be sure." The patient agrees to the tests because it gives them peace of mind and they mostly don't pay for them, their insurance does. The doctor orders the test because if they don't and there is some sort of rare problem that was actually present, they can be sued for malpractice. GPs in the US generally aren't making any money from these tests, but they do have a strong incentive to avoid a malpractice lawsuit as those are costly and time consuming. But yes, this is part of why US healthcare is so expensive.
- wil421 11y agoAcupuncturists may not entirely be charlatans. When I went to Physical Therapy I had dry needling done which is basically acupuncture on the effected area. It really helped with inflammation and gave me relief. Most times I've never had any relief after going to a doctors office. Muscle and back problems are like moving teeth with braces, you need to keep working on it or the muscles (or teeth) will go back to the original position.
- pluma 11y agoCounter anecdote: I want to the GP with back pain and was prescribed several acupuncture sessions. I got needles stuck in me and it had zero effect.
- wil421 11y agoI guess it would depend on the issue, for me it was just muscle inflammation there was nothing wrong with my vertebrae or anything out of alignment.