Effectiveness of Dry Cupping Therapy for Women with MS

Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). It can cause severe psychological problems and reduce their Quality of Life (QOL). Cupping therapy is known as a method of alternative medicine that can be used to treat or reduce patient symptoms. Thus,this randomized clinical trial was conducted to determine the effect of dry cupping therapy on the fatigue and QOL of women with MS.

It 60 patients (30 patients in each group) with MS referred to the Medical Center of Special Diseases in southeast Iran. Patients in the intervention group received eight sessions of dry cupping therapy (plus standard care) twice a week over 4 weeks, while the control group received just standard care. Data were collected before and after the intervention by using the demographic information questionnaire, the Fatigue Severity Scale, and the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS 18. The significance level was 0.05.

Thirty patients entered the study; none of them were excluded from the study, and 30 patients were finally analyzed. Before the intervention, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of fatigue (intervention group: 47.67) 7.83); control group: 47.63) 8.76)) and QOL (intervention group: 48.85) 9.55); control group: 49.64) 9.90) (t = 0.018, p = 0.98 and t = 0.31, p = 0.75, respectively)). After performing cupping therapy in the intervention group, a significant decrease and increase were observed in the mean (SD) score of fatigue (intervention group: 34.48) 6.16); control group: 46.85 (8.95)) and QOL (intervention group: 60.14) 7.46); control group: 51.96) 9.45)), respectively (p < 0.001).

The authors concluded thatcupping therapy significantly reduced the patients’ fatigue and increased their QOL. This method is recommended for reducing fatigue and improving QOL in patients with MS.

Oh dear, where to begin?

One is spoilt for choice when criticising this study, e.g.:

• A controlled trial is meant to compare the outcomes BETWEEN groups and not to calculated within-groups changes.
• The results of a single study should never be the basis for far-reaching recommendations.
• The study followed the infamous ‘A + B versus B’ design. This does not control for placebo effects and thus does not permit conclusions about a therapy per se. (For those new to the subject, I have previously dealt with this study design as nauseam. Please do a simple search of previous explanations)

In view of this, I think I ought to re-phrase the conclusions as follows:

Like most treatments, cupping therapy is associated with significant placebo effects which can significantly reduce the patients’ fatigue and increased their QOL. Studies that fail to control for placebo effects cannot tell us about the sepcific effects of medical interventions and therefore are prone to mislead the public.

A Gong for Robin Daly, founder of ‘YES TO LIFE’

As I am not an avid reader of the UK honours lists, I totally missed the fact thatRobin Daly has been awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2025 New Year Honours list. The honour was for his outstanding contributions to the field of integrative cancer care as the founder of the charity, “Yes to Life”. The “Yes to Life”website reported the event as follows:

We are thrilled to announce that our Chairman and Founder, Robin Daly, has been awarded an MBE in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of integrative cancer care and his tireless work through Yes to Life. This prestigious honour celebrates Robin’s unwavering dedication to supporting those affected by cancer and promoting holistic approaches to well-being. Congratulations, Robin, on this well-deserved accolade! …

On this blog, we have encountered “Yes to Life” before, e.g.:

• The ‘Yes to Life Show’ is outright dangerous, if you ask me
• Uncharitable charities? The example of ‘YES TO LIFE’

I had again a good look at what “Yes to Life” is currently offering and am glad to report that they clearly cleaned up their act. The charity used to promote outright dangerous quackery to desperate cancer patients. Today they still do this butthey do it less overtly, e.g.:

• “Whether you’re seeking improved mental clarity, glowing skin, weight loss, detoxification, or support in battling diseases like cancer, juicing offers a customisable approach to achieving your wellness goals. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore how to adapt your juicing routine to address specific health needs, from overall well-being to targeted concerns like skin health, mental well-being, weight loss, detoxification, menopause, heart health and cancer support.”
• “From the moment of diagnosis through treatment and beyond, cancer patients face plenty of challenges that extend far beyond the physical symptoms. Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), also known as tapping, have emerged as a promising support offering a gentle yet profound approach to addressing emotional and psychological well-being. At its core, EFT is a modality that combines elements of ancient Chinese acupressure with modern psychology. The technique involves gently tapping on specific acupressure points on the body while focusing on and verbalizing emotional issues, negative thoughts, or physical symptoms. By stimulating these energy meridian points and addressing emotional blockages, EFT aims to restore balance to the body’s energy system and promote healing on a holistic level.”
• “Turmeric, often referred to as the “golden spice,” contains curcumin, a compound with powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Curcumin has been linked to enhanced immune function and may help the body defend against infections. You can incorporate turmeric into your diet by adding it to curries, soups, or even warm turmeric milk for a comforting and immune-boosting treat.”
• “Stress, anxiety, and emotional distress as well as physical pain and discomfort may be present along the entire cancer care pathway. These factors may impact treatment outcomes and recovery time. Most importantly, they present a significant burden of suffering to those affected by cancer and their loved ones. EFT is an effective, efficient management tool that can meet these needs and can be self- administered as well as used in a therapeutic relationship. The physical and emotional need for support can vary timewise along the cancer pathway and sometimes surprisingly patients can have significant mental and emotional needs as they recover, so well beyond their treatment phase (see the accompanying graph). Meeting these needs can contribute to long term well-being.”
• “The slightly strange sounding ‘Essiac’ tea is, in fact, simply a reversal of the surname of the woman who made it famous. In 1922, a young Canadian nurse, Rene Caisse, was given certain herbs by an old woman who had cured herself of breast cancer and had been handed down the recipe by the Ojibawa Native Americans who had used it for generations.”

Are we sure that the promotion of a whole lot of caner quackery merits a gong?

No!

Oddly, as I was writing this, I came across this on social media:

Ken Loach refused one of Betty’s gongs, in 1977, saying:‘I turned down the OBE because its not a club you want to join when you look at the villains who’ve got it. It’s all the things I think are despicable: patronage, deferring to the monarchy and the name of the British Empire, which is a monument of exploitation and conquest’.

Perhaps we should add QUACKERY to Ken Loach’s list?

Chiropractic spinal manipulation: what harm can it cause?

PS

References for the above statements can be found inmy book.

Chiropractic Manipulation: Two Months in Bed With Pain and a Herniated a Disc

A popular ‘TikTok creator’ claims that he became bedridden for months after a chiropractic adjustment to his neck left him with aherniated disc, causing him “the worst pain I’ve ever experienced” and the loss of his life savings in medical bills. Tyler Stanton, a Nashville-based ‘content creator’ stated that he’s been recovering from an injury sustained when a chiropractor adjusted his neck.

In a TikTok video Stanton said he’d been working out a lot before his birthday because “I wanted to be in the best shape of my life.” He’d been feeling some tightness in his back, so he went to see a chiropractor. At first, the chiropractor struggled to “get my back to crack,” but finally he was able to do it. Stanton said when they had the same trouble with his neck, “on the second time where he tried to crack my neck, he put a lot of force behind it, and I heard one huge and painful pop,” Stanton explained. “I knew immediately that something was wrong … the whole room was spinning. My equilibrium was just completely f—ked. I was like instantly, like, profusely sweating.”

It took him a half hour of lying down to “be good enough to walk out the door,” but as soon as he got home, he began “violently throwing up, uncontrollably. I can’t see straight.” Stanton says he went promptly to bed even though it was the middle of the day, and when he woke up the next morning moving to turn his phone alarm off caused him “the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my entire life.” Stanton described it as “static” all over the “entire right side of my body. It was really scary, I had no idea what was happening, but I knew something was really wrong.”

He went to the hospital, where it was determined that the chiropractor had “herniated my C6,” the disc at the base of the neck. Over the next month, he spent a few weeks “on and off” in the hospital, because the “pain was so bad.” He received epidural injections, and “they didn’t even make a dent into the pain. Like, it literally did nothing.”

At this point, his options were surgery — which he said, “I’ve heard so many horror stories about that” — or physical therapy and learning to live with a herniated disc. He chose the second option, explaining he has a “a pharmacy” at home of pain medication. “I ended up just having to go home and lay down for about two more months. It took, like, three months to get my feeling back in my arm.”

He thought of legal action, as the injury “really hurt me financially …  my savings just evaporated … I still deal with pain. I’m still limited on what I can do physically. It just destroyed me mentally, financially, physically — all of it.”

In alater update Stanton said that it’s been hard for him to create content since he herniated his disc. “People asking me why I keep disappearing and why I stopped posting … I didn’t really want to say much about it because one thing I’ve learned over the years being on the internet is that if you have a following, no one cares if you’re sad,” he said. “To be honest with you, I love to come on here and make you guys laugh, but it’s hard to when s—t just ain’t funny.”

_________________

Having treated many patients with herniated discs, I can confirm: it’s not funny!

Having read about many cases of serious complications after chiropractic manipulations, I assume that this one – like so many others – will not enter into the medical literature where sufficient details might be provided to allow a fuller evaluation – doctors are simply too busy to write up the events and findings for publication. The case will also not appear in any system that monitors adverse events, because chiropractors have in their ~120 Years history not been able to establish such a thing. The result will be that this event – as so many like it – will pass virtually undocumented and unnoticed.

And this suits whom exactly?

Yes, it suits the chiros who can continue to falsely claim that, as there are just few records to the contrary,

“our maipulations are entireely safe!”

Homeopathy in the Fight Against Breast Cancer: ANOTHER DEATH BY HOMEOPATHY

Homeopathy is harmless – except when it kills you!

Death by homeopathy has been a theme that occurred with depressing regularity on my blog, e.g.:

• Death by homeopathy
• Another death by homeopathy
• Death by homeopathy?
• The case of a boy tortured to death with homeopathy
• Homeopathy is the death of the patient suffering from gangrene

Now, there is yet another sad fatality that must be added to the list. This case report presents a 61-year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer who opted for homeopathic treatments instead of standard oncological care. She presented to the Emergency Department with bilateral necrotic breasts, lymphedema, and widespread metastatic disease. Imaging revealed extensive lytic and sclerotic lesions, as well as pulmonary emboli. Laboratory results showed leukocytosis, lactic acidosis, and hypercalcemia of malignancy.

During hospitalization, patient was managed with anticoagulation and broad-spectrum antibiotics. Despite disease progression, patient declined systemic oncological treatments, leading to a complicated disease trajectory marked by frailty, sarcopenia, and functional quadriplegia, ultimately, a palliative care approach was initiated, and she was discharged to hospice and died.

This case highlights the complex challenges in managing advanced cancer when patients choose alternative therapies over evidence-based treatments. The role of homeopathy in cancer care is controversial, as it lacks robust clinical evidence for managing malignancies, especially metastatic disease.

Although respecting patient autonomy is essential, this case underscores the need for healthcare providers to ensure patients are fully informed about the limitations of alternative therapies. While homeopathy may offer emotional comfort, it is not a substitute for effective cancer treatments. Earlier intervention with conventional oncology might have altered the disease course and improved outcomes. The eventual transition to hospice care focused on maintaining the quality of life and dignity at the end-of-life, emphasizing the importance of integrating palliative care early in the management of advanced cancer to enhance patient and family satisfaction.

Even though such awful stories are far from rare, reports of this nature rarely get published. Clinicians are simply too busy to write up case histories that show merely what sadly must be expected, if a patient refuses effective therapy for a serious condition and prefers to use homeopathy as an “alternative”. Yet, the rather obvious truth is that homeopathy is no alternative. I have pointed it out many times before: if a treatment does not work, it is dangerously misleading to call it alternative medicine – one of the reasons why I nowadays prefer the term so-called alternative medicine (SCAM).

But what about homeopathy as an adjunctive cancer therapy?

In 2011,Walach et al published aprospective observational study with cancer patients in two differently treated cohorts: one cohort with patients under complementary homeopathic treatment (HG; n = 259), and one cohort with conventionally treated cancer patients (CG; n = 380). The authors observed an improvement of quality of life as well as a tendency of fatigue symptoms to decrease in cancer patients under complementary homeopathic treatment.

Walach and other equally deluded defenders of homeopathy (such as Wurster or Frass) tend to interpret these findings as being caused by homeopathy. Yet, this does not seem to be the case, as they regularly forget about the possibility of other, more plausible explanations for their results (e.g. placebo or selection bias). I am not aware of a rigorous trial showing that adjunctive homeopathy has specific effects when used by cancer patients (if a reader knows more, please let me know; I am always keen to learn).

So, is there a role for homeopathy in the fight against cancer?

My short answer:

No!

Effect of Reiki in Patients with Mental Health Diagnoses – PURE PSEUDO-SCIENCE FROM THE MAYO CLINIC!

• What on earth is a ‘mixed-method, feasibility, pilot study’? A hallmark of pseudo-researchers seems to be that they think they can invent their own terminology.
• There is no objective, validated outcome measure.
• The conclusion that ‘Reiki is feasible‘ has been known and does not need to be tested any longer.
• The conclusion that ‘Reiki improved positive emotions and feelings and decreased negative measures’ is false.As there was no control group, these improvements might have been caused by a whole lot of other things than Reiki – for instance, the extra attention, placebo effects, regression towards the mean or social desirability.
• The conclusion that ‘implementing Reiki in clinical practice should be further explored to improve mental health and well-being’ is therefore not based on the data provided. In fact, as Reiki is an implausible esoteric nonsense, it is a promotion of wasting resources on utter BS.

Does it matter?

Why not let pseudo-scientists do what they do best: PSEUDO-SCIENCE?

I think it matters because:

• Respectable institutions like the Mayo Clinic should not allow its reputation being destroyed by quackery.
• The public should not be misled by charlatans.
• Patients suffering from mental health problems deserve better.
• Resources should not be wasted on pseudo-research.
• ‘Academic journals like ‘Glob Adv Integr Med Health’ have a responsibility for what they publish.
• ‘The ‘Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine & Health‘ that seems to be behind this particular journal claim to be “the world’s most comprehensive community for advancing the practice of whole health, with leading expertise in research, clinical care, and education. By consolidating the top institutions in the integrative medicine space, all working in unison with a common goal, the Academic Consortium is the premier organizational home for champions of whole health. Together with over 86 highly esteemed member institutions from the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico, our collective vision is to transform the healthcare system by promoting integrative medicine and health for all.” In view of the above, such statements are a mockery of the truth.

So-Called Alternative Medicine (SCAM) for Pediatric Patients with Serious Illness

• after SCAM treatments, heart rate decreased and symptom scores improved for anxiety, fatigue, nausea, pain, and sadness;
• adjusted mixed-effects models suggested that the Faces Scale scores improved over time.

Of note is that they formulate these findings cleverly. Yet, the language nevertheless implies that SCAM was the cause of the observed effects.

To this I object!

In fact, I postulate that the findings show that SCAM treatments :

• delayed improvements in heart rate decreased, symptom scores, anxiety, fatigue, nausea, pain, and sadness.
• hindered the Faces Scale scores from improving over time.

On what grounds, you ask?

As the study had no control group, the basis for my claim is just as solid as the suggestions of causality made by the authors!

Today is World Cancer Day – unquestionably an important event for so-called alternative medicine

Today is World Cancer Day. It is an international day observed every 4 February to raise awareness about cancer, encourage its prevention, and mobilise action to address the global cancer epidemic. Cancer and so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) are closely linked, for instance, through the fact that large proportions of desperate cancer patients use SCAM, many in the hope to cure their disease. I have therefore often tried to instill some rational thought into the debate by discussing the emerging, largely negative evidence on SCAM for cancer. Here are just a few recent examples:

• Homeopathy as a therapy for cancer? A new review from India
• Geopathic stress allegedly can cause health issues such as arthritis, multiple sclerosis and cancer – BUT, PLEASE, DON’T BELIEVE SUCH NONSENSE!
• Homeopathic Cancer Therapy? No, no and no!
• Medicinal Mushrooms for Cancer?
• Bioenergy therapies for cancer: implausible, ineffective, and an unethical waste of money
• Camel urine as a treatment for cancer patients?
• Homeopathy for cancer? Unsurprisingly, the evidence is not positive.
• When an undercover journalist tests alternative cancer healers

To mark the day, I had a look at what people post on ‘X’ about SCAM and cancer cure. Here are some of the more amazing assumptions, claims and comments that I found (warts and all):

• The Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton has been diagnosed withCancer – there is a high probability she has TurboCancer, caused by COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines she took in 2021.
• Blue butterfly pea flowers (Clitoria ternatea) is one of the best CANCER KILLING and CANCER PROTECTIVE plants available to man.
• Dandelion root far more effective in fightingcancer cells than chemotherapy.
• In Kenya, research shows 76% ofcancer patient who turn to traditionalmedicine instead of chemotherapy have drastically improved.
• I’ve just been diagnosed wcancer and will approach it with nutrition, suppl,and cont’d exercise… otheralternative therapies as well. Been an RN for decades and have witnessed the horrors and pitfalls of modernmedicine. Must b your own best advocate.
• I had a niece, a cousin and a friend die same week of the big C. was an eye-opener for me cause chemo did not help them at all….so looked at thealternativemedicine….down in Mexico. but it was too late.cancer spread like wildfire.
• I pray to God that no one has to suffer throughcancer but I agree with you 1000%alternativemedicine as a matter fact we already know that there are three that can curecancer. I ivermectin is one and I can’t remember the other two.
• Cancer has been proven to be eliminated withalternativemedicine you denounce without a single study. I’m starting to think you hate the American people.
• Next time you or your loved one getscancer, use “alternativemedicine“.
• Most Doctors use drugs for treatment of symptoms because that’s how they are trained. No nutrition oralternativemedicine is taught or encouraged. Incancer treat Drs are required to only recommend chemo because they could lose their license foralternative nedicine referrals.
• Spiritual causes of illness, includingcancer, are often explored withinalternative approaches to healing and holistic philosophies. Although traditionalmedicine does not recognize spiritual causes, many spiritual traditions and energetic practices.
• I pray that you look toalternativemedicine, don’t listen to the current medical model as it is designed to keep people sick, westernmedicine does not heal. Chinesemedicine does like others around the world. A primary cause ofcancer is parasites. Westernmedicine doesn’t look.
• Chemotherapy is brutal, attacking bothcancer and healthy cells.Alternative solutions do exist, but mainstreammedicine often won’t offer them. Take control of your research, explore your options, and question everything.
• I cured mycancer symptoms usingalternativemedicine, including Ayurveda. Not drugs.
• I’m a doublecancer survivor and I was in a clinical trial testing chemo in 2013-2014. Chemo is poison and big pharma.Alternativemedicine is better. Changed must be made. I love that PresidentTtump has done this. And I can’t wait for RFKJr to lead HHS.
• Cancer kills you if you follow the advice of the medical establishment. There are manyalternative cures forcancer and even more ways to prevent it in the first place. Do some research into naturopathicmedicine if you truly want to be healthy.
• Maybe Trump should redirect that 500 billion toalternativemedicine/supplement/ivermectin research that will eradicatecancer. And what is causingcancer. Don’t need a mRNAcancer vaccine. We already have the tools to stopcancer. 
• Please get checked for parasites which is whatcancer is. Tryalternativemedicine and see how that works – I bet it does.
• I have a friend who cured her own breastcancer withalternative methods. There are cures out there. Mainstreammedicine just won’t recognize them.
• Everything is fake in medical field nowadays. Not only petition but also pathogen hypothesis medical academic papers about virus,cancer etc.. We need to build analternativemedicine field ASAP.
• …
• …

[I could have gone on almost for ever]

I had not expected to find much wisdom on ‘X’, but what I did find truly horrified me. For every sensible Tweet, there seem to be 10 imbecillic and dangerous ones. Imaging a desperate cancer patient reads these lies, misleading claims, nonsensical statements and conspiracy theories!

To set the record straight, let me state these two simple facts:

There is no SCAM that would change the natural history of any form of cancer.

What is more, there never ill be one! As soon as a treatment might look promising as a cancer cure, it will be investigated by mainstream scientists and – if it turns out to be helpful – integrated into conventional oncology. In other words, it will become evidence-based medicine.

You don’t believe me without evidence?

Ok, then please readmy book on the subject.

PS

And yes, there are some SCAMs that might have a role in improving QoL, but that’s a different topic.

The Efficacy and Safety of a Natural Health Supplement in Managing Low Back Pain

This open-label, randomized, controlled trial was aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of Vuong Hoat (VH) natural health supplement for reducing the negative impact of low back pain, improving the quality of life, and enhancing functional activities in patients with lumbar degenerative disc disease (LDD).

The study involved 60 patients suffering from low back pain caused by LDD. The participants were randomly assigned to:

• a study group (SG) comprising 30 subjects who received VH in conjunction with the same electro-acupuncture,
• a control group (CG) comprising 30 subjects who received treatment with electro-acupuncture.

These treatments lasted for 28 days.

The clinical progression and tolerability of both groups were compared based on seven objective measurements:

• visual analog scale index,
• Schober test,
• fingertip-to-floor distance,
• spinal flexion,
• spinal extension,
• spinal tilt,
• spinal rotation.

Already after 14 days of treatment, the SG showed a significant improvement in overall outcomes compared to the CG. Specifically, 43.3% of SG patients achieved very good results, 53.3% had good results, and 3.4% had moderate results, whereas corresponding figures for the CG were 6.7%, 76.7%, and 16.6%, respectively (P < .05).

After 28 days of treatment, both groups demonstrated a shift toward very good results, with the SG continuing to show better outcomes than the CG (P < .05). In the SG, the very good results increased to 76.7%, good results decreased to 20%, and moderate results were 3.3%. On the other hand, the CG had 46.7% very good results, 43.3% good results, and 10% moderate results. Notably, no side effects were reported from the VH treatments during the study.

The authors concluded that theirfindings of this study indicate that VH health supplement is a safe and effective approach for managing low back pain and limited spinal movement in patients with LDD.

I have several concerns and questions, some are trivial others are not:

• What does VH contain? I have no free access to the actual paper but even the abstract should mention this information.
• How do the investigators know that low back pain was caused by LDD? Lots of people have LDD without pain and vice versa.
• The A+B vs B design is known to produce false positive results due to its failure to control for placebo effects; why not use a placebo (which would have been very easy in this case)?
• Contrary to the authors statement, the outcome measures are NOT objective.
• It seems highly implausible that no side effects of VH occurred. Even placebos cause side-effects in ~6% of all cases.
• Conclusions about safety are NEVER warranted based on just 30 patients.
• Why does an allegedly respectable journal publish such rubbish?

The UK ‘Assisted Dying Bill’: reasons for concern?

If you live in the UK, you could not possibly escape the discussion about the ‘Assisted Dying Bill’ which passed yesterday’s vote in the House of Commons (MPs have voted by 330 to 275 in favour of legalising voluntary assisted suicide). Once the bill passed all the further parliamentary hurdles – which might take several years – it will allow terminally ill adults who are

• expected to die within six months,
• of sound mind and capable of managing their own affairs

to seek help from specialised doctors to end their own life.

After listening to many debates about the bill, I still I have serious concerns about it. Here are just a few:

1. Palliative care in the UK is often very poor. It was argued that the bill will be an incentive to improve it. But what, if this is wishful thinking? What if palliative care deteriorates to a point where it becomes an incentive to suicide? What if the bill should even turn out to be a reason for not directing maximum efforts towards improving palliative care?
2. How sure can we be that an individual patient is going to die within the next six months? Lawmakers might believe that predicting the time someone has left to live is a more or less exact science. Doctors (should) know that it is not.
3. How certain can we be that a patient is of sound mind and capable of managing their own affairs? By definition, we are dealing with very ill patients whose mind might be clouded, for example, by the effects of drugs or pain or both. Lawmakers might think that it is clear-cut to establish whether an individual patient is compos mentis, but doctors know that this is often not the case.
4. In many religions, suicide is a sin. I am not a religious person, but many of the MPs who voted for the bill are or pretend to be. Passing a law that enables members of the public to commit what in the eyes of many lawmakers must be a deadly sin seems problematic.

In summary, I feel the ‘Assisted Dying Bill’ is a mistake for today; it might even be a very grave mistake for a future time, if we have a government that is irresponsible, neglects palliative care even more than we do today and views the bill as an opportunity to reduce our expenditure on pensions.