How the Power of Your Mind Can Influence Your Healing and Recovery
Dr. Mercola
By definition, a placebo is an inert, innocuous substance that has no effect on your body. Placebos, such as sugar pills, are therefore used as controls against which the effects of modern-day medical treatments are measured.
However, the placebo-effect, in which a patient believes he or she is getting an actual drug and subsequently feels better, despite receiving no “active” treatment at all, has become a well-recognized phenomenon.
A number of studies have revealed that placebos can work just as well as potent drugs. Sham surgery has even been shown to produce results that are equal to actual surgery!
Indeed, mounting research suggests this "power of the mind," or power of belief, can be a very healing force. Studies into the placebo effect also show that many conventional treatments "work" because of the placebo effect and little else.
The idea that "perception is everything" certainly appears to hold true when it comes to medical treatment, and this includes perceptions about quality and price. Oftentimes, the more expensive the drug is the more effective it is believed to be—even if there's no evidence to support such a belief.
Cost is simply associated with quality in general. One recent study highlights this intriguing connection between perception of quality based on cost, belief in relief, and measurable recovery.
Parkinson's Patients Improve from Belief in Expensive Drug Treatment
The randomized, double-blind study1,2 was small, comprised of only a dozen patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, but the findings suggest that simply believing that you're receiving an expensive drug can produce beneficial effects, including actual biological changes.
As reported by MedicineNet.com:3
"On average, patients had bigger short-term improvements in symptoms like tremor and muscle stiffness when they were told they were getting the costlier of two drugs. In reality, both 'drugs' were nothing more than saline, given by injection.
But the study patients were told that one drug was a new medication priced at $1,500 a dose, while the other cost just $100 -- though, the researchers assured them, the medications were expected to have similar effects."
Not only did patients exhibit greater improvements in movement after receiving the pricier of the two placebos, MRI scans also revealed differences in brain activity between the two placebo groups. In those who thought they were receiving a pricey new drug, the brain activity was more similar to people receiving an actual drug for Parkinson's.
Neurologist Dr. Peter LeWitt noted that:4,5 "Even a condition with objectively measured signs and symptoms can improve because of the placebo effect," adding that this phenomenon is not exclusive to Parkinson's patients.
The placebo effect has been noted in a variety of treatments, including treatments for depression, headaches, and degenerative meniscal tears, just to name a few.
Juxtaposed to these latest findings is previous research in which the placebo effect was found to produce marked effects even when no deception was involved at all.
In one trial, nearly 60 percent of patients given a placebo pill, who were told they were receiving a placebo, reported adequate relief from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms. Only 35 percent of those who received no treatment at all reported adequate relief.
What Makes the Placebo Effect Work?
The jury is still out on the exact mechanisms that make the placebo effect so effective. It does appear that simply going through the ritual of treatment is enough to cause a beneficial response...
Regardless of the mechanism, studies do show that if you think you're receiving a treatment, and you expect that treatment to work, it often will. A previous article in Scientific American6 noted that:
"Placebo effects can arise not only from a conscious belief in a drug but also from subconscious associations between recovery and the experience of being treated—from the pinch of a shot to a doctor's white coat.
Such subliminal conditioning can control bodily processes of which we are unaware, such as immune responses and the release of hormones."
In the case of Parkinson's, researchers have suggested that patients who believe they're receiving a drug may trigger their brains to release dopamine. As noted in the featured article:7
"Parkinson's disease arises when brain cells that produce dopamine become dysfunctional, leading to movement symptoms such as tremors, rigid muscles, and balance and coordination problems. And it so happens that the brain churns out more dopamine when a person is anticipating a reward -- like symptom relief from a drug.
To [lead author Dr. Alberto] Espay, the new findings are more evidence that 'expectations' play an important role in treatment results.'If you expect a lot, you're more likely to get a lot,' he said."
This was also demonstrated in another recent study,8 which found that people with back pain who believe that acupuncture might be helpful actually get more pain relief from it, compared to those who do not believe it will work.
According to study author Felicity Bishop, PhD: “People who started out with very low expectations of acupuncture, who thought it probably would not help them, were more likely to report less benefit as treatment went on.”
Emotions Control Intensity of Pain
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