Chronic pain patients may benefit from knowingly taking placebo pill

Chronic pain patients may benefit from knowingly taking placebo pill


You may have heard of the placebo effect, a psychological phenomenon in which patients feel better from a fake medication simply because they believe it has medical benefits. However, new research shows that the placebo effect may work even if the patient knows the drug is a sham.

A recent study published in the journal Pain found that chronic pain patients who took placebo pills and knew they were fake experienced greater relief than those who only received standard treatment. This challenges the current placebo effect theory, which states that this phenomenon only takes place if the patient believes the drug will work.

To conduct the study, the research team conducted a randomized controlled trial with 97 chronic back pain patients. Nearly 90 percent were already taking pain management medications such as anti-inflammatory drugs. Each patient was told about the placebo effect, and then they were split into two groups. One group continued on with their regular treatment, while the other groups took a dummy pill twice daily in addition to their normal medication. These were labeled “placebo pills” and it was acknowledged that there were no active ingredients.

Results showed that patients who were in the placebo group reported a 30 percent reduction in usual and maximum pain in three weeks, and a 29 percent reduction in disability related to their pain.

The lead author says these findings suggest that the placebo effect may be driven by the ritual of taking medication, instead of the belief the medication will work. The team says further research should investigate other similar conditions that involve self-observation, such as depression, digestive problems or fatigue.

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