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Ronald Melzack, PhD; Joel Katz, MA
McGill University Montreal

JAMA. 1984;252(14):1856-1857.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

In Reply.—

Nogier criticizes our experiment by arguing that the control points we used are actually "therapeutically active" points, so that he is not surprised that statistical comparison revealed no differences. However, he fails to note that our second study used no electrical stimulation, yet even then we found no differences in pain relief between stimulation and no-stimulation placebo control. In contrast, Madill argues that the gentle touch of the probe in the placebo control group might have been sufficient to produce therapeutic effects. We stated clearly in our article that the "probe tip was placed gently" on the skin, and it is difficult to believe that the barest touch of the skin could bring about a therapeutic effect.

Nogier's and Madill's letters provide an interesting comment on auriculotherapy. Nogier's new maps indicate that, for musculoskeletal pain at least, stimulation at any site of the outer ear is therapeutically effective. . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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