Beware of the snake-oil salesmen

It’s a sad fact that some think nothing of taking advantage of desperate and vulnerable people. And that includes some suffering from CRPS.

Alternative therapies for CRPS

I must stress that I’m never quick to dismiss alternative therapies for CRPS, which, for many people, have a clear role in the long-term management of their symptoms. And I don’t necessarily mean from a placebo perspective. Anything that helps relieve the anxiety and stress resulting from unremitting, debilitating pain has got to be beneficial. But it’s crucial they are presented as complementary therapies and not the magic cure.

I’ve had clients in deep distress, having wasted hundreds or even thousands of pounds with all manner of snake-oil salesmen – ‘crystal therapists’, spiritualists, ‘rebirthing therapists’, and in one case, a ‘white witch’. Understandably, they feel exploited and embarrassed, but who can blame them for grasping at anything or anyone offering them hope?

Homeopathy

A difficult one is homeopathy. Some swear by its efficacy, but numerous clinical studies have concluded that it’s no more effective than a placebo.

Professor Edzard Ernst of Exeter University led one very interesting study. It examined the use of a popular homeopathic remedy, arnica, for bruising, pain and swelling in three groups of patients undergoing carpal tunnel surgery to their wrists. The first group received a high dose of arnica, the second group a (homeopathic) low dose and the third group a placebo. However, the results indicated no significant difference between the three groups in terms of bruising, pain or swelling.

Some years ago, a client with lower limb CRPS told me he had been ’prescribed’ arnica by a homoeopathic practitioner. Despite experiencing no identifiable benefit, he was nevertheless pressured to persevere. But after many weeks, he gave up, utterly dispirited and, he said, “feeling really conned.”