If you have ever been to basic medical literature, it is possible that you have heard of this term, ‘placebo’. But you might think that you don’t quite know what it is. Well, you are not alone. Nobody in the world knows what it is, that is if there is no secret genius keeping the information hidden. However, we do know ‘the power of placebo’.
For starters, let me explain what placebo is; Imagine that you are injured and after being injected by a ‘real’ doctor in white coat with a ‘real-looking’ syringe, you felt better. The only problem is that the syringe was not ‘real’ at all. This is a pretty normal and common phenomenon. Actually about one-third of the world population react favorably to placebos. But how? That is the million-dollar question. And like any other million-dollar question, we don’t have a good answer. So, I am not gonna attempt that question. But there is another topic you might be interested in; how powerful is this so-called ‘placebo effect’.
In 1996, 56 volunteers participated in a study conducted to test a painkiller- trivaricaine. One index finger of all participants was covered with the new painkiller and then both index fingers were squeezed tight by the researcher. After the test, the subjects verifies that they felt less pain in the index finger covered with trivaricaine. Yes, you guessed it right. Trivaricaine was no pain killer. Actually it had literally no pain suppressing properties. Still, the participants were sure that the dummy drug had worked.
Another recent experiment further highlights the power of placebo. In this study conducted at Michigan in the year 2004, the subjects were injected a drug into their jaw (Who in the world would volunteer for such an experiment. I know, I won’t). The researchers claimed that the injection was for pain relief. But in reality, it was just saline water. In addition, the researchers made the process a bit painful to make it look real. However the hoax worked. All the participants reported favorably. The researchers of this study took one more step and conducted a PET (positron emission test) to see what goes on inside their heads. They found that their brains were producing endorphins- our own pain suppressors in response to the duplicate drug.
Some are of the opinion that placebo can be a true friend to clinicians and surgeons. If we can produce similar results as a serious drug just with an expensive-looking cover and textured structure, without any side-effects of the actual drug, it is good, right? Well, there are a lot of others who doesn’t agree. Placebo tests were largely adapted in drug experiments in the late 90s as well as the early 20s. however, it isn’t as popular now.
The power of placebo isn’t restricted to the field of medicine. It states that our mind is powerful enough to control our bodies. With sheer determination, belief, and confidence, it is possible for us to outrun our physical boundaries.
