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I am glad that I have the opportunity to post right after Stephanie, because the comment she made about her experience with acupuncture really intrigued me.  I found it very interesting that she felt that at least part of the reason why her pain was relieved from acupuncture which is generally thought of as being at least some what "unscientific", was because she got  a scientific explanation for it.  This made me think back to the discussion we had on the placebo effect and how the way in which medication and care is offered from the physician to the patient might have a significant effect on how well the patient feels after treatment.  If Stephanie had received acupuncture with a ying-yang explanation, would she have felt better?  I also wonder if this is a cultural thing.  That is, would an Asian person feel relief from pain if the person received treatment from the same acupuncturist who offers the scientific muscle tension explanation?  I find it interesting that East World forms of treatment are being imported into western culture with some modifications so that they are easier to accept for westerners.  This seems to be something very important for health care providers to keep in mind when they leave the country to offer care to people in other parts of the world, or when American physicians must treat foreign patients who live in the US.