For many, taking pain medication isn't a preferred activity. Despite legitimate reasons to feel cautious about using medication, this sentiment doesn't change the fact that disliking medication can actually hinder its effectiveness. The aversion to medication can inadvertently hinder its efficacy. Notably, evidence points toward the significance of how pain medication is utilized, with indications that a placebo effect exists even within the realm of medication. This insight offers an intriguing opportunity for upgrading pain medication. Beyond merely formulating more potent ingredients, we can now also focus on optimizing the context of administration to amplify the placebo effect.
In the upcoming blog, we will delve into the placebo effect, explore studies supporting the existence of the placebo effect in medications, and examine how Pain-Changer integrates these findings for stronger medicines.
Understanding the Placebo Effect
Derived from the Latin word "placebo," which means "I shall please," a placebo refers to anything that appears to be a genuine medical treatment but isn't. This can encompass various forms such as pills, creams, or injections, all of which lack active ingredients designed to directly influence the body. The key distinction lies in recognizing that "placebo" and the "placebo effect" are separate concepts. Placebo pertains to the inactive substance itself, while the placebo effect denotes an observed symptom improvement despite using a non-active treatment. In other words, the placebo is the product, and the placebo effect is the perceived improvement in physical or mental health post taking a placebo or a "fake" treatment.
It's important to note that recent research challenges the notion that the placebo effect solely stems from taking a placebo. This revelation has led to the realization that the placebo effect also operates within the realm of medications. The subsequent section delves into this discovery, focusing on the open-hidden experiment.
Unraveling the Placebo Effect in Medication
Consider the scenario of taking pain medication and being asked how much of its effect is attributed to the ingredients versus the placebo effect. Irrespective of whether one believes in the presence of a placebo effect in medications, it becomes evident that self-reporting isn't a valid approach for such assessments. Separating the effects of medication from the placebo effect presents a challenge. This is where a brilliant scientific setup, known as the open-hidden experiment, comes into play.
Patients with comparable pain levels were randomly assigned to two groups. One group received pain medication from a doctor, while the other received medication from an automated pump. Those receiving medication from a doctor were aware of its administration, while the automated pump offered no signals. Notably, the results were both surprising and clear: the painkiller administered by a doctor yielded greater potency than that delivered by the automated machine. Thus, patients receiving doctor-administered medication required lower doses for effective pain relief, even though both groups received identical painkillers in equal doses (Colloca, Lopiano, Lanotte, & Benedetti 2004).
This discrepancy prompted researchers to conclude that the effectiveness of a painkiller is heightened when administered by a doctor. This couldn't be attributed to different medication ingredients, as they were identical. A second factor must contribute to the efficacy of pain medication. Further studies involving brain activity measurements shed light on this additional effect. Brain scans revealed that receiving medication from a doctor activated the internal pharmacy of the brain, producing natural substances with pain-relieving properties akin to morphine. These natural painkillers, along with the "real" medication, collectively halted pain signals (Benedetti, 2014; Peciña & Zubieta, 2013). These findings were also reflected in the blood of patients receiving doctor-administered medication.
At Stanford University, scientists translated these findings into a clear graph. Let's go through it together. So, imagine you're taking a painkiller and monitoring its effect. On the vertical axis, you have the total effect of a painkiller. The higher the axis, the more pain relief. For decades, we believed that only the chemical compounds of the painkiller had an impact on the effectiveness of a medication. However, scientists recently discovered a second contributor. They found that biological, psychological, and social processes influence the outcome of a painkiller. This second factor, known as the placebo effect, can create an additional effect on top of the drug's effect, as observed in the open-hidden experiment (Colloca, Lopiano, Lanotte, & Benedetti 2004).
The Power of Medication Presentation
Aside from the medication's ingredients, the manner of administration is equally pertinent. The manner in which a doctor communicates, characterized by warmth and empathy, significantly influences the effect. Trust and positive expectations of reduced pain levels also activate the production of natural painkillers. Even feelings of support from loved ones and peers can trigger the internal pharmacy.
Research has also shown that the appearance of the medication matters. Both small and large pills elicit greater effects (Millard, 2017). The perception likely arises from assuming that small pills must be exceptionally potent, while larger capsules are associated with stronger treatment. This cognitive influence has a considerable impact on pain medication effectiveness.
Okay. So the size of a pill is important. What else? We now know that color matters too (De Craen, Roos, De Vries & Kleijnen, 1996). Red, yellow, and orange medicines are associated with a stimulating effect, while blue and green are related to a calming effect. Next is the shape of the medication. At the same dosage of a substance, a capsule is more effective than a pill. And more effective than a capsule is injecting the substance with a needle. It seems that the more radical the shape of the medication, the stronger the effect. And last but not least, the marketing of drugs is also important (Branthwaite & Cooper 1981; Faasse & Martin, 2018). If you give the medication a nice name, it works better than if you don't. A branded capsule is more effective than an unmarked capsule. And finally, the principles of scarcity and pricing are related to the effectiveness of a medication. When an identical drug is more expensive or harder to obtain, effectiveness increases (Meissner & Linde, 2018; Waber, Shiv, Carmon & Ariely 2008).
Leveraging Insights
While most genuine painkillers exhibit significant potency, there remains untapped potential to enhance their effectiveness. The Stanford graph illustrates two avenues for increasing painkiller efficacy. The first entails augmenting the medication's effects through more potent ingredients. The second avenue involves intensifying the placebo effect. This novel approach opens doors to bolstering the placebo effect. Although scientists continue to unravel the intricacies of the placebo effect, certain studies liken its potential to adding a shot of morphine alongside the medication's effect (Levine & Gordon, 1984). The beauty lies in the absence of side effects, as it capitalizes on our innate healing capacity (Colloca, Lopiano, Lanotte, & Benedetti 2004).
To maximize the placebo effect of your medication, we apply the biopsychosocial approach within our Contextual Healing program.
Social & Environment: This program redesigns your medication ritual by incorporating factors that activate the production of natural painkillers.
Psychological: Drawing from the open-hidden experiment, we manage expectations, cultivate productive emotions, and provide the right knowledge.
Biological: Our efforts focus on flooding your body with natural painkillers while minimizing the production of pain-promoting substances.
Join Us on This Journey
Congratulations! You're now poised to take the second step and harness your internal pharmacy to generate extra natural pain relief. Enroll in our pain medication coaching program, and start your healing journey!
As our exploration concludes, we express gratitude for your attention. If you found this information valuable, consider sharing it within your network. Together, let's disseminate our message and strive for a world with reduced pain.
Important Note: This blog is intended solely for educational purposes and does not offer personal medical advice.
Sources
Benedetti, F. (2014). Drugs and placebos: what’s the difference?.
Branthwaite, A., & Cooper, P. (1981). Analgesic effects of branding in treatment of headaches. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed), 282(6276), 1576-1578.
Colloca, L., Lopiano, L., Lanotte, M., & Benedetti, F. (2004). Overt versus covert treatment for pain, anxiety, and Parkinson's disease. The Lancet Neurology, 3(11), 679-684.
De Craen, A. J., Roos, P. J., De Vries, A. L., & Kleijnen, J. (1996). Effect of colour of drugs: systematic review of perceived effect of drugs and of their effectiveness. Bmj, 313(7072), 1624-1626.
Faasse, K., & Martin, L. R. (2018). The power of labeling in nocebo effects. International review of neurobiology, 139, 379-406.
Levine, J. D., Gordon, N. C., Smith, R., & Fields, H. L. (1981). Analgesic responses to morphine and placebo in individuals with postoperative pain. Pain, 10(3), 379-389
Levine, J. D., & Gordon, N. C. (1984). Influence of the method of drug administration on analgesic response. Nature, 312(5996), 755-75
Millard (2017). The Placebo Problem, Part 10: The Devil’s in the Details. Retrieved from: https://premier-research.com/perspectives-placebo-problem-part-10-devils-details/
Meissner, K., & Linde, K. (2018). Are blue pills better than green? How treatment features modulate placebo effects. International review of neurobiology, 139, 357-378.
Peciña, M., & Zubieta, J. K. (2013). Molecular mechanisms of placebo responses in humans. Placebo and Pain, 25-36.
Waber, R. L., Shiv, B., Carmon, Z., & Ariely, D. (2008). Commercial features of placebo and therapeutic. Jama, 299(9), 1016-1017.
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