It's Time to Fight Back Against Pain Relief Scams

I was just recently at the fair, walking through the vendor barn. What I saw really disturbed me. Five different places were claiming permanent pain relief. They all had different methods like magnetic bracelets, creams, drinks, copper clothing, and electric shock therapy that claimed to be better than a TENS unit. They all had one thing in common, the price. They were all very expensive, and used questionable methods.

It is really sad seeing these people trying to scam others by using fake pain relief, so I decided to go around and talk to the people using these booths. I told them I have a chronic pain disorder and they all jumped at the prospect of my permanent business. When I turned around and pretended to be looking at the items, I even heard two of these people say that I’m a hypochondriac. They figured that I was a hypochondriac, and that a placebo would trick me. I asked them about the medical proof, they all said a different random name of some study. I looked up these studies and came up empty. I really wish that these methods would actually work, but sadly they don’t.

Using something like pain to try and scam people is seriously messed up. It gives false hope to us with chronic pain, and can even hurt people who get relief at first because of the placebo affect. These scams can make chronic pain patients feel they are healed, and they might stop seeking treatment. Depending on the condition this could hospitalize someone.

So keep an eye out for these scams, don’t fall for their pseudoscience and sales pitch. Warn others about this so they don’t fall for it too. Help end these scams and bring light to them using the tag: #ChronicPainReliefScam

We cannot let this continue. It needs to end. If you work for one of these scam companies, please fight against this with us. Tell consumers the truth – this is really hurting people.

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Thinkstock Image By: KatarzynaBialasiewicz