While treating a 65-year-old woman for knee osteoarthritis, doctors in South Korea discovered hundreds of pure gold threads inserted in her legs.

The unnamed patient had previously experienced severe pain and stiffness in her knees due to osteoarthritis and had been prescribed painkillers, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and even steroid injections directly into her knees, none of which proved effective enough to allow her to lead a normal, pain-free life. Not only did the pain not go away, but she developed negative side effects because of the drugs, including severe stomach pain, so she decided to give alternative medicine a chance, more specifically, a controversial procedure known as gold thread acupuncture.

Read More »

From actual snake oil to music therapy, over the years humanity has come up with all sort of bizarre treatments for chronic pain. One of the strangest ones you might have never heard of before is gold thread acupuncture, where tiny gold threads are implanted in the human body.

Gold thread acupuncture has long been used in Asian countries to treat various types of pain. The procedure is usually performed by a person with no medical training and involves the permanent implantation of tiny threads of gold in painful areas of the body, using acupuncture needles. Apparently, the insertion of these sterile pieces of gold is believed to result in continuous stimulation inside the body, and pain relief. There is no evidence that this alternative pain relief treatment actually works, but doctors have reported several complications related to the procedure.

Read More »