Let’s be clear that placebo effects are REAL and potentially as beneficial as “active” treatments in both short and long-term.
Placebos are considered to be a conditioned response, where the brain has learnt to expect a certain response to a certain stimulus (intervention).
I frequently honestly tell my patients that “…th
e primary benefit of taping or exercise ABC is placebo”, and after they giggle a bit, I tell them, that, “…there are incredible number of research studies that show that placebos are effective at reducing pain, with zero side effects.”
So it is tricky, though I am being completely honest about placebos, I am also saying that they are potentially beneficial; I am still inducing expectations. Systematic reviews show that just verbal suggestions are very effective at inducing placebo effects.
And finally, this unique 2024 study concludes that giving people a CHOICE in their treatment INCREASES the potential benefits of placebo, even when it is an open label / honest placebo.
So I pretty much always ask my patients, “Which colour tape do you prefer? Which of these 2 or 3 exercises do you like more?”