:Colorpuncture
{{short description|Pseudoscientific alternative medicine practice}}
{{Infobox alternative medicine
| name =Colorpuncture
| synonyms = Color light acupuncture
| image=
| claims = Applying colored light to meridian points on the body, derived from acupuncture, has beneficial health effects.
| topics = Acupressure, Acupuncture, Biophotonics, Iridology, Kirlian photography
| orig_year = 1970s
| orig_prop = Peter Mandel
| later_prop =
| see_also = Chromotherapy
}}
{{Alternative medicine sidebar|fringe}}
Colorpuncture, cromopuncture, or color light acupuncture, is a pseudoscientific alternative medicine practice based on "mystical or supernatural" beliefs which asserts that colored lights can be used to stimulate acupuncture points to promote healing and better health. It is a form of chromotherapy or color therapy.{{cite journal |pmid=10513100 |year=1999 |last1=Cocilovo |first1=A |title=Colored light therapy: Overview of its history, theory, recent developments and clinical applications combined with acupuncture |journal=American Journal of Acupuncture |volume=27 |issue=1–2 |pages=71–83 }} There is no known anatomical or histological basis for the existence of acupuncture points or meridians,{{cite book |last = Mann | first = F | author-link = Felix Mann |title=Reinventing acupuncture: a new concept of ancient medicine |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |location=Oxford |year=2000 |pages= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ErALnM5c8I4C&pg=PA14 14] |isbn=978-0-7506-4857-8 }} and there is no scientific support for the efficacy of colorpuncture.{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/S2005-2901(09)60031-5 |pmid=20633463 |title=Effect of Colorpuncture on Spontaneous Photon Emission in a Subject Suffering from Multiple Sclerosis |journal=Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=114–20 |year=2008 |last1=Bajpai |first1=RP |last2=Drexel |first2=M |doi-access=free }}
Background
Colorpuncture was developed in the 1980s by German naturopath and acupuncturist Peter Mandel, who named it esogetic colorpuncture. "Esogetic" is a term coined by Mandel to refer to the "merger of esoteric wisdom of life with the energetic principles of life's processes".{{cite web|url=http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=27983|title=Esogetic Colorpuncture: A Complete Aculight Therapy System for Body, Mind and Spirit|last=Croke|first=Manohar|date=June 2002|work=Acupuncture Today|access-date=2009-09-15}}
Mandel cited Fritz-Albert Popp, who claimed that the body's cells communicate with each other through a steady stream of photons. This is not a scientifically recognized method of cell communication. Using Kirlian photography, Mandel concluded that the acupuncture meridians absorb and disseminate colored light within the body.
Colorpuncture is based on the idea that illness and pain occur when an individual has strayed off his or her "life path". For example, a treatment might be intended to release an emotional blockage to heal a nervous system condition, allowing patients to devote themselves to their individual spiritual purpose.{{cite book|title=Light Years Ahead: The Illustrated Guide to Full Spectrum and Colored Light in Mindbody Healing|editor=Brian Breiling|publisher=Celestial Arts|date=May 1996|pages=[https://archive.org/details/lightyearsahead00bria/page/233 233–257]|article=Colorpuncture and Esogetic Healing: The Use of Colored Light in Acupuncture|author1=Akhila Dass|author2=Manohar Croke|name-list-style=amp|isbn=978-0-89087-762-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/lightyearsahead00bria/page/233}} Three of the six factors (called molecules) represent the subtle energies: the chakras, the formative field, and the converter model. The other three factors describe the physical reality: the body systems, the coordination system, and the transmitter relays.{{cite book|last=Dale|first=Cyndi|title=The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy|publisher=Sounds True, Boulder Colorado|year=2009|page=359|isbn=978-1-59179-671-8}}
Treatment
Colorpuncture employs seven basic colors. In general, the warm colors - red, orange, and yellow - are believed to add energy, while the cool colors - green, blue, and violet - decrease energy. Mandel also claims that warm and cool colors, when used together, balance yin and yang energy flows.{{cite book|last=Dale|first=Cyndi|title=The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy|publisher=Sounds True, Boulder Colorado|year=2009|pages=358–359|isbn=978-1-59179-671-8}}
A small handheld instrument resembling a torch (flashlight) with a colored quartz rod is used. The tip is placed directly onto acupoints or held a short distance above. Unlike acupuncture, the skin is not broken. Colorpuncture sessions last 10 to 90 minutes.{{cite news|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2005/09/18/2003272235|title=Working a colorful cure|last=Phipps|first=Gavin|date=2005-09-18|work=The Taipei Times|access-date=2009-09-15}} Colorpuncturists claim to diagnose through the use of Kirlian photography.{{cite web|url=http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/dictionary/mdc.html|title=Unnaturalistic Methods|last=Raso|first=Jack|year=1997|work=Dictionary of Metaphysical Healthcare|access-date=2009-09-15}}{{cite book|last=Carroll|first=Robert Todd|author-link = Robert Todd Carroll|title=The skeptic's dictionary: a collection of strange beliefs, amusing deceptions, and dangerous delusions|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|year=2003|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=6FPqDFx40vYC&pg=PA190 190]|isbn=978-0-471-27242-7}}
Reception
Jack Raso writing in the Skeptical Inquirer included colorpuncture in a list of "mystical or supernaturalistic" therapies.{{cite web|url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/mystical_medical_alternativism/|title=Mystical Medical Alternativism|last=Raso|first=Jack|date=September 1995|work=Skeptical Inquirer|publisher=The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry|page=36|access-date=2009-09-15|archive-date=2017-08-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825154246/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/mystical_medical_alternativism|url-status=dead}} Harriet Hall points out there is no supporting research for colorpuncture and explains how color can be used for diagnosis rather than treatment.{{cite web |last1=Hall |first1=Harriet |author-link = Harriet Hall|title=Colorpuncture |url=https://www.csicop.org/specialarticles/show/colorpuncture |website=Skeptical Inquirer |date=7 September 2018 |publisher=The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry |access-date=12 September 2018}}
A review of research studies conducted in Europe to evaluate the efficacy of colorpuncture concluded that the approach lacked a research base to be considered anything but a pilot or preliminary research stage.{{cite book|title=The abnormal menstrual cycle |editor1=Margaret Rees |editor2=Sally Hope |editor3=Veronica Ravnikar |publisher=Taylor and Francis|year=2005|pages=176|chapter=12, Alternative Medicines, by K.Reddy|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AFGq2OtnfAIC&pg=PA176|access-date=2009-09-15|isbn=978-1-84214-212-7}} Quackwatch lists it as a questionable treatment, and research on colorpuncture has failed to demonstrate a consistent effect.{{cite web | url = http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/treatmentindex.html | publisher = Quackwatch | title = Index of Questionable Treatments | date = 2010-01-15 | access-date = 2010-03-19 }}
The Spanish Government's health reference has ruled it a "pseudotherapy."{{Cite news|url=https://elpais.com/sociedad/2019/02/28/actualidad/1551356928_946157.html|title=Feng shui, cuencos tibetanos, iridología y otras 70 pseudoterapias|last=Benito|first=Emilio de|date=2019-03-01|work=El País|access-date=2019-07-19|language=es|issn=1134-6582}}