Placebo must be controlled at the group level in order to ensure results are not biased because of it. One group should be set aside and receive placebo treatment for their pain, while the other group should receive actual medication. With enough subjects, you can compare the outcomes from the placebo group to the outcomes from the non-placebo group, and if both results are similar you can conclude that any effect the actual treatment is having is likely just due to the placebo effect.

I find it fascinating how researchers try to keep the placebo effect from skewing the results. One of the main methods is blinding. In single-blind trials, participants don’t know if they’re getting the actual treatment or a placebo, and in double-blind trials, even the researchers are kept in the dark. This way, there’s less bias from both sides, which seems like a smart move. Randomizing the participants also ensures that the effects are spread out evenly. And honestly, relying on objective measures like biological tests rather than just asking people how they feel sounds like a good way to keep things real and limit how much people’s expectations influence the outcomes.