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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
 Posted - 07/29/2009 : 22:51:38
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Beware the Spinal Trap
Some practitioners claim it is a cure-all, but the research suggests chiropractic therapy has mixed results – and can even be lethal, says Simon Singh.
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On 29th July a number of magazines and websites are going to be publishing Simon Singh's Guardian article on chiropractic from April 2008, with the part the BCA sued him for removed.
They are reprinting it, following the lead of Wilson da Silva at COSMOS magazine, because they think the public should have access to the evidence and the arguments in it that were lost when the Guardian withdrew the article after the British Chiropractic Association sued for libel.
We want as many people as possible around the world to print it or put it live on the internet at the same time to make an interesting story and prove that threatening libel or bringing a libel case against a science writer won't necessarily shut down the debate. |
You might be surprised to know that the founder of chiropractic therapy, Daniel David Palmer, wrote that “99% of all diseases are caused by displaced vertebrae”. In the 1860s, Palmer began to develop his theory that the spine was involved in almost every illness because the spinal cord connects the brain to the rest of the body. Therefore any misalignment could cause a problem in distant parts of the body.
In fact, Palmer's first chiropractic intervention supposedly cured a man who had been profoundly deaf for 17 years. His second treatment was equally strange, because he claimed that he treated a patient with heart trouble by correcting a displaced vertebra.
You might think that modern chiropractors restrict themselves to treating back problems, but in fact some still possess quite wacky ideas. The fundamentalists argue that they can cure anything, including helping treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying – even though there is not a jot of evidence.
I can confidently label these assertions as utter nonsense because I have co-authored a book about alternative medicine with the world's first professor of complementary medicine, Edzard Ernst. He learned chiropractic techniques himself and used them as a doctor. This is when he began to see the need for some critical evaluation. Among other projects, he examined the evidence from 70 trials exploring the benefits of chiropractic therapy in conditions unrelated to the back. He found no evidence to suggest that chiropractors could treat any such conditions.
But what about chiropractic in the context of treating back problems? Manipulating the spine can cure some problems, but results are mixed. To be fair, conventional approaches, such as physiotherapy, also struggle to treat back problems with any consistency. Nevertheless, conventional therapy is still preferable because of the serious dangers associated with chiropractic.
In 2001, a systematic review of five studies revealed that roughly half of all chiropractic patients experience temporary adverse effects, such as pain, numbness, stiffness, dizziness and headaches. These are relatively minor effects, but the frequency is very high, and this has to be weighed against the limited benefit offered by chiropractors.
More worryingly, the hallmark technique of the chiropractor, known as high-velocity, low-amplitude thrust, carries much more significant risks. This involves pushing joints beyond their natural range of motion by applying a short, sharp force. Although this is a safe procedure for most patients, others can suffer dislocations and fractures.
Worse still, manipulation of the neck can damage the vertebral arteries, which
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Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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The Rat
SFN Regular
Canada
1370 Posts |
Posted - 07/30/2009 : 05:52:19 [Permalink]
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About a forty minute drive from me is the lovely little town of Port Perry, nestled on the shore of Lake Scugog. The town was the home of Daniel David Palmer, and there is a bust of him in Palmer Park on the lakeshore. One of these days I think I'll run a trip there for our local skeptics group, we'll get blotto at some of the many pubs in town, and then egg the statue.
There is an easy way to show how unscientific it is. Take a patient with a legitimate problem to a dozen different chiropractors. If it is a science and yields predictable results then each chiropractor should come up with the same diagnosis and treatment.
My prediction: they won't. |
Bailey's second law; There is no relationship between the three virtues of intelligence, education, and wisdom.
You fiend! Never have I encountered such corrupt and foul-minded perversity! Have you ever considered a career in the Church? - The Bishop of Bath and Wells, Blackadder II
Baculum's page: http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=3947338590 |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard
3192 Posts |
Posted - 07/30/2009 : 07:29:45 [Permalink]
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| Nope he had to remove the original and the redirect page was 'unavailable'(so far) |
"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History
"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 07/30/2009 : 08:43:12 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by BigPapaSmurf
Nope he had to remove the original and the redirect page was 'unavailable'(so far)
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There is a redirect now to the orignial Guardian article. But I haven't checked to see what the differences there are. |
Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
Why not question something for a change?
Genetic Literacy Project |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 07/30/2009 : 09:19:41 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by BigPapaSmurf
Nope he had to remove the original and the redirect page was 'unavailable'(so far) |
The changes were made after I'd posted.Originally posted by Kil
There is a redirect now to the orignial Guardian article. But I haven't checked to see what the differences there are. |
1) The edited version is missing the first three sentences and the first word of the fourth sentence.
2) In the third paragraph, the third sentence has been removed along with the first 11 words of the fourth sentence, then a comma and a segue word are added and the second and fourth sentences merged together into one. A comma has also been turned into a dash. And the fifth sentence of the original has been deleted.
3) The eighth word of the first sentence in the fourth paragraph has been changed into a two-word phrase.
If memory serves, that was the full extent of the changes. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Beware the Spinal Trap
