Results for: acupuncture

A Cornucopia of Crislip

Mark Crislip has written three books. They are full of wisdom, science-based thinking, and hilarious humor. Highly recommended.

/ February 20, 2018

Inside Chiropractic: Yesteryear and Today

In the 123 years since its inception, the core beliefs of the chiropractic profession have not changed. Chiropractic continues to exist as a form of alternative medicine that embraces a variety of questionable procedures and treatment methods. The chiropractic profession in the United States is still defined by the vertebral subluxation theory that gave it birth and independence as an alternative to...

/ February 16, 2018

Cleveland Clinic genetic experts call out functional medicine on worthless genetic testing and supplement prescribing

Cleveland Clinic genetics experts call out functional medicine on worthless genetic testing and dietary supplement prescribing: "Poor science, leading to even worse medicine." Irony meters exploded everywhere.

/ February 15, 2018

Answering Our Critics – Again!

Critics of Science-Based Medicine keep making the same old tired arguments, despite the fact that their arguments have been repeatedly demolished. Here is a list of recurrent memes, with counterarguments.

/ February 13, 2018
Deepak Chopra

Quackademic medicine and the delusion of being “science-based”

Last week, I was interviewed by the a reporter from the Georgetown student newsletter about its integrative medicine program. It got me to thinking how delusion that one's work is science-based can lead to collaborations with New Age "quantum" mystics like Deepak Chopra.

/ February 12, 2018

Vision Therapy Quackery

Behavioral optometry claims to treat a wide range of disorders, including learning difficulty and attention problems. But these claims are not based on solid scientific ground, and are not supported by rigorous evidence.

/ January 31, 2018

The effort of integrative medicine advocates to co-opt the opioid crisis to claim non pharmacological treatments for pain as solely theirs continues apace

Last week, I wrote about how advocates for quackery were trying, and succeeding, at persuading state Medicaid agencies to pay for acupuncture for pain. This week, I discuss how they are promoting the integration of quackery with medicine. In this case, they are promoting a white paper and trying to influence the AHRQ.

/ January 29, 2018

Indian Doctors Fight Against Quackery

To address a doctor shortage, Indian health minister JP Nadda is proposing licensing practitioners of ayurveda and homeopathy. This would be a terrible mistake.

/ January 3, 2018

A Misguided Study to Test the Reliability of Traditional Chinese Medicine Pulse Diagnosis

Pulse diagnosis and tongue diagnosis are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. They are based on imagination, not on anatomical and physiologic reality.

/ December 26, 2017

Damn the evidence and regulations: VA goes full speed ahead with medical pseudoscience

The VA recently mandated inclusion of acupuncture, reiki, reflexology and other CAM in veterans medical benefits and will require that they be offered at VA medical facilities, ignoring the lack of evidence and federal rules on what medical benefits can be covered.

/ December 7, 2017