Tag: chiropractic

The DC as PCP? Revisited

There is a disturbing effort afoot to rebrand chiropractors as primary care physicians, a subject both Harriet Hall and I have discussed in previous posts. Part of this effort includes convincing state legislatures to grant prescription privileges to chiropractors, an effort that succeeded in New Mexico, as reported in a post a couple of years ago. Let’s return to New Mexico and...

/ September 6, 2012

Chiropractic Strokes Again: An Update

It's depressing that we have to keep revisiting the topic of stroke after chiropractic neck manipulation.

/ August 14, 2012

NCCAM manipulates spinal manipulation

“Complementary and alternative medicine,” as pediatrician and fellow blogger John Snyder aptly stated in a recent journal article on CAM and children, is a term used to describe a disparate, poorly defined set of practices and treatment modalities presumed to be distinct from so-called ‘conventional medicine’. As we have discussed here at Science-Based Medicine, this amorphous concept facilitates a convenient fluidity in delineating...

/ July 26, 2012

Dept. of Education to Council on Chiropractic Education: “Straighten Up!”

Our last look at the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), about 18 months ago, found the CCE deeply embroiled in a heated dispute among various chiropractic factions over new accreditation standards for chiropractic colleges. Today we offer an update on that situation. Update: the CCE is deeply embroiled in a heated dispute among various chiropractic factions over new accreditation standards for chiropractic...

/ June 28, 2012

Legislative Alchemy: 2012.5

Legislative alchemy, as faithful SBM readers know, is the process by which state legislatures and Congress take scientifically implausible and unproven treatments and diagnostic methods and turn them into licensed health care practices and legally sold products. Previous posts have explored this phenomenon in naturopathy, chiropractic and acupuncture. Our last report on the legislative efforts of CAM providers appeared almost six months ago,...

/ June 14, 2012

Chiropractors as Family Doctors? No Way!

A recent three-part article published in ACA News advocates turning chiropractors into “conservative primary care providers” who would be the initial point of contact for patients, would serve as gatekeepers for referrals to medical doctors and specialists, and would co-manage patients with those specialists on a continuing basis: essentially, family doctors.  I think that’s a terrible idea. It might benefit chiropractors by...

/ April 24, 2012

Legislative Alchemy: The New Year

A new year brings new opportunities for practicing the magic of legislative alchemy, the process by which state legislatures transform implausible and unproven diagnostic methods and treatments into perfectly legal health care practices, such as naturopathy, chiropractic and acupuncture. Different states have different legislative calendars, but many begin a new session soon after the first of the year. This gives “complementary and...

/ January 12, 2012

Subluxation Theory: A Belief System That Continues to Define the Practice of Chiropractic

Chiropractic as a profession is defined by the subluxation theory, the unfalsifiable belief that disease is caused by impaired nerve flow. No proof exists for this theory, and likely never will.

/ December 30, 2011

Defining what a “physician” is

It takes more than a stethoscope and a white coat to be a physician. A generous dose of reality and a lot of training are also required.

/ November 14, 2011

Legislative Alchemy II: Chiropractic

As we learned in Legislative Alchemy I: Naturopathy, legislative alchemy is the process used by state legislatures to transform implausible and unproven diagnostic methods and treatments into legal health care practices. Today, we review how chiropractors are faring in the 2011 state legislative sessions. Chiropractic 101 In 1895, a self-described “magnetic healer,” Daniel David Palmer, claimed to have discovered that every person...

/ September 22, 2011