thats an excellent point harlan...it's good to know not only the current practice but the history of it's practice to give a full perspective before dismissing it.

Budoc, thanks for sharing. Anything involving fire seems inherently more dangerous than a swab of cotton....thats just me though.

You rang, Page?

*Joel walks in with bicycle tire pump sticking out of his ear.*

I almost forgot about Chiropractic.

lets start with the subjective and move to the objective.

Did you ever meet anyone, who as a child, wanted to be a Chiropractor? I haven't either.

The profession is filled with guys that couldn't get into Medical School so they tried Dental School. Then Vetinary School. And then (So they could still be addressed as "Doctor") they found that they could be Chiropractors.

Here is the rub. They apply the title of Doctor to the pseudo science of subluxation and the theory that proper alignment can alleveiate disease processes, and sell it(not cheaply) to the general public.

Chiropractic has no standard of care, no randomized prospectives, no treatment thresh-holds. The entire practice is gray and completely subjective.

I had a patient years ago who had some really bad hip and lower back pain. Went to four different chiropractors(recommendations from family and friend) received four complete work-ups, with all the associated bending and popping and four sets of x-rays. The guy also got three different diagnosis. When the pain became unbearable, after 7 or 8 successive chiropractic treatments he came to me. He had diverticulitis When he returned to his Chiropractor (with full relief) and told him he had been treated for diverticulitis, the quack told him that he could have treated him for that. Treated it?? HE DIDN'T EVEN FIND IT!!

Go to a chiropractor,or several with a specific set of problems. Odds are you will get multiple and varying treatment regimens. Without even an accurate diagnosis, you are going to be treated daily/weekly/monthly for the rest of your life!! You break your arm and walk into my ER or any other ER. We know your arm is gonna heal in 8 weeks, barring any co-morbidity.

Many Chiropractors I know advise not immunizing children. I thought these were isolated incidences of malpractice until it happened to a family member of mine and some others that I knew personally. I then realized how wide spread it is.

The theory is that subluxation and manipulation improve the immunity and children do not need to be immunized.

Are there any parents here, anyone, with infants or small children, that would forgo immunization for subluxation/manipulation Didn't think so!

The list goes on and on.

You would do better to have a good family doctor, a physical therapist that can help with occasional mobility issues and a good massage therapist.

Page

Well you are supposed to let a professional do it, not someone like Kintama!

I have to agree with Page on this one. No standardization, no double blind testing to show empirical evidence for efficacy of treatment.

Theory without evidence is just that. But people buy many things on faith. Perhaps in certain cases there is something to a part of Chiopractic, but I sure would like some independent, disinterested, repeatable studies done.

I had gone to one Chiropractor once and he had some vague BS literature describing how his treatment could help with allergies. Now, if there was some way cracking a joint can help me with a hystamine reaction, please explain this in real terms.

-B

It's a fact that Chiropractors are not MD's, nor are they licenced as such. However, they refer to themselves with a 'Dr.' title so it kindof 'innocently' or passively fools people. not sure what the legal loopholes are there. Then again, 'doctor' just means someone has obtained a doctorate...it says nothing about their profession.
2 yrs undergrad. college = Associate
2 yrs undergrad college = Baccalaureate
2 yrs grad college = Master
2+ yrs post grad = Doctor

'doctor' in latin just means 'teacher'....it's not suppossed to mean 'entitled to give medical advice', but many think of that title as meaning just that.

p.s. side note: haven't read this yet, but since it's on topic I'll mention it here...
"Junk Science Judo : Self-Defense against Health Scares and Scams"
by Steven J. Milloy

My sister came down when I was sick with her homeopathy kit. She stuffed me full of different little concoctions!! It tastes terrible and didn't do a darn thing. She also loaded me down with mangosteen and nani juice,also tastes awful and doesn't do anything.It's ashame people have duped her into believing in that garbage. Maybe it didn't work because my house wasn't feng shuei!!

still, it probably felt good to know she cares...got to be worth some placebo effect.
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tidbit:
36% of U.S. adults Use Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
http://nccam.nih.gov/news/2004/052704.htm