chiropractic
We have repeatedly discussed on this blog the fact that many alternative practitioners are advising their patients against vaccinations, e. g.:
- Governments take action to prevent vaccination-rates from falling
- Use of alternative medicine is associated with low vaccination rates
- Integrative medicine physicians tend to harbour anti-vaccination views
- Vaccination: chiropractors “espouse views which aren’t evidence based”
- Faith-healing as an alternative to vaccination?
- Recommending homeoprophylaxis is unethical, irresponsible and possibly even criminal
- Chiropractors are undermining public health
- CAM use is risk factor for the failure to immunise children
- Let’s be blunt: homeopathy is bogus – but homeoprophylaxis is worse, much worse!
- Are mothers being taught by homeopaths to become anti-vaxers?
- Some naturopaths are clearly a danger to public health
There is little doubt that this phenomenon contributes to low immunisation rates. This, in turn, is a contributing factor to outbreaks of measles and other infectious diseases. The website of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has recently published data on measles outbreaks in Europe:
Bulgaria: There is an increase by three cases since 21 July 2017. Since the beginning of 2017 and as of 16 July, Bulgaria reported 166 cases. During the same time period in 2016 Bulgaria reported one case.
France: On 27 July 2017 media quoting the French Minister of Health reported the death of a 16-year-old unvaccinated girl. She had fallen sick in Nice and died on 27 June 2017 in Marseille.
Germany: There is an increase by four cases since the last report on 21 July 2017. Since the beginning of 2017 and as of 26 July, Germany reported 801 cases. During the same time period in 2016 Germany reported 187 cases.
Italy: There is an increase by 170 cases since 21 July 2017. Since the beginning of 2017 and as of 25 July, Italy reported 3 842 cases, including three deaths. Among the cases, 271 are healthcare workers. The median age is 27 years, 89% of the cases were not vaccinated and 6% received only one dose of vaccine.
Romania: There is an increase by 229 cases, including one additional death, since 21 July 2017. Since 1 January 2016 and as of 21 July 2017, Romania reported 8 246 cases, including 32 deaths. Cases are either laboratory-confirmed or have an epidemiological link to a laboratory-confirmed case. Infants and young children are the most affected groups. Timis, in the western part of the country closest to the border with Serbia, is the most affected district with 1 215 cases. Vaccination activities are ongoing in order to cover communities with suboptimal vaccination coverage.
Spain: There is an increase by seven cases since 14 July 2017. Since the beginning of 2017 and as of 25 July, Spain reported 145 measles cases.
United Kingdom: Public Health Wales reported two additional cases related to the outbreak in Newport and Torfaen, bringing the total to ten cases related to this outbreak. In England and Wales there is an increase by 76 cases since 21 July 2017. Since the beginning of 2017 and as of 23 July 2017, England and Wales reported 922 cases. In the same time period in 2016, they reported 946 cases.
In addition to the updates listed above ECDC produces a monthly measles and rubella monitoring report with surveillance data provided by the member states through TESSy. The last report was published on 11 July 2017 with data up to 31 May 2017.
Measles outbreaks continue to occur in EU/EEA countries. There is a risk of spread and sustained transmission in areas with susceptible populations. The national vaccination coverage remains less than 95% for the second dose of MMR in the majority of EU/EEA countries. The progress towards elimination of measles in the WHO European Region is assessed by the European Regional Verification Commission for Measles and Rubella Elimination (RVC). Member States of the WHO European Region are making steady progress towards the elimination of measles. At the fifth meeting of the RVC for Measles and Rubella in October 2016, of 53 countries in the WHO European Region, 24 (15 of which are in the EU/EEA) were declared to have reached the elimination goal for measles, and 13 countries (nine in the EU/EEA) were deemed to have interrupted endemic transmission for between 12 and 36 months, meaning they are on their way to achieving the elimination goal. However, six EU/EEA countries were judged to still have endemic transmission: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Romania. More information on strain sequences would allow further insight into the epidemiological investigation.
All EU/EEA countries report measles cases on a monthly basis to ECDC and these data are published every month. Since 10 March 2017, ECDC has been reporting measles outbreaks in Europe on a weekly basis and monitoring worldwide outbreaks on a monthly basis through epidemic intelligence activities. ECDC published a rapid risk assessment on 6 March.
END OF QUOTE
Personally, I believe that it is high time to stop the rhetoric and actions of the anti-vaccination movements. This includes educating alternative practitioners and their patients. If necessary, we need regulation that prohibits their dangerous and unethical activities.
On this blog, we have often discussed the risks of spinal manipulation. As I see it, the information we have at present suggests that
- mild to moderate adverse effects are extremely frequent and occur in about half of all patients;
- serious adverse effects are being reported regularly;
- the occur usually with chiropractic manipulations of the neck (which are not of proven efficacy for any condition) and often relate to vascular accidents;
- the consequences can be permanent neurological deficits and even deaths;
- under-reporting of such cases might be considerable and therefore precise incidence figures are not available;
- there is no system to accurately monitor the risks;
- chiropractors are in denial of these problems.
Considering the seriousness of these issues, it is important to do more rigorous research. Therefore, any new paper published on this subject is welcome. A recent article might shed new light on the topic.
The objective of this systematic review was to identify characteristics of 1) patients, 2) practitioners, 3) treatment process and 4) adverse events (AE) occurring after cervical spinal manipulation (CSM) or cervical mobilization. A systematic searches were performed in 6 electronic databases up to December 2014. Of the initial 1043 articles thus located, 144 were included, containing 227 cases. 117 cases described male patients with a mean age of 45 and a mean age of 39 for females. Most patients were treated by chiropractors (66%). Manipulation was reported in 95% of the cases, and neck pain was the most frequent indication for the treatment. Cervical arterial dissection (CAD) was reported in 57% of the cases and 45.8% had immediate onset symptoms. The overall distribution of gender for CAD was 55% for female. Patient characteristics were described poorly. No clear patient profile, related to the risk of AE after CSM, could be extracted, except that women seemed more at risk for CAD. The authors of this review concluded that there seems to be under-reporting of cases. Further research should focus on a more uniform and complete registration of AE using standardized terminology.
This article provides little new information; but it does confirm what I have been saying since many years: NECK MANIPULATIONS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SERIOUS RISKS AND SHOULD THEREFORE BE AVOIDED.
Chiropractic may not be effective (as discussed often here); it also is not nearly as safe as chiropractors claim (as discussed often here), but it is excellent for making me – and I hope many others too – laugh heartily. If you doubt it, please read this article:
START OF QUOTE
… “People come in with back pain, but after adjustments, they come back and tell me their sex life is so much better,” says [the chiropractor] Jason Helfrich… “It’s no surprise to us—it’s amazing what the body will do when you take away the pressure on the nervous system.”
… Every function in your body is controlled from the nervous system, but when vertebra are off position—known as a subluxation—the nerves traveling between your brain and your muscles can become blocked, compromising your body’s ability to function as it needs to. Every chiropractor’s goal is to remove these subluxations, since they can both cause pain and impede feeling, Helfrich says. But these fixes help more than just back pain. The lumbar region (your lower back) is a huge hub for the nerves that extend into your reproductive regions. Removing lumbar subluxations can improve nerve flow to your sexual organs, increasing things like blood flow to your clitoris or, for your husband, the penis.
The flow of nerve signals is a two-way street, though, meaning that adjustments also allow your organs to send messages to the brain more easily. This means that you not only do you become physically aroused faster, but your brain also registers that ready-for-action, heightened sense of pleasure more quickly, so you move past the mental obstacles that may be keeping you from orgasming, Helfrich explains… “Libido and fertility require a delicate balance of estrogen, progesterone, and other hormones, many of which are released in the upper cervical and neck area,” he explains. If there are any blockages right out of the brain, the impingement up there will have an effect all the way down… “We want to improve people’s health, and health is about living life as its intended. Having a great sex life is huge part of that,” Helfrich adds. No arguments here!
No arguments here???
Perhaps because anyone with an iota of understanding of human physiology is quite simply speechless after reading such baloney!
Or perhaps any critical thinker would be laughing so much that an argument cannot be formulated!
‘Alternative truth’ is a term that I used first in 2013 . Since then I had to employ it with increasing frequency. Disturbingly, since then similar terms, such as ‘alternative facts’, ‘alternative science’ etc., have become ‘en vogue’. In an NEJM-editorial on the subject, Alta Caro from the University of Wisconsin Law School, Madison, US recently concluded: Reasonable people may disagree about how to interpret data, but they do not ignore scientific method by giving credence to flawed, fraudulent, or misrepresented studies … Whether in the debates regarding climate change, evolutionary theory, or human reproduction, alternative facts are just fiction, and alternative science is just bad policy.
I am tempted to add AND ALTERNATIVE TRUTHS ARE JUST LIES!!!
On this blog, we are confronted with so many lies that it would be only normal, if we gradually got used to them.
- I think we must resist this temptation.
- I think we should expose those who tell untruths again and again.
- I think it is our moral and ethical duty.
- I think the truth is far too precious to allow it to be eroded by anyone.
Because I feel strongly about this issue, I would like to use this post to give two of my former colleagues the opportunity to correct the untruths they have published about me and my actions.
The 1st is Prof Harald Walach;
as I pointed out in a previous post, he stated the following untruth (his remarks were in German, and this is my translation):
“My friend and colleague George Lewith from Southampton gave a keynote lecture on his review of chiropractic interventions for infant colic. This was prompted by the claim, made by Singh and Ernst a few years ago, that chiropractic was dangerous, that no data existed showing its effectiveness, and that it had dangerous side-effects, particularly for children. The chiropractors had sued the science journalist Singh for libel and won the case. George Lewith had provided the expert report for the court and has now extended his analysis on children.
To put it briefly: the intervention is even very effective; the effect-size is about one standard deviation. The children cry less long and more rarely. And the search of the literature for dangerous side-effects resulted in no – literally: not one – case of side-effects, not to mention dangerous ones. The fuzz had started back then because an unqualified person had walked over the back of a thin woman and had thus broken her neck. The press had subsequently hyped the whole thing to a “deadly side-effect of a chiropractic intervention”.
The 2nd is Dr Peter Fisher;
as I pointed out in another post, he too published an untruth about me:
In this article which he published as Dr. Peter Fisher, Homeopath to Her Majesty, the Queen, he wrote: “There is a serious threat to the future of the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital (RLHH), and we need your help…Lurking behind all this is an orchestrated campaign, including the ’13 doctors letter’, the front page lead in The Times of 23 May 2006, Ernst’s leak of the Smallwood report (also front page lead in The Times, August 2005), and the deeply flawed, but much publicised Lancet meta-analysis of Shang et al…”
And why bring this up again?
For the reasons mentioned above.
And for giving Walach and Fisher the opportunity to correct their errors. If they don’t, their untruths will be henceforth called lies.
Systematic reviews are aimed at summarising and critically evaluating the evidence on a specific research question. They are the highest level of evidence and are more reliable than anything else we have. Therefore, they represent a most useful tool for both clinicians and researchers.
But there are, of course, exceptions. Take, for instance, this recent systematic review by researchers from the
- Texas Chiropractic College, Pasadena, the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research, Palmer College of Chiropractic, Davenport,
- Department of Planning, Policy and Design, University of California, Irvine,
- VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Tacoma,
- New York Chiropractic College, Seneca Falls,
- Logan University College of Chiropractic, Chesterfield,
- University of Western States, Portland.
Since more than 20 years, I have been writing about the risks of alternative therapies. One of my first papers on this issue was published in 1995 and focussed on acupuncture. Here is its abstract:
My reason for banging on about the potential harms (direct and indirect risks) of alternative medicine is fairly obvious: I want to alert healthcare professionals and consumers to the fact that these treatments may not be as harmless as they are usually advertised to be. Yet, I have often be called an alarmist fear-monger. In my view, nothing could be further from the truth.
Thinking about fear-mongering, I began to ask myself whether those who regularly accuse me are the ones guilty of the deed. Are alternative practitioners fear-mongers? Surely not all of them, but some clearly are. Here are a few of the strategies they use for their fear-mongering.
NON-EXISTING DIAGNOSES
Perhaps the most obvious way to instil fear into people is to tell them that they are affected by a disease or condition they do not have. Many alternative practitioners do exactly that!
- A chiropractor might tell you that you have a subluxation in your spine.
- A naturopath would inform you that your body is full of toxins.
- An acupuncturist will tell you that your life energy is blocked.
- A homeopath might warn you that your vital force is too low.
These diagnoses have one thing in common: they do not exist. They are figments of the therapist’s imagination. And they have another thing in common: the abnormalities need to be corrected, and – surprise, surprise – the very therapy that the practitioner specialises in happens to be just the ticket for that purpose.
- The chiropractor will tell you that a simple spinal adjustment will solve the problem.
- The naturopath will inform you that a bit of detox will eliminate the toxins.
- The acupuncturist will tell you that his needles will de-block your chi.
- The homeopath will persuade you that he can find the exact remedy to revive your vital force.
And there we have the third thing these diagnoses have in common: they are all treatable, will all result in a nice bill, and will all improve the cash-flow of the therapist.
MEDICALIZING TRIVIALITIES
But often, it is not even necessary for an alternative therapist to completely invent a diagnosis. Patients usually consult an alternative practitioner with some sort of symptom – frequently with what one might call a medical triviality that does not need any treatment at all but can be dealt with differently, for instance, by issuing some life-style advice or just simple re-assurance that nothing major is amiss. But for the fear-monger, this is not enough. He feels the need to administer his therapy, and for that purpose he needs to medicalize trivialities :
- A low mood thus becomes a clinical depression.
- A sore back is turned into a nasty lumbago.
- A tummy upset morphs into a dangerous gastritis.
- Abdominal unrest is diagnosed to be a leaky gut syndrome.
- A food aversion turns into a food intolerance, etc., etc.
The common denominator is again the fact that fear is instilled into the patient. And again, a useless therapy is administered, if at all possible in the form of a lengthy series of treatments. This, of course, generates significant benefit – not therapeutic, but financial!
DEMONIZING CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE
But there is always the risk that the patient is wiser than expected. She might be so scared learning of her condition that she decides to see her doctor. That would mean a loss of income which has to be avoided! The trick to achieve this is usually not difficult: conventional healthcare professionals must be demonized.
- They are not treating the root cause of the problem.
- They are in the pocket of BIG PHARMA.
- They prescribe medicines with terrible side-effects.
- They have no idea about holism.
- They never have enough time to listen, etc., etc.
I know, some of these criticisms are not entirely incorrect (for instance, many conventional medicines do have serious side-effects but, as I try to point out ad nauseam, we need to consider their risk/benefit balance). But that is hardly the point here; the point is to scare the patient off conventional medicine. Only a person who is convinced that the ‘medical mafia’ is out to get her, will prove to be a loyal customer of all things alternative.
DISEASE PREVENTION
And a loyal customer is someone who comes not just once or twice but regularly, ideally from cradle to grave. The way to achieve this ultimate stimulus of the practitioners cash flow is to convince the patient that she needs regular treatments, even when she feels perfectly alright. The magic word here is PREVENTION! The masters here are the chiropractors, I guess; they promote what they call ‘maintenance care’, i.e. the regular treatment of healthy individuals to keep their spines subluxation-free. It goes without saying that maintenance care is a money-making scam.
The strategy requires two little lies, but that’s forgivable considering the good cause, boosting the income of the practitioner:
- Conventional doctors don’t do prevention.
- The alternative treatment is an effective preventative.
The first statement can be shown to be an obvious lie. All we know about effective disease prevention today comes from conventional medicine and science; nothing originates from the realm of alternative medicine. Remarkably, the most efficacious preventative measure of all times, immunisation, is frequently defamed and neglected by alternative practitioners.
The second statement is a necessary lie; how else would a patient agree to pay regularly for the practitioner’s services? I am not aware of any alternative therapy that can effectively prevent any disease.
CONCLUSIONS
- Some alternative practitioners regularly instil fear into consumers.
- Several strategies are being used for this purpose.
- They have the aim of maximising the therapists’ income.
- Fear-mongering is unethical and despicable.
- Pointing out that a certain therapy might fail to generate more good than harm is not fear-mongering.
Today is ‘World Bedwetting Day’!
No, don’t laugh; the event is initiated and supported by the World Bedwetting Day Steering Committee, which consists of the International Children’s Continence Society (ICCS) and the European Society for Paediatric Urology (ESPU) along with professional groups across the globe (see website for details).
A good day to remember that the British Chiropractic Association once sued my friend Simon Singh because he had disclosed that they were happily claiming that chiropractic was an effective therapy for bedwetting (and a few other childhood problems). An equally good day to remind ourselves that most alternative therapies are highly effective for this condition. At least this is what practitioners will tell you. For instance:
- homeopaths say that they can effectively treat bedwetting (~35 000 websites)
- chiropractors claim they can help (~84 000 websites)
- naturopaths insist they can treat it (~ 12 000 websites)
- Reiki is promoted for bedwetting (~ 12 000 websites)
- herbal medicine is said to be good for it ( (~37 000 websites)
- etc., etc.
“Stop, stop! This blog is about evidence!!!” I hear you shout impatiently.
Alright, here is a full and unabbreviated list of all alternative therapies that have been scientifically proven to work for bedwetting:
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HAPPY BEDWETTING DAY EVERYBODY!
The Rubicon Group (TRG) is a collaboration of chiropractic educational institutions, emerging educational efforts and interested parties. The seven institutional members include Barcelona College of Chiropractic (Barcelona, Spain); the Chiropraktik Akademie (Dresden, Germany); Life Chiropractic College West (San Francisco, California, USA); Life University (Atlanta, Georgia, USA); McTimoney College of Chiropractic (Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK); New Zealand College of Chiropractic (Auckland, New Zealand); and Sherman College of Chiropractic (Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA).
TRG has issued the following statement:
Definition and Position Statement on the Chiropractic Subluxation
The term ‘subluxation’ has been used by the chiropractic profession for over a century.1, 2 It is an important element of chiropractic practice, embedded in legislation and regulation, and its clinical implications have been, and continue to be, scientifically explored.2, 3
The term subluxation, as used by chiropractors, is a researchable concept that is important to health and health care delivery.1, 2, 4 The need to properly define this entity has been widely recognized as a high priority within the profession, as evidenced by the number of groups and organizations who have offered definitions of subluxation.1, 2, 5-10
Many of the past definitions do not provide a testable definition of chiropractic subluxation.11
Some do not reflect the current research that supports a neurologically-centered model of subluxation. 2 The Rubicon Group (TRG) has utilized the current available scientific evidence to define the chiropractic subluxation. Contemporary neurophysiological language and concepts, based on current scientific publications on the topic, have been used. As this definition is subject to ongoing scientific exploration that is likely to lead to new findings and understandings, modifications may be anticipated. However, this definition reflects what is currently known, and it is congruent with current neurophysiological scientific understanding.
“We currently define a chiropractic subluxation as a self-perpetuating, central segmental motor control problem that involves a joint, such as a vertebral motion segment, that is not moving appropriately, resulting in ongoing maladaptive neural plastic changes that interfere with the central nervous system’s ability to self-regulate, self-organize, adapt, repair and heal.”
(The Rubicon Group, May 2017.)
There are three key elements, namely:
A chiropractic subluxation often relates to the spine and its connecting structures. 1 Chiropractic subluxation assessment generally involves evaluating the pathophysiological consequences of the central segmental motor control problem; 4, 12 these may include pain, asymmetry, biomechanical or postural changes (such as changes in relative range of intervertebral motion), changes in tissue temperature, texture and/or tone, and other findings that can be identified using special tests. 12 Once identified, subluxations are corrected using a variety of techniques including high velocity low amplitude chiropractic adjustments, instrument assisted adjustments, and lower force manual techniques and approaches.13
A growing body of scientific evidence has demonstrated that spinal function impacts central neural function in multiple ways,3, 4, 14-19 and that improving spinal function has an impact on clinical outcomes.20-24 Scientists have known for several decades that neurons continuously adapt in structure and function in response to our ever-changing environment.25-27 This ability to adapt is known as ‘neural plasticity’,27 and it is now well understood that the central nervous system can reorganize in response to altered input.28-35 Examples of increased sensory input that can lead to neural plastic changes include repetitive muscular activity 29, 36-41, such as typing or playing the piano, or repeated tactile sensory input such as occurs with blind Braille readers.42 Similar central nervous system change or reorganization may take place due to a decrease in behavior or activity.+ 32, 43-49 Thus the concept, that alterations in paraspinal muscle function due to abnormal spinal movement patterns are capable of changing central neural function, is totally congruent with current neuroscience understanding, as well as current scientific findings.3, 4, 14-19
[references can be found in the original]
MY COMMENT:
Subluxation is not so much a ‘self-perpetuating motor control problem’ as a self-perpetuating money-maker for chiropractors, it seems to me. The history of the use of this term shows that chiropractors have changed its meaning each time they were unable to deny its nonsensicality. To throw subluxation over board is not an option because chiropractic is at its hear a subluxation cult.
Yet, we have repeatedly been told that chiropractors have all but given up the concept of ‘subluxation’. This is clearly not the case. The above statement of TRG speaks for itself, and so does a recent study showing that “the majority of [North American chiropractic] students would like to see an emphasis on correction of vertebral subluxation”. It is the correction of the non-existent subluxation that stimulates the cash flow of chiropractors, a fact known even to the novices of the cult.
The new definition, it seems to me, is little more than self-serving nonsense. Wikipedia – I know, it’s not always the most reliable source, but in this case it is miles better that TRG – has this to say about subluxation: “In chiropractic, vertebral subluxation is a supposed misalignment of the spinal column leading to a set of signs and symptoms sometimes termed vertebral subluxation complex. It has no biomedical basis and is categorized as pseudoscientific by leading authorities. Traditionally, the “specific focus of chiropractic practice” is the chiropractic subluxation and historical chiropractic practice assumes that a vertebral subluxation or spinal joint dysfunction interferes with the body’s function and its innate intelligence, as promulgated by D. D. Palmer, the inventor of chiropractic.”
Wikipedia furthermore mentions that “in 2015, 8 internationally accredited chiropractic colleges: AECC, WIOC, IFEC-Paris, IFEC-Toulouse, USD-Odense, UZ-Zurich, UJ-Johannesburg and Durban University of Technology made an open statement which included: “The teaching of the vertebral subluxation complex as a vitalistic construct that claims that it is the cause of disease is unsupported by evidence. Its inclusion in a modern chiropractic curriculum in anything other than an historic context is therefore inappropriate and unnecessary”.”
Subluxation currently divides the chiropractic profession as we have seen here, for instance. But it is certainly not a concept that most chiropractors have been wise enough to declare obsolete.
I am sure you always wanted to know what animal chiropractic is all about!
This website explains it quite well:
START OF QUOTES
…Animal chiropractic (veterinary spinal manipulative therapy) focuses on the preservation and health/wellness of the neuro-musculo-skeletal system. Chiropractic is the science that is centered around the relationship between the spine and the nervous system. The spine is your body’s foundation and the nervous system, including your brain, spinal cord and nerves, controls your entire body. They must work together harmoniously to improve one’s general health and their ability heal. If the systems are not functioning to their highest potential you may experience changes in digestion, heart and lung function, reproduction and most evidently musculature. When adjacent joints are in an abnormal position, called a subluxation, the nervous system and all that it controls will be negatively impacted. If these subluxations are not corrected, they can result in prolonged inappropriate stimulation of nerves. This could result in reduced function internally, musculo-skeletal dysfunction and pain.
Spinal manipulation is the art of restoring full and pain free range of motion to joints and can greatly benefit an animal after they have experienced subluxations. The veterinarian will use their hands to palpate joints both statically and in motion. By doing this, they can determine where the animal is experiencing decreased motion or misaligned joints. Once identified, an adjustment can be performed. An adjustment or spinal manipulation is a gentle, specific, quick and low force thrust that will be applied at an angle specific to the different areas of motion in the spine and extremities. Only a certified animal chiropractor will understand the complexity involved in adjustments and can best assess if an animal can benefit from chiropractic care.
Many animals can benefit from this alternative therapy. If you notice that your animal has a particularly sensitive spot somewhere on their body, is walking or trotting differently and or not performing to the same ability they have previously, they may be a candidate for a chiropractic assessment. However, an animal does not need to be sick or injured to benefit from chiropractic care. Animals in good health or ones used for sporting activities are also prime candidates for chiropractic care. By maintaining your pet’s proper spinal alignment and mobility they will attain optimal function of muscles, nerves and tissues that support the joints. When the body can move freely your pet will experience improved mobility, stance and flexibility, which can evolve into improved agility, endurance and overall performance. Finally, many people have never considered that chiropractic care can also benefit their animal by boosting their immune response. It can aid in providing a healthier metabolism and a vibrant nervous system which all facilitate your animal’s natural ability to heal themselves from within. Chiropractic care can enhance the quality of your pet’s life ensuring many active and healthy years to come.
…during veterinary school I began the process of researching how to become an animal chiropractor or veterinary spinal manipulative therapist. As I researched further, I noticed that this specialized profession has grown. It became apparent that one should be certified by either the College of Animal Chiropractors or American Veterinary Chiropractic Association to practice on animals… It was surprising to find out that there are only four programs in the USA and Canada that are approved by both organizations. The courses consisted of over 200 hours of intensive study and hands on learning followed by certification testing…
END OF QUOTE
Yes, I did shorten the quote a bit but, rest assured, I did not cut out a single word about the efficacy of animal chiropractic. Even if I had wanted to, I couldn’t: there is no mention of it in the article.
I wonder why!
Looking into Medline, I found several reports related to the subject:
- One study suggested an association between chiropractic findings in the lumbar vertebrae and urinary incontinence and retention in dogs.
- A case report highlighted the potential benefits of combining traditional medical management with chiropractic treatment and physical therapy techniques for management of severe acute-onset torticollis in a giraffe.
- A review explained that there is limited evidence supporting the effectiveness of spinal mobilization and manipulation in animals.
- An observational study suggested that chiropractic manipulations elicit slight but significant changes in thoracolumbar and pelvic kinematics.
- A comparative study measured the spinal mechanical nociceptive thresholds in 38 horses, and showed that they increased by 27, 12 and 8% in the chiropractic, massage and phenylbutazone groups, respectively.
… and that was basically it. Not a single study to suggest that chiropractic is effective for specific conditions of animals.
Frustrated, I went on the site of the ‘College of Animal Chiropractic’; surely there I would find the evidence I was looking for. They offer lots of platitudes and this largely nonsensical statement:
“When a joint become restricted in its range of motion(hypomobile or ‘locked-up’), through trauma, repetitive injury, degenerative changes, or structural stresses, the surrounding tissues are affected. This, in turn, further affects the joints ability to move freely and sensitive structures are activated causing the area to be sensitive or painful. Nerves are the communication links between all tissues in the body to the brain and spinal cord; when joint dysfunction is present, messages to other areas are also affected, which can lead to pain, weakness, reduced function, and compensatory changes. Animal chiropractic focuses on the restoration of movement and the promotion of heath by restoring normal joint mechanics and soft-tissue function, thus, normalizing neurological patterns that facilitate healing . The main tool an animal chiropractor uses to restore joint motion is called an “adjustment”, or veterinary spinal manipulation. This gentle, specialized, manual skill, involves the application of a quick, low-force maneuver that is directed to a specific area of a joint at a specific angle. A certified animal chiropractor understands these joint angles intimately and can best asses if an animal can benefit from chiropractic care, and, is the only professional who is qualified to adjust your pet.”
But no evidence!
By now I was desperate. My last hope was the ‘American Veterinary Chiropractic Association’. All I found there, however, was this: the “American Veterinary Chiropractic Association (AVCA) is a professional membership group promoting animal chiropractic to professionals and the public, and acting as the certifying agency for doctors who have undergone post-graduate animal chiropractic training.”
Not a jot of evidence!
The assumption that animal chiropractic is effective seems to rely on the evidence from human studies…
… and we all know how solid that body of evidence is!
My conclusion from all this: chiropractors treating animals and those treating humans have one important characteristic in common.
THEY HAPPILY PROMOTE BOGUS TREATMENTS.
How often have I pointed out that most studies of chiropractic (and other alternative therapies) are overtly unethical because they fail to report adverse events? And if you think this is merely my opinion, you are mistaken. This new analysis by a team of chiropractors aimed to describe the extent of adverse events reporting in published RCTs of Spinal Manipulative Therapy (SMT), and to determine whether the quality of reporting has improved since publication of the 2010 Consolidated Standards Of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement.
The Physiotherapy Evidence Database and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for RCTs involving SMT. Domains of interest included classifications of adverse events, completeness of adverse events reporting, nomenclature used to describe the events, methodological quality of the study, and details of the publishing journal. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Frequencies and proportions of trials reporting on each of the specified domains above were calculated. Differences in proportions between pre- and post-CONSORT trials were calculated with 95% confidence intervals using standard methods, and statistical comparisons were analysed using tests for equality of proportions with continuity correction.
Of 7,398 records identified in the electronic searches, 368 articles were eligible for inclusion in this review. Adverse events were reported in 140 (38.0%) articles. There was a significant increase in the reporting of adverse events post-CONSORT (p=.001). There were two major adverse events reported (0.3%). Only 22 articles (15.7%) reported on adverse events in the abstract. There were no differences in reporting of adverse events post-CONSORT for any of the chosen parameters.
The authors concluded that although there has been an increase in reporting adverse events since the introduction of the 2010 CONSORT guidelines, the current level should be seen as inadequate and unacceptable. We recommend that authors adhere to the CONSORT statement when reporting adverse events associated with RCTs that involve SMT.
We conducted a very similar analysis back in 2012. Specifically, we evaluated all 60 RCTs of chiropractic SMT published between 2000 and 2011 and found that 29 of them did not mention adverse effects at all. Sixteen RCTs reported that no adverse effects had occurred (which I find hard to believe since reliable data show that about 50% of patients experience adverse effects after consulting a chiropractor). Complete information on incidence, severity, duration, frequency and method of reporting of adverse effects was included in only one RCT. Conflicts of interests were not mentioned by the majority of authors. Our conclusion was that adverse effects are poorly reported in recent RCTs of chiropractic manipulations.
The new paper suggests that the situation has improved a little, yet it is still wholly unacceptable. To conduct a clinical trial and fail to mention adverse effects is not, as the authors of the new article suggest, against current guidelines; it is a clear and flagrant violation of medical ethics. I blame the authors of such papers, the reviewers and the journal editors for behaving dishonourably and urge them to get their act together.
The effects of such non-reporting are obvious: anyone looking at the evidence (for instance via systematic reviews) will get a false-positive impression of the safety of SMT. Consequently, chiropractors are able to claim that very few adverse effects have been reported in the literature, therefore our hallmark therapy SMT is demonstrably safe. Those who claim otherwise are quite simply alarmist.
