Thursday, January 07, 2010

Quackbusters

Chiropractor scams

"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."

H. L. Mencken

Chiropractics, one of the favorite hustles of mormons, scientologists, and other pious frauds, has long been suspected of being, in technical terms, Bogus with a capital B (capiche, Bubba Bellami?). The state of CA itself now features a whistleblower site aimed at preventing false advertising related to the chiropractor business (AG Moonbeam may be flakey, but Jerry's an ethical flake, on occasion). Shysters who market cheap, chiropractor-related goods, such as "ergonomic" keypads, "subluxated" pens--"Drop off a bundle at your community’s welcome wagon,goldangit!"--and other gimcrackery devices also meet the whistle-blowing criteria. No evidence exists which proves that such devices have any effect on spinal injuries; indeed, the evidence suggests that such devices often worsen a patient's condition.

from the Wiki on Chiro-quacks:

"""Opinions differ as to the efficacy of chiropractic treatment.[65] Many controlled clinical studies of spinal manipulation (SM) are available, but their results disagree,[91] and they are typically of low quality.[92] Health claims made by chiropractors about using manipulation for pediatric health conditions are supported by only low levels of scientific evidence.[93] A 2008 critical review found that with the possible exception of back pain, chiropractic SM has not been shown to be effective for any medical condition, and suggested that many guidelines recommend chiropractic care for low back pain because no therapy has been shown to make a real difference....""


"""Chiropractic is a dangerous scam.

While spinal manipulation MAY help SOME low back pain, manipulation can easily be performed by other health professionals that are MUCH safer for patients, such as physical therapists.

The main danger of chiropractic is that most chiropractors are not trained in proper diagnosis and may delay referring you to a real doctor, even for life-threatening conditions.

Another danger is that chiropractors have a pseudo scientific belief system and often recommend dangerous, expensive, or bizarre treatments that are completely worthless.

Chiropractic is also dangerous for potential students. Chiropractors have the highest student loan default rates of any health profession. Many private insurers will not pay for chiropractic, so new graduates increasingly must try to sell patients expensive and unnecessary "pre-paid care plans" or risk defaulting on their student loans."""

Dr. Barrett on chiro-quacks: "biotheistic nonsense".

""Chiropractic theory is rooted in the notions of Daniel David Palmer, a grocer and "magnetic healer" who postulated that the basic cause of disease was interference with the body's nerve supply. Approximately a hundred years ago, he concluded that "A subluxated vertebrae . . . is the cause of 95 percent of all diseases. . . . The other five percent is caused by displaced joints other than those of the vertebral column." [1] He proclaimed that subluxations interfered with the body's expression of "Innate Intelligence"—the "Soul, Spirit, or Spark of Life" that controlled the healing process. He proposed to remedy the gamut of disease by manipulating or "adjusting" the problem areas.

Over the years, chiropractors have gone beyond Palmer's theories, although some still cling to them for dear life. Some describe subluxations as "bones out of place" and/or "pinched nerves"; some think in terms of "fixations" and/or loss of joint mobility; some occupy a middle ground that includes any or all of these concepts; and a small percentage renounce Palmer's notions as biotheistic nonsense—which they were.""



For more on Palmer's chiropractic snake-oil, see here.

For more phunn regarding MormonCo,click here.

Back to El Torito's, Bubba.........

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