European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 21, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Chiropractors still struggling for credibility associated Pressw Hen Diane Wilkinson suffered whiplash in an Auto Accident so years ago the last thing she considered was going to a chiropractor. My Grandfather was an orthopaedic says Wilkinson 53, the Only thing i Ever heard was slay away irom but a injury of her neck nine years ago led to severe headaches neck spasms and faulty reflexes visits loan Ortho Peist a neurosurgeon and her family doctor provided no Relief. Finally despite her reservations and her husband s opinion that chiropractic was hocus Wilkinson sought the help of a chiropractor. The results have been darn near miraculous she says no pain no headaches Lull functioning others who have found Relief including athletes like runner Mary Decker and Lennis Star Ivan Lendl Echo Wilkinson s glowing review. And physicians Are Rel Clant to criticize chiropractic after four chiropractors won an antitrust lawsuit against the american medical association. But the profession still struggles for credibility. We still or Tel lots of prejudices and unfair treatment says Sieve Elliott past director of the Texas chiropractic association. The four chiropractors filed suit against the Ama and other groups 11 years ago. Alleging they conspired to destroy the chiropractic profession. A Federal judge agreed in september and forbade the Ama from discouraging members from associating with chiropractors. The Ama is appealing the ruling. See a lot of patients that Deal with chiropractors and generally they Are not accepted very Well by the general medical Community but they do help a lot of people said or. Lawrence Robbins a neurologist specializing in headache treatments in the Chicago suburb of Northbrook Robbins and or Richard h. Sidell were the Only two physicians willing to comment out of a dozen Ortho pudists and neurologists contacted in the Chicago area. Doctors at Northwestern University medical schoo and Rush presbyterian so. Luke s medical Center declined comment As did the american Academy of orthopaedic surgeons. It s my feeling Here Are chiropractors who totally abuse what they re doing but on the other hand i be worked with chiropractors who Are totally honest and who arc doing a perfectly reasonable said Sidell an orthopaedic surgeon. Ii has been Only 1s years since an am a official called chiropractors Rabid dogs and killers in the midst of a systematic Campaign by the nation s largest organization of doctors to squelch chiropractic. Yet Chiron Baclic is thriving. The number of . Practitioners grew irom 13,000 in 1970 to More than 30,000 in f 985, the last year for which figures Are available according to the american chiropractic association. Chiropractic derived from greek words meaning effective hand is based on the theory that disease May be caused by interference with nerve function which practitioners try to Correct by manipulating the spine and other joints. Chiropractors differ from physicians in that they perform no surgery and prescribe no drugs preferring to let the body try to heal itself alter Lull nerve function is restored. It is 93 years since Canadian immigrant Daniel David "d,d." Palmer cured the deafness of his janitor in Towa by manipulating his spine. His experience with the janitor who had become deaf after wrenching his Back led to Palmer s development of chiropractic principles and establishment of the first school to teach them in Davenport in 1893. Thiere Are now 15 us. Chiropractic colleges accredited by the Council on chiropractic education. Students must Complete 4.200 classroom hours of medical education Over four years similar to medical school. The curriculum includes Anatomy physiology nutrition pathology Public health clinical and Laboratory diagnosis gynaecology obstetrics paediatrics. A Ray technique and interpretation geriatrics psychology and ethics. The standards Are gelling greater each year said or. William l. Ramsey vice president for academic Alfars at Logan College of chiropractic in 51. Louis to be accepted into an accredited chiropractic school students generally Musl have a a average in two years of undergraduate study including biology chemistry and physics. Far from the stereotype of the medical school dropout chiropractic students Are More typically people who have already established credentials in nursing physical therapy leaching and dentistry Ramsey said. Twenty two percent of students have Masler s degrees or Elliott said stories abound about chiropractic s Efficacy from wonderful Miracle cures to horrible fortunately it s not like Hal he said during a radio interview in Liberty Texas where he practices. Most people have an idea Hal we just work on backs and that we pop necks or pop backs. But our main emphasis is to Check Oul the Overall integrity of the structural parts of the treatment May relieve conditions ranging irom constipation to work related injuries to sciatica a Low Back pain that shoots into the leg and scoliosis a sideways curvature of the spine he said. Chiropractic is trying to gain credibility with something it has never had scientific proof of its effectiveness said Sloven Wolk of the foundation for chiropractic education and research in Arlington a. The Lack of research arises from a fundamental problem of funding he said. Wolk said mainstream medical research has been financially supported largely by the Federal government and pharmaceutical companies neither of which has had any interest in exploring chiropractic to fill the void the foundation has earmarked $5 million Over the next six years to commission Independent research Inlo two areas where chiropractic seems to hold the most Promise Low Back pain and headache. Until targe clinical studies can be done patients will have to Rety on their own Best judgment about disagreements Over chiropractic that prevail in the medical Community and about the varying skill Levels among chiropractors. Jake me head and i an to a Friend what is chiropractic All about a Louis Harris poll conducted for the Fra in 19b6 among More than 1.500 adults revealed that 26 percent of americans had used one or More questionable health care methods to combat one of several medical problems that Are especially prone to quackery. A third of the people who admitted to using a questionable method described it As highly effective and Only one in 10 said it was totally ineffective. This suggests How quackery can survive in an Era of increasing medical sophistication playing on a person s emotions and beliefs is a potent medical weapon. The perceived effectiveness of quackery parallels the Well established Placebo effect the ability of belief to bring Relief. Ii has Long been known that two thirds of complaints patients bring to physicians Are at least partly based on emotional factors and one third of the cure for most physical ailments resides in the patient s belief in the treatment or practitioner. Also contributing to the rising prominence of health quackery is widespread consumer distrust of the establishment be it government or Medicine and concerns about the health and Dollar costs of Many modern diagnostic and treatment techniques. The word quackery was apparently derived from the term Quac Salver which Means to boast of a cure. Quackery is just thai a health claim made for a product or method that cannot he justified by scientifically derived evidence. The product May be highly effective in some situations but ineffective in others penicillin for example can cure a Strep Throat and Vitamin c can reverse the symptoms of scurvy but both Are useless in treating cancer. The claim for the product May be made by an advertiser a self styled health practitioner or a licensed physician. Quackery lies in the Promise not in the product or the promoter. Critics of the anti quackery Campaign correctly note that Many methods used by established Medicine particularly various types of surgery have never been subjected to a proper scientific test or effectiveness. Tuesday june 21,1988 the critics add that Many of these widely accepted methods Are far More costly and potentially More harmful than techniques being labelled As frauds. Bui or. John Renner a Kansas City physician and director of the resource Center for Tho National Council against health fraud counters legitimate science May iry something for a while bul will eventually abandon it when it s found to be ineffective such As freezing the stomach to veal ulcers or inserting a gastric Bubble to counter obesity. But quackery never gives up. It keeps using ineffective remedies even when they Are known to be simply put quackery setts Hope and it thrives Best in areas where legitimate Medicine cannot offer 3 certain cure. In addition to cancer where fraudulent remedies compete with a growing list of therapies thai have been proved effective quackery flourishes among people with such chronic health problems As arthritis obesity hair loss impotence undue fatigue and feelings of Inadequacy about one s diet or physical condition. The stars and stripes Page 17
