What alternative health practitioners might not tell you

Glossary of Chiropractic Terms

(Chirobase)

What you should know about chiropractic

Article by Professor Edzard Ernst, New Scientist

Chiropractic — A Brief Overview, Part 1

By Steven Novella MD, Science Based Medicine

Chiropractic — A Brief Overview, Part 2

By Steven Novella MD, Science Based Medicine

Fact Sheet on Chiropractic

Issued by the National Council Against Health Fraud.

Seven things you need to know about chiropractic

Science Based Healthcare

Chiropractic's Elusive 'Subluxation'

Article by Stephen Barrett, M.D. (Chirobase)

A Scientific Test of Chiropractic's Subluxation Theory

The first experimental study of the basis of the theory demonstrates that it is erroneous. Edmund S. Crelin, Ph.D. (Chirobase)

A scientific critique of chiropractic

A PowerPoint presentation by Harriet Hall, M.D. [NOTE: Some of the frame sizes need to be reduced in order to view the accompanying notes in full.]

Spinal manipulation — the rules of science apply

A commentary on the paper 'A systematic review of systematic reviews of spinal manipulation', [Ernst E, Canter PH., Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Vol 20 April 2006, pp189-193]. The review concluded that there was little evidence that spinal manipulation was effective in the treatment of any medical condition.

The value of chiropractic

"I fear that chiropractors' views on their very own treatment might not be entirely free of conflicts of interest." Article by Edzard Ernst, MD, PhD, FRCP, FRCPEd, Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies [FACT]

The Truth About Chiropractic Therapy

The entire chiropractic chapter from ‘Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial’ by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst is available to read online via this link.

The Kinsinger Report on Chiropractic (2008)

Video presentation of William Kinsinger, MD, speaking to a class of graduating physical therapists about chiropractic. Dr Kinsinger is an anaesthiologist who, since 1990, has conducted investigations and research of the chiropractic industry. He is also associated with the Neck911 network, a volunteer organisation devoted to raising awareness of injuries associated with the practice of chiropractic. (Approx. 42 mins)

Expensive Education

A skeptical chiropractic website that invites you to tell your story about the chiropractic profession. Having concluded that chiropractic is not portrayed accurately by colleges, the site is looking to index people's experiences in the profession with the goal of helping to fix the problem. If you are considering chiropractic as a career, the information on this site should help to increase your awareness.

Overrated career: Chiropractor

"Some chiropractors think that spinal manipulation can relieve not just back pain, but everything from asthma to premenstrual syndrome. But the National Institutes of Health and other authorities have been skeptical of the effectiveness of chiropractic. And research shows that mainstream treatments for lower back pain are equally effective. Many chiropractors also devote considerable time to marketing—in part to pay back the cost of chiropractic school, usually over $100,000." US News

A former chiropractor's experience

"I do not believe I will ever practice chiropractic again, because I see no ethical way to practice… I cannot encourage you enough to continue warning potential students about the rampant quackery in the chiropractic profession. Many students take out massive loans when they are in their early 20s only to discover later that chiropractic is a fake, unethical profession." James Randi Educational Foundation

Dangers of alternative medicine

Irish television programme which contains a 22-minute segment (commencing after 12 minutes) about the dangers of chiropractic neck manipulation. The rebuttals made by Hagan McQuaid, former International Vice-President of the Chiropractic Association of Ireland, are wholly unconvincing. The programme concludes by questioning the effectiveness of statutory regulation:

"In countries where such a system exists it is inevitably used to imply state approval for therapies which may have little or no scientific evidence to support them and may be dangerous. Perhaps what the public really needs are laws that dramatically curtail the claims that any therapist can make and treatments they are permitted to offer."

Prime Time, RTE (5th May 2005)

Serious complications associated with neck manipulation

10 pages of case reports of adverse events, including stroke and death, associated with neck manipulation. (Neck911USA.com)

Chiropractic and stroke

Article by Harriet Hall MD, Science Based Medicine (2008)

Chiropractic neck manipulation can cause injury or death

Video presentation (8 min 7 sec) by William Kinsinger, M.D.

Inappropriate and Non-beneficial Chiropractic Adjustment

The latest news from Canada on the Nette v. Stiles et al Chiropractic Class Action Lawsuit. (In September 2007, Sandra Nette became tetraplegic following a chiropractic adjustment.)

Chiropractic Stroke Awareness Group (CSAG)

This group has helped hundreds of victims of chiropractic stroke. It was formed to raise public awareness about the risk of stroke and death with chiropractic cervical spinal adjustments, to find others who were injured this way, and to prevent future needless suffering.

Chiropractic Stroke Awareness group on Facebook

VOCA is working in conjunction with other organizations to reform the chiropractic industry and to enforce patients' rights. VOCA has succeeded in sponsoring two pieces of legislation that have become law in the state of Connecticut - mandatory reporting of malpractice claims to the state's Insurance Commissioner, as well as the expansion of the state's online 'Physician Profile' to include chiropractors

Victims of Irresponsible Chiropractic Education and Standards (V.O.I.C.E.S.)

A grassroots non-profit victims organisation whose purpose is to raise awareness of injuries, strokes and deaths resulting from chiropractic upper neck manipulation.

Victims of Chiropractic Abuse (VOCA)

Promotes awareness of chiropractic risks through advocacy and legislation.

Action for Victims of Chiropractic

UK support and pressure group. Highlights and questions the many grey areas of statutory regulation in the UK. The group is particularly concerned with neck manipulation and stroke issues and the effectiveness of the UK regulatory body, the General Chiropractic Council, in its role of protecting patients and setting standards. See the correspondence between Action for Victims of Chiropractic (AVC) and the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) in the Latest News section of this link. NOTE: Regarding neck manipulation, the risk/benefit ratio for the procedure appears to in question due to the availability of safer options.

Neck911.com

A volunteer group of individuals who provide consultations on complications due to neck manipulation. Includes an outline of the problem, case studies, a database of victims, and a summary of what chiropractors are saying.

Website for victims of chiropractogenic stroke

A website set up by a lawyer which links to scientific evidence.

ChiroWatch

Articles and links about the dangers of chiropractic treatment, along with stories of litigation, fraud and bogus claims.

Chirobase

A skeptical guide to chiropractic history, theories and current practices

ChiroTalk

A skeptical chiropractic discussion forum founded by Allen Botnick DC. Its purpose is to encourage critical investigation of chiropractic topics.

ChiroLinks

Skeptical articles and links about the chiropractic profession

Chiropractic

Topic-focused reference, index and resource guide at Science Based Medicine.

Chiropractic Index

An extensive range of skeptical chiropractic articles at Quackfiles Blogspot.

Veterinary chiropractic

SkepticWiki

Discover Chiropractic

A website which aims to provide information about the scientific and evidence base for chiropractic, enabling informed decisions to be made about whether chiropractic is right for you.

Answers to Questions about Chiropractic

Includes advice on neck manipulation, the scope of chiropractic, the need for treatment, x-rays, pregnancy and childbirth, chiropractic and children, chiropractic techniques, chiropractic devices, complications of treatment, chiropractic education, consumer protection, and interprofessional relations. By Samuel Homola, D.C. (Chirobase)