What alternative health

practitioners might not tell you

 

ebm-first.com

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After searching the University of Glamorgan’s Chiropractic Course web page, and finding nothing useful, a PhD neuroscientist sent the university an email of concern. Excerpt:


“…The chiropractic course description contains the following phrase: “… training means you will understand the scientific principles relevant to chiropractic”. Is it possible to clarify what these principles are? I myself and, more importantly, the global scientific community are yet to identify any scientific principle on which the ‘efficacy’ of chiropractic may be based, with the exception of a placebo effect or possibly ‘it’s nice to have some attention and a massage’ resulting in improved sensation of well-being. My own anecdotal experience also leads me to doubt any possible link between chiropractic and science, as during my time as an anatomy technician then postgraduate neuroscientist at Cardiff University, I have been exposed to dozens of thoroughly dissected nervous systems and spinal columns (human and otherwise) and have yet to encounter anything that could be said to represent a subluxation (a miss-alignment of the joint/organ which chiropractors believe to be the cause of ill health)…If the Faculty has discovered a scientific cause for the supposed efficacy of chiropractic, would this not warrant more publicity than a casual mention on a course description? This would represent a major scientific breakthrough for the university and surely should be touted as such?... If chiropractic course does include modules that give students a grounding in health sciences and the practicalities involved, in what way do these differ from other, more general courses taught at the Faculty for Health, Sport and Science? I would be greatly interested in seeing a module description for the course in order to ascertain the necessity for the inclusion of the chiropractic element. Would this be possible?”

Science Digestive blogspot (15th June 2010)