Amy Stuber, from the Wellness Center at Gress Chiropractic, entertains us once again with another little chiropractic smoke and mirror act in the February Family Primetime insert in the Antigo Daily Journal.
Stuber’s article claims that chiropractic adjustments can improve your immune system and prevent or limit sickness, modern germ theory notwithstanding. She attempts to back up her claims with references to chiropractic “research”, such as this mention:
“Ronald Pero, PhD, did a study comparing immunce competency between people under chiropractic care and people not under care. He found that those under chiropractic care had better functioning immune systems.”
Oh, he did, did he? Really? Take a look at a less gullible take on Pero’s “research”, this one by the Federal Trade Commission, as explained at http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=37450 “FTC Questions Chiropractor’s Claims”
The FTC sent a seven-page letter of complaint to a chiropractic publisher, asserting that the chiropractor had not substantiated claims made in his brochures. Number 1 unsubstantiated claim on the complaint list was:
“Chiropractic’s role in natural immunity was dramatically demonstrated in 1989 by Ronald Pero, PhD, chief of cancer prevention research at New York’s Preventive Medicine Institute, and professor of medicine at New York University. In his initial three-year study of 107 individuals who had been under chiropractic care for five years or more, the chiropractic patients were found to have an immune competence 200% greater than people who had not received chiropractic, and 400% greater than those with cancer and other serious diseases!”
In reference to complaint #1, the article continues:
“Looking at it from the research point of view, John Triano, MS, DC, PhD, commented:
“For example, the work of Pero was reviewed in detail with publication to the chiropractic profession through DC in the December 1, 1989 issue by scientists and clinicians experienced both with scientific research methodology and specific experience in immunological research. That review demonstrated that the conclusions reported on Dr. Pero’s work were inappropriate and the actual data does not support them. Other adequate health and lifestyle factors were present to explain the results in this subgroup of Pero’s overall study. Most telling is the fact that the purported results of enhancement in immunological status through chiropractic has never been published by Dr. Pero in either the chiropractic or medical peer reviewed and indexed literature. Certainly, any of us who have research experience would be aggressively pursuing publication of our work that could effectively make such a documentation.”
Note that the analytical Triano is himself a chiropractor, and still couldn’t buy into Pero’s shabby “research”! The fact that Pero’s misleading work was never actually published has not kept chiropractors such as Amy Stuber from referencing it as chiro gospel truth. Just do a Google search on “pero immune system” and you get 137,000 hits, virtually all of them from chiropractors’ web sites. All right, children, can you say “bogus”?
Speaking of children, Amy also touts a claim (not replicated, validated, or credible) by a German practitioner that chronic tonsillitis in children showed 92% recovery, with no recurrences, after adjustment of supposed misalignments of the first vertebrae and occiput (base of the skull).” Before you rush in to get your kid’s head twisted around at the first vertebra and occiput, I suggest you go to http://scottslockedin.com to learn a valuable lesson from Antigo native Scott Tatro about chiropractic neck adjustments.
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Everybody has their right to thier own opinion. I am a believer in not only chiropractic adjustments, but in my oncologist as well. I do believe there is a place for all practitioners. I don’t think you have the right to bash Chiropractors without MD’s as well. I do feel for Scott and maybe he was not appropriately addressed of the “possible” side effects from his adjustments. But why do we not critisize the MD’s when they cause brain damage, paralysis and even death, millions a day and several in your own community. How many others in your town has been paralyzed from Chiropractic adjustments…or brain damage…or death? hmmm
Last Decade JAMA (Jounal of the American Medical Association) estimated that there are just under 100,000 preventalbe deaths per year in the United States due to Medical Error. That is the lowest number I have seen in estimates. Some report as many as 198,000. Medical error is the third leading cause of death behind cancer and Cardiovascular disease. How many people died from vitamain therapy? 0 how many from chiropractic?? I will let Albus figure the last one out.
Before you do like the excited cowboy who jumped on his horse and rode off in all directions, let’s apply some actual thinking to this process.
1). Sure, there are deaths due to medical error. Note that those medical errors are tracked, penalized, and retrained for prevention of replication. This is not the case in the chiropractic wonderland.
2). Math? No problem. Do you want to match the number of medical error deaths to the number of lives saved by medical intervention? Have a go at that one, and see what relevance your “math” has when you consider the total bottom line instead of your cherry-picked panic flags.
3). The difference between the medical field and the chiropractic field is that medicine is evidence-based, tested, tried, and re-evaluated as indicated by the research data. The field of chiropractic is faith-based, not evidence-based. It was founded on junk science and magical thinking, and has never been able to escape the model of its founding.
4). The point is not that I, Jerry Muelver, all by myself, think that chiropractic deserves criticism. The point is that chiropractic deserves criticism, period.
5). Don’t duck the issue. Address my criticism, if you disagree with it. Offering other targets to criticize is a fallacious, irrelevant argument, a “red herring”. Argue the points I raise, if you can, instead of raising your own points to argue with yourself.
We don’t argure your original point because there isn’t a valid point to argue. So Dr. Stuber quoted a source that wasn’t suitable for refrence. And you daringly pointed out that she was not the first one to be called out for doing so. Great, point taken.
I don’t address your criticism of the article because i assume, just like everyone else who reads this blog assumes, that your posts on the ever sinning “chiro-mafia” seems not to protect the community from bad writing and misleading claims, but to discredit and put down a profession… while you so often pass your opinion as fact.
I could argue all day about the “math” you speak of. I could argue about the “evidence-based” medical model. “tried, tested, and re-evaluated as indicated by research data”. for your own sake i hope you don’t actually believe that.
Research the JUPITER trial for crestor and lipitor. Statins are the most prescribed drugs on the planet. these trials showed that they don’t work and (my words here) do more harm than good. But will that stop the drug co. or the gov.? no because medicine is not about heath and saving lives it’s about money. evidence based trails are paid for and preformed by the makers of the drugs in most cases.
Per capita out country spends the most on healthcare, takes the most drugs, has the most surguries out of any nation on the planet. By medical standards we should be the healthiest right? We are among the last in Morbidity and Mortalily of Industialized nations. (sorry no refrence there your have to trust me….scary huh?)
look up how much $ the drug co. give the our law makers every year in lobby dollars. The number is shocking.
My point i guess is that I really don’t care if you agree with chiropractors or not. I am surprised and disappointed in myself that I have committed so much of my time to this already. becuase this is exactly what you want people to do in response to your posts about chiropractors. I just wish that you would keep your negativity to yourself. this community has enough of it already. You serve nobody by tearing other people down. build someone up for once!
And i appologize to anyone reading this for my lack of grammar, spelling and just plain disregard for “proper” writing. after all it’s just a blog. and the ADJ is just the ADJ.
Seriously, I had an uncle who passed away many years ago who swore by chiropactors. He told the story a hundred times about how old Doc Dorzeski (chiropractor) cured his appendicitis with chiro.
Ben, cured appendicitis with chiropractic adjustments? Impressive… but just as much a line of crap as chiro claims to cure otitis media (ear ache), colic, and infertility. Where’s the data? Anecdotal “evidence” just doesn’t cut it in the world of science. Folks saying what they believe to be true is not as good as folks saying what they can prove to be true.
Whitey, you can’t handle negative comments? So, if someone disagrees with your possibly poor-informed opinion, you just reject the evidence because you don’t like it? Our educational system has failed us miserably in developing critical thinking skills in our citizenry.
I don’t see myself as tearing people down. I see myself as saving the community from being misinformed. I’m not tearing Amy Stuber down. I’m just pointing out that what she’s doing is off-base and misleading.
Yes, you are entitled to make up your own mind. However, you are not entitled to make up your own facts.
Albus, I agree with you on chiro. I was being facetious about my late uncle who truely believed it.
Well, you got me on that one, Ben! Thing is, the story as you laid it out is exactly the kind of stuff we hear all the time from the chiro camp. Look at the talking-baby ads put out by Gress chiropractic! Miracle cures and adamant testimonials for chiropractic are as common, and as valid, as the claims of faith-healers and voodoo with doctors.
Wow you guys are incredible. From now on if domeones tells you something come here and post it. I will try and keep you straight.
Chiropractors handle misalignments with bone structure. When your spine is misaligned go to the chiropractor. When your tummy hurts see a doctor.
One question: if you dislocated a finger do you want a doctor to reduced it back or just give you pain meds to make you feel better?
If you answered to relocation then you should see a chiropractor for back problems.
Stainless, you’ll have to work harder to make a case for chiropractic. The British Chiropractic Association sued writer Simon Singh last year for libel for asserting that chiropractors performed “bogus” techniques. When the British courts demanded that BCA provide proof that chiropractic techniques were not bogus, the BCA withdrew the suit. Why? Because they couldn’t come up with the required evidence. So Simon Singh’s statement stands, rightfully unchallenged.
Chiropractors don’t “handle misalignments of bone structure”. They handle imaginary “subluxations”, which they define as a condition of possible tendency to misalignment, and which only chiropractors can detect and correct, and which if not corrected will cause everything from back pain to ear ache to asthma to infertility. The problem is that such vertebral subluxations are imaginary, and so is any treatment based on correcting or minimizing subluxations by manipulation.
Ask a chiropractor to show you a subluxation. Ask him or her to tell you just what amount of pressure, applied in exactly what direction, will correct this dire condition. Then ask how, exactly, this subluxation is causing the condition of your complaint. Then prepare yourself for a flood of bullshit mixed with snake oil as the chiro spins a yarn of junk science and magical thinking to ease your troubled mind.
Need more info on subluxations, to prepare your defense of chiropractic? Start here: http://www.chirobase.org/01General/chirosub.html
Jerry, you must be going through withdrawal this month. The March Primetime had no chiro articles for you. What are you going to do for an entire month waiting for the April edition of Primetime ?
So, you’re saying Fred Berner, Editor of the Antigo Daily Journal, has no Spinal Column? Who woulda thunk?
Well, Ben, Muelver’s Law states: “A person who one stupid thing will shortly do another.” So, there’s no reason to think I’ll run out of topics to grouse about.
For instance, the article on page 22 of the March 2011 Family Primetime insert, titled “Meditation, healthy habits help ease stress” appeared in the Sebeka – Menahga “Review Messenger” under the title “Easy tips to help you de-stress”. See http://www.reviewmessenger.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9724:easy-tips-to-help-you-de-stress&catid=66:lifestyle&Itemid=121 for the copyright notice: © 2004-2008 Review Messenger All rights reserved.
The article on the facing page, “Five tips to help jumpstart a stalled career”, has previously appeared in about 60 different plublications, under various copyright notices. The Antigo Daily Journal must be on someone’s mailing list for “let’s pretend we wrote this” material. You can spot the “foreign” stuff immediately by its lack of ADJ-style grammatical glitches, hiccups, and purple-prose excesses.
I liked your blog it is full of good important information that everyone should know. I can see that you put a lot of thought in writing it. One problem I see is that you don’t say anything about any other Chiropractor in town. This is the only complaint I have in what you have writen, is your problem with chiropractic or with Dr. Amy? Because it sounds like you are signaling her out for some reason. Even though we live in a world where we can speak our mind it doesn’t mean that we should talk about who we want.
Shannon, go to Google, search for
antigobuzz albus chiro
You will find that I have been democratically generous with my critiques.
In the very first post by “JustSayin” [Feb 15th] He states-how many other people in this area have been paralyzed by chiropactic ajustment, brain damage or death? It should read-from neck manipulations-not just adjustments. I think if the others who had unpleasent neck manipulation would come forward and tell of their not so good experience.
I think “justSayin” would rethink this thought. Sure they werent paralyzed like Scott Tatro, or had brain damage or died? but it sure put the fear into them thinking-O no-with the extra dizzyness and other symptoms for some time afterwards-that they never had before.
Jerry, your long burning question has been answered. I was at the County Fair yesterday and stopped at the Gress Wellness Center booth in the green building. They have a large assortment of pamphlets and handouts. One of the pamphlets is titled “Subluxations caused from the birth process”. Inside the front cover it explains how subluxations are caused from the birth process even under natural and controlled conditions. The pamphlet ends with a paragraph stating chiropractic is safe and natural. So there, now you know the origin of subluxations.
I’m being facetious in the post above. Just wanted to pull your chain a little.
I figured as much, Ben. The subluxation thing is a figment of the over-active imagination of D. D. Palmer, the green-grocer who invented chiropractic to justify his desire for collecting money without doing any real work.
Got the brochure, “Subluxations caused from the birth process”. Wow. Once they get their hooks into a gullible audience, chiropractors milk it for all it’s worth. As Mencken said, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.”