The Dangers of the Quack Therapy of Chiropractic Healing
I know you are busy but please take a moment.
I realize that much of your time is probably devoted to focusing on the needs of your patients and running your practice. That's a good thing.
But while you are doing that please realize that there are forces both within and outside of the chiropractic profession trying to stop you from being able to do just that.
Just recently the British Chiropractic Association lost a lawsuit against a self proclaimed skeptic of chiropractic for children. As stated in The Guardian:
"The British Chiropractic Association was suing him for saying that there was 'not a jot of evidence' that its members could help sick children by manipulating babies' spines in accordance with the teachings of a more-than-usually nutty American faith healer."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/18/nick-cohen-simon-singh-libel
Personally, I'm not interested in getting into what he should or should not be able to say at this point or how simply ignorant any of these people are - its a waste of time and you might as well try to teach pigs to sing. What I am interested in is putting to rest once and for all the question of whether or not chiropractic care is safe and effective for children.
And the only way that is going to happen is through research. Period.
And please don't write to me and tell me that we don't need to prove anything or that we just need to educate the public, blah, blah, blah.
If at this point in the dismantling of health care delivery you do not understand that we are moving rapidly into an outcomes based reimbursement system then you have your head buried in the sand. If we had another 100 years, doing it one spine at a time might work. But we don't have 100 years - we have 20 if we're lucky.
So do a couple of things RIGHT NOW:
1. Subscribe to this journal and support the authors, researchers and related efforts to get chiropractic research into the peer reviewed literature. Take a look at the literature that's been produced by these unsung heroes in just about a year and a half alone.
http://chiropracticpediatricresearch.web.officelive.com/subscribe.aspx
Subscribe now and we'll give you a free PowerPoint Titled: "How to Raise a Healthy Child in an Unhealthy World"
Then use it to do a lecture in your office next week, educate your patients, help others and grow your practice.
2. Join the ICPA and get involved in their Practice Based Research Network
http://icpa4kids.com/index.php
If you are already a subscriber to the journal and a member of the ICPA then please forward this to someone who may not be.
When it comes to the care of children the situation is serious and urgent. Can you imagine how much worse it would be if it were not for the ICPA and other groups and individuals fighting every day to ensure that children can get chiropractic care?
Do it now.
As always I look forward to your feedback, comments and suggestions.
Matthew McCoy DC, MPH
matthewmccoy@comcast.net
Editor
Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health - Chiropractic
http://www.chiropracticpediatricresearch.net
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