Examining chiropractors’ claims: first blow to them
The kerfuffle surrounding the British Chiropractic Association’s libel action against science author Simon Singh has resulted in a group of bloggers closely examining the claims made by chiropractors in Britain. And they found them wanting. This has spooked at least one group of chiropractors and judging by the slew of correspondence between blogger Zeno and the General Chiropractic Council (GCC), the entire industry seems to be spooked. The GCC seems to be going as far as to attempt changing the rules of complaint.
Three weeks ago today I wrote the following letter to the BCA:
Dear SirThank you for drawing my attention to the defamatory nature of the word “bogus” through your action against Simon Singh. I had no idea the word meant anything other than “fake” – as in the opposite of genuine. On looking up the word in the dictionary I did indeed notice that there are many pejorative meanings attached to it, including “fraudulent” and “counterfeit”. I was surprised that using such a common word to criticise a set of scientific claims could land one in such trouble. I have always been careful of my facts but it appears it is much more important to be careful of one’s vocabulary.
The publicity around this case has piqued my interest in the claims made by chiropractors, a group of people I had always thought of as back manipulators. I notice that there have been a large number of complaints made against British chiropractors. This has spurred me into investigating if similar claims are made by chiropractors practising in South Africa. My preliminary investigation has shown that indeed the same claims – used as basis for the complaints in Britain – are being made here. I am now going through the various rules and regulations that would apply to South African chiropractors, including advertising standards and healthcare acts, to see if any are being breached.
Please advise me what word/s I could use to describe claims not backed by scientific evidence. Or claims for which scientific evidence is said to exist but not disclosed. Clearly, I will avoid using the word “bogus”.
My interest is not in impugning anyone’s dignity or reputation, nor to convey deliberate attempts to defraud. It is simply in examining if practitioners claims breach any standards or rules, and bringing such breaches to the attention of the authorities. I’m sure this approach would be enthusiastically endorsed by the BCA.
Once again, thank you for drawing my attention to this important matter.
Yours faithfully
Tim Beck.
Strangely, I have had no reply.
I have indeed been examining the claims made by chiropractors in South Africa. In broad summary, most of them make the same claims that are the subject of the complaints in Britain. I will follow up in a later post with more details of these claims.
However, all the chiropractors I investigated call themselves “doctor”. Now this is a “claim” that elicited complaints in Britain. I wanted to find out what the position in South Africa is so I trolled though Health Department sites, the Health Act (as amended, as amended…), various codes of conduct and anything else I could find. Oddly, in all of this I couldn’t find a single reference to who is and who isn’t entitled to call themselves “doctor”.
Chiropractors have to be registered by the Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa (who don’t have a functioning website) so I phoned them and was pleasantly surprised to get an informed answer. Which is this: Both registered chiropractors and homoeopaths are entitled to call themselves to call themselves “doctor”. To register they have to have completed a five or six year masters degree (available at Durban University of Technology and University of Johannesburg), followed by an “internship” year.
So that, at least, is above board. Their medical claims, however, surely can’t be legislated away. Or can they? Watch this space.
I did wonder, what could they possibly be studying for six years? Perhaps, for homoeopaths: 1001 Ways to Administer a Placebo. And for chiropractors: 600 Diseases You Have Never Heard Of Which Are Cured Through Clicking The Back.
Comments
3 Comments on Examining chiropractors’ claims: first blow to them
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Zeno on
Sat, 4th Jul 2009 12:13 am
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Simon Perry on
Mon, 6th Jul 2009 10:30 pm
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paul on
Tue, 14th Jul 2009 5:04 pm
Brilliant letter! You will let us know when you get a reply, won’t you?
I’ve added you blog to my list of bloggers: http://www.zenosblog.com/2009/06/whos-been-blogging-on-chiroquacktic.html
Nice letter, I wonder why they didn’t reply.
http://adventuresinnonsense.blogspot.com/2009/07/over-half-of-chiropractor-colic-web.html
Interesting article. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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