Source The Evidence Informed Chiropractic Challenge
What’s the Buzz
A recent social media posting has generated a bit of a buzz in the world of chiropractic. It seems that a short essay by chiropractor Rob Sinnott on October 16th elucidating the role that chiropractic and the subluxation play in the regulation of the immune system created some disagreement among the ranks. To demonstrate his thesis Dr Sinnott chose a timely example. Ebola. As you read his piece you may have some doubts as to the wisdom of this choice. You can read his original post here.
At any rate, Dr Dave Newell, Director of Research at the AECC and long time chiropractic academic with over 25 years experience in the sciences and clinical research, felt the need to protest the claims presented by Dr Sinnott. Dr Newell expressed his concerns regarding Sinnott’s post in an email to the Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research (AVSR), which is published by the Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation, where Sinnott is an advisory board member. You can read that letter here.
The Sinnott piece was then, in turn, defended by Dr Matthew McCoy in an article on his website, The Chronicles of Chiropractic – The source for news on conservative, traditional chiropractic. You can read that reply here.
The Evidence Informed Chiropractic Challenge
And so, the evidence-based group is convinced that the view expressed by Drs McCoy and Sinnott is a minority position and are challenging chiropractors to take a stand. Are you for or against the original article that they claim damages the profession as a whole.
You can cast your vote here.
It’s views and posts like those of Dr Sinnotts that keep chiropractic out of mainstream medicine and constantly damage the reputation and working relationships that chiropractic tries to build with our fellow medical professionals. Unfounded claims like this are the reason so many medical doctors shun our profession.
I agree with the previous poster.
Dr. Sinnott makes confident and unsupported assertions that, if followed by his readers, could be deadly. His claims, which fall miles outside of his scope of practice, encourage his readers — and future doctors of chiropractic — to ignore the safeguards, procedures and protections that have been demonstrated by actual science.
While I am certain that his views are held by an extreme minority of chiropractors, it still saddens and angers me every time I hear these kinds of reckless and dangerous claims by a colleague. I do believe that our profession is trending away from the “religion” of chiropractic and closer to sensible, demonstrable methods of helping our patients recover without drugs or surgery, whenever possible.
As it happens, I actually wrote a brief article a couple months ago that outlines the known protective measures one can take to protect themselves against ebola. I noticed there wasn’t much in the way of practical advice for everyday folks being discussed in the media, so I did some research on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization websites, and outlined them in a short article entitled, “Ebola: 3 Simple Ways to Protect Yourself”. You can read it here if you’re interested: http://www.austinspineandsport.com/ebola-3-simple-ways-protect/
Thanks for sharing this, Frank!
Dr. Daniel P. Bockmann, DC
Hi Dr. Dan
Actually, John posted this article, and I didn’t read the links to the Dr. Sinnott material. Did I miss something of value?