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- Must Buy!! -
Spin Doctors
The Chiropractic
Industry Under
ExaminationPaul Benedetti
Wayne MacPhail
Canadians visit chiropractors about thirty million times a year, and surveys show that patients are generally satisfied with them. But Paul Benedetti and Wayne MacPhail have another opinion. Their hard-hitting CANOE.CA web site called Spin Doctors I & II were instrumental in educating the public about the excesses of some chiropractors. This book took years to write, and it is a must read for anyone who plans to go for chiropractic treatment, or who pays for insurance that covers it.
Order from Amazon.com - U.S.
Order from Amazon.ca - Canada
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The Historic Battle to Keep CMCC from York University
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CMCC - York on the Web
- CANOE.CA answers Michael Stevenson - York University Provost has responded dismissively to the Spin Doctors: Interactive Investigation launched on CANOE last week www.canoe.ca/ChiroYork.
- Court struggle with chiropractic stroke link - Nov. 16, 1999 - Medical PostThe $12-million suit is being launched by the family of the late Lana Dale Lewis, a 45-year-old woman who had gone to a chiropractor for treatment of migraine
headaches. She suffered a stroke six days after the treatment. A statement from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC), which was also named in the lawsuit, says "the chiropractic profession sympathizes with the
Lewis family's loss and we respect the right of individuals to initiate a suit against the appropriate party." The "CMCC has taken professional interest in Dr. Norris' preliminary research into the causes of stroke. . . . The word-of-mouth reports he has collected are
potentially interesting," the CMCC statement said. The concern about chiropractic manipulation is that in rare cases it may cause damage to the vertebral artery.
- Search The Medical Post for "chiropractic"
- Chiro controversy continues - Nov. 2, 1999 - York student newspaper
York Senate continued battling its decision to land an affiliation with the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC) on Friday with an open forum to discuss the issue. Stanley Jeffers says the conference was a waste of time and called it a sham. "I thought it was an affront. To call it a scholarly event is an outrage," he says.
- Professor Stanley Jeffers goes for the neck - Nov. 3 - Dr. Jeffers tells it like it is, and challenges Jean Moss and Dr. Leprich's letters to the Star.
- Chiropractic alliance sparks controversy - Oct. 22 - The battle heats up as the Star tackles the debate.
- Chiropractic Claims - October 22 - A survey of Toronto offices reveals the quackery that is practiced by the average chiropractor who graduated from CMCC
- Doctors fight union at York U. with CMCC -
October 18 -
Outraged scientists and doctors are fighting to block a proposed marriage of York University and a chiropractic college, arguing the unorthodox union would shatter York's reputation.
- Chiropractic college makes adjustments
- Aug. 27
A totally unbalanced report that is basically a whitewash of the situation at York University. The reporter didn't even interview a single person who works at York University. Where was the editor of the Star? Were they getting adjusted?
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Conference at York October 29th
We were there for the show, and our full report will be ready early next week. The basic problem was that despite many attempts to woo anti-CMCC panel members to the symposium, the York Senate was able to recruit only Stephen Barrett. He was the only one who had questions, and you might say he was the only one who had answers, Stephen let everyone know in no uncertain terms what his position was. If you want to see what he had to say in a nutshell, then click here to visit his York comments on his own web site.
Chiropractic Degree Studies Conference - October 29, 1999 - Report to the Board - Friday, October 29, 1999
The Nature and Philosophy of Chiropractic
Much of the discussion at the conference turned on the origins and nature of chiropractic. Among the various perspectives offered were the following:
- chiropractic is still characterized by stubborn adherence to "subluxation theory," which holds that misalignments are responsible for a host of health
problems, and that chiropractic can be used to both prevent and treat these conditions; early attention to subluxations allegedly an foster general
"good health," but this claim is sweeping and dangerous; the theory arose and persists in opposition to allopathic treatments susceptible to
analysis by means of scientific methods;
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chiropractic has largely abandoned its dependence on "subluxation theory" and now teaches a wide variety of other theories; this range does
include "subluxation theory," but this theory is critiqued within chiropractic;
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to an increasing extent, chiropractic is part of "integrative medical strategies" that foster cooperation between practitioners from different
disciplines; chiropractors work in a variety of care-giving settings, including hospitals;
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in Ontario, the scope of chiropractic practice has been narrowed over time and this scope is defined by legislation;
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too many chiropractors subscribe to orthodoxies that are rooted in Palmer's teachings, and even those institutions that do not stress subluxation
theory (such as CMCC and Los Angeles Chiropractic College) are unwilling or unable to weed out anti-scientism among students and graduates;
too few chiropractors have adopted a rationale stance;
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one of CMCC's founding principles was a refutation of Palmer's philosophies;
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despite claims to research sophistication, chiropractic has added nothing to our understanding of the spine;
chiropractic is now in the mainstream of medicine, which is the position sought by professional associations; chiropractic is regulated, publicly
funded, and well regarded by patients;
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in large numbers, chiropractors continue to see themselves as offering alternatives to allopathic treatment;
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the divide between "vitalistic" and "materialistic" medicines can be closed, and enhanced research can point to ways of resolution;
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the silence or evasiveness of speakers on the questions of "what is chiropractic" or "what is subluxation theory" are telling self-indictments of a
profession that has much to hide;
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despite the discussion on the day it remains unclear if there is a distinction between "manipulation" and "chiropractic;" manipulation yields
demonstrable benefits, but is practised by other care-givers, including osteopaths and physiotherapists, who accept limitations on their scope of
practice;
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there are theoretical inconsistencies within virtually all disciplines and professions.
Letter from 16 Ottawa area pediatricians to Lorna Marsden and Senators at York - Do you wish York University to teach that ALL babies have bones out of place in their back and that parents should bring their baby to a chiropractor right after they are born? After after all those years of learning, what do chiropractors believe and indeed practice? Look at the facts, stop accepting explanations and excuses.
York University site with details of the background to the potential move of CMCC to York. - If you are prompted for Username just type in the word chiropractic with no password.
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York University Meeting on October 29th
Some interesting background you should know. Lorna Marsden, York University president, actually chairs the board of a company called the Institute for Work and Health. One of their board members, Terry Sullivan, was one of the speakers at the meeting. It was a stacked deck. Every speaker that showed up, except Stephen Barrett, was doing back flips and strutting their stuff for the great chiropractic college to move over to take its rightful place on the campus of Toronto's well known Tobacco University, York. The meeting was within a good tee shot of the crimson red banners of the du Maurier Tennis centre that looms over the northeast section of the campus, near Vanier College.
Here is a list of the speakers:
Ian Coulter was the President of CMCC from 1982-1992 among other
accomplishments. www.med.ucla.edu/rwjcsp/coulter.htm
Terry Sullivan -
www.iwh.on.caHe is President of the Institute for
Work and Health, co-author of the recent book, Public Success/Private Failure: Market Limits in Health Reform, and a
member of the Board of Directors of Toronto Hospital. He is a sociologist, not an economist, a statistician, or a health care provider.
His e-mail address is: tsullivan@iwh.on.ca
Here are some comments by Sullivan from an interview from the Atkinson Letter that he did along with Michael Decter, who needs no introduction:
Somewhere between the medical profession's need to
dominate everything and protect themselves, and the public's need to have clear and transparent accountability in health care,
we've got to find credible (information) brokers. We need people who are trusted or respected by the profession, without
necessarily being liked by the profession -- people who can marry the public interest with the technical knowledge needed to
do the right thing.
In my view, the effectiveness of the care and treatment that patients receive ought to be the primary thing we report on. Did the
procedure produce an improvement? Was it an effective procedure or encounter with the health care system? Did it make a
difference? Did the health care professions do the right thing?
Second, there's the question of how much did it cost and was it a good use of technology?
And third, there's the question of
consumer or customer satisfaction.
C. Lesley Biggs, Associate Professor, Sociology and Acting Head,
Women's and Gender Studies, University of Saskatchewan
Lesley Biggs has taught sociology of gender relations, feminist theory, introduction to women's and gender studies,
sociology of professions, sociology of health and illness, and women and health.
Her research interests include sociology of health care professions, particularly alternative healers such as
midwives and chiropractors. This research focuses on the political relations between alternate healers, the state,
allopathic medicine and other health occupations. She is currently working on a book on the history of the
chiropractic profession in Ontario.
Charles Goldsmith
www-fhs.mcmaster.ca/ceb/who/faculty/goldsmit.htm
Dr. Goldsmith is currently a Professor in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McMaster University and Head of Biostatistics at the Centre for Evaluation of Medicines, Father Sean O'Sullivan Research Centre.
Scott Haldeman - from UCLA is a MD, DC and PhD who is best known for a quote that comes from Stephen Barrett's site
An excuse chiropractors employed for years for the lack of scientific
evidence for their theory was that the government wouldn't provide the
necessary research funding. The falsity of this claim was exposed in
1972, when the International Chiropractic Association reported that the
federal government had approved a grant for Chung Ha Suh, Ph.D., at the
University of Colorado, to develop a method for measuring spinal
configurations to determine the existence of chiropractic subluxations
and that the grant application was the first in chiropractic's history
Scott Haldeman, D.C., M.Sc., Ph.D., M.D., a third-generation
chiropractor whose personal commitment to validating chiropractic led
him to obtain a medical degree and advanced degrees in neurophysiology,
has criticized the attempts of Suh and others "to find more accurate
ways of measuring a subluxation in the absence of any solid data that
the subluxation is worth measuring." Although providing chiropractic
public relations personnel with fodder for a decade, Suh's work on the
illusive subluxation never got anywhere and now seems fruitless at best.
Scott Haldeman says that spinal manipulation can be catastrophic.
David Cassidy from the University of Saskatchewan is an adjunct prof at CMCC and one of the most highly touted "chiro researchers" in Canada. He is certainly a strong supporter of chiropractic. His testimony at the inquest after the death of Laura Mathiason is cited here.
Stephen Barrett, M.D. - noted author and authority on chiropractic, and quackery. His recent book, co-authored by chiropractor Dr. Samuel Homola, is an excellent source for information on chiropractic.
Send information about their positions and who they have received funding from:
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York University and the CMCC
The $25 Million Dollar Question
Who's behind the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College's move to York University?
Would you like a chiropractor in your wife's delivery room?
IF YORK UNIVERSITY WELCOMES THE CANADIAN MEMORIAL CHIROPRACTIC COLLEGE TO CAMPUS, YOU MAY BE HELPING TO PAY TO TRAIN THEIR FLOCK OF ALICE IN WONDERLAND HEALERS TO ASSIST YOUR MIDWIFE, OR GOD FORBID, OBSTETRICIAN TO HELP DELIVER YOUR BABY.
- An American based chiropractic marketing group trains Canadian chiropractors in the art of pediatrics at the Toronto Airport Novatel. They want to insure the survival of their cult.
- In a similar vein, the Ontario Chiropractic Association and their professors at the CMCC condone, teach, and support pediatric chiropractic, and will continue to defend those of their profession who stand on the street corner in front of billboards and declare to the public that shots are not needed during an epidemic.
- The chiropractic profession doesn't protect the public from pediatric quacks, the College of Physicians and Surgeons does. But the College of Chiropractors of Ontario has a mandate to protect the public from chiropractic quacks.
- Why train chiropractors in pediatric chiropractic when there is no evidence that it works, not even as a placebo?
- To train chiropractors in false science is an invitation to disaster. But the ultimate victims will be the children themselves. As an example, all you have to do is look at what is happening in the States.
- In a recent ABC 20/20 show, Arnold Diaz exposed pediatric chiropractic not as a cult of pseudoscience, but as one of the worst forms of child abuse I have ever seen.
- Well oranized chiropractic fraud artists scammed millions from the State of Indiana Medicaid office. Their cheap looking storefront chiro offices served up candy and lollipops to ghetto kids, in what was as far as I am concerned, nothing more than child abuse. These people, the scum of the earth, raped and pillaged their own community's poorest children. They got their kicks by scamming for dollars, knowing that the risks of discovery were worth the risks. While their friends in the State of Indiana board ripped off their own employers, these chiros continued the tradition, squirreling away their millions in some off-shore bank account.
Is that what it's all about, folks? Pediatric chiropractic has come of age.
- Where were those chiropractors trained?
- Why did their parents allow any of their kids into a rusty old van and trod off to the chiroquacker for an adjustment?
- Why did the Indiana Board of Chiropractors not take action against those chiropractors until after the ABC show was aired?
Last Spring, despite mounting evidence that chiropractic is worthless for pediatrics, the Senate of York University in Toronto voted for the first step that would eventually bring Canadian chiroquackers to their campus as a scientific health discipliine. It would be given the same rank as physics, biochemistry, mathematics, physiology, etc.
It is rumoured that CMCC promised to bring between $25 to $50 million to the table. But, how much have they delivered under the table? I know it's a bit of a "stretch", but more unbelievable things have happened in Canadian academic circles at York. It's all a matter of how loudly the chiroquackers scream "fowl". The louder they cry that they are being discriminated, the more likely that the government will open the flood gates, and pour our precious health resources down the drain.
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- AMHERST, N.Y. -- Feb. 3, 1999 Two Nobel laureates joined leading scientists, academics and science writers from across the world today in announcing their opposition to plans by York University to affiliate with the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College(CMCC.) Last May, the York Senate voted in favor of affiliation with CMCC, despite strong objections from members of the York science faculty. Final approval is set for this spring. York, located in Toronto, is the third
largest university in Canada. It would become the first major university in
the world to voluntarily associate with a chiropractic college.
Search CSICOP for "chiropractic"
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York science faculty members draw the line -
The battle pits truth against lies, philosophy against science
CONCERNS ABOUT CHIROPRACTIC AT YORK UNIVERSITY - The purpose of this website is to explain the serious concerns some faculty members have about the Proposal for York University to offer a Doctor of Chiropractic degree in cooperation with the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC).
Why is York University associating with the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College?
- Ontario Skeptics - by Michael De Robertis. On May 28,1998, the Senate of York University voted overwhelmingly in favour of affiliating in principle with the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC). As a consequence, York is slated to become the first major university in the world to affiliate voluntarily with a chiropractic college. The circumstances leading up to the Senate vote is the subject of this piece.
- REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE POSSIBLE AFFILIATION OF THE CANADIAN MEMORIAL CHIROPRACTIC COLLEGE AND YORK UNIVERSITY - (After reading this, can you tell me why anyone would want to go to a chiropractor for anything but back pain. Shame on the government for not taking action based on these sound recommendations. A chiropractor who had a large sign on Bridgeport Rd. in Waterloo, at the height of the meningococcal meningitis epidemic in K-W, warned people against immunization. Has he ever been taken to court for malpractice? I doubt it, the chiropractic regulatory body was probably in the wings cheering.)
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