As per usual, your redirect to chiro base, does not work without manipulation, then you find it is our old friend Stephen Barrett, not a real chiropractor talking about chiropractic, but one of the worlds most famous anti everything natural or non medical society approved hate mongers. It is a bit reminicent of the old meeting of the national medical convention in which one of the national presidents said that it was better to die under orthodox medical care than to get well under alternative care. Doc, all docs are indeed docs when so licensed or degreed, and deserve to be called doctors, including DCs, NDs, PhDs , DOs, ODs, DPMs, and MDs and the list goes on.
Point being that lifestyle is the single most important factor in most peoples health, Chiropractic and naturopathy recognized and were teaching that in the 1950s when the president of the California Medical Association was on bill boards above the freeways, cigarette in hand, with “a cigarette a day keeps the doctor away” sign below his smiling face. Somewhat karmicly that MD died of lung cancer.
There is an increasing tendency for MDs and DCs to share offices and clinics. I had hospital privilages twenty years ago, and found working with the doctors to be a much better situation. It really is time patients begin to come first and bickering and prejudice take a back seat. Unfortunately I moved and in other cities, chiropractors did not have hospital privilages at that time or even now. What would be good, is a little respect, honesty and willingness to work in a scientific manner togethar for the benefit of patients.
As you note, enemas have been used for thousands of years, with almost no negative effects, and you cannot find a single scientific article to explain why their use is suddenly out of fashion. I pointed out two to you yet you dont seem to be able to find them even knowing the year they were written, all you have to do is find the journal. Most medical schools have these journals if you are near a major city, so do some reading. It would be good for you, to try to increase your level of knowledge in this area. If you are near by, perhaps for a small fee I could guide you to the shelves where the books and journals are located in your medical school library. Enemas are not dangerous unless the nurse or doctor does not know what they are doing, and in our discussions, it is apparent that in this area your education is not really up to it, so if you don’t want to use them, that is understandable.
However, you should not be telling others who do know what they are doing, and are amply trained and knowledgable in the field what to do. Naturopaths and Chiropractors have education in this area, MDs usually do not. So I appreciate your offer for your profession to bow out of colon therapy and other areas in which you are not as well trained as chiropractors or naturopaths. However, I fear that you do not speak with the authority to bind your profession.
A chiropractor performs manipulations. If you believe in bacteria, microbes, and viruses as being causes of diseases (rather than spinal column irregularaties or some such), then chiropracty is not appropriate for a large class of problems. However, it is probably an appropriate *option* for muscle strains and back trouble (or neck trouble) of a variety of type. I treatments were occasionally slightly painful for me, but I was in pain when I started (or was in certain positions). Obviously, if I hadn’t had any complaints, I would not have gone. I got some help. I sort of went out of curiosity. I had been to rolfers before, and wanted to try something different. The “cracking” that the chirpractors do is rather unnerving, but didn’t hurt.
The poor chiropractors see the entire world in terms of a single treatment modality, spinal manipulation. A well-trained physiotherapist can do precisely the same manipulations *when* *called* *for* but also has a host of other treatment modalities at his command: traction, heat, diathermy, exercise, electrical stimulation, etc. etc.
There was a very interesting headline today from the Washington AP:
A doctor of osteopathy is a person who has attended a medical school that has a focus in the world of osteopaths. Their history is one of belief and practice of manipulation in addition to or precluding surgery or other allopathic practices. These docs are considered allopath’s and take the same state exams as any other medical doctor. They practice on the line and the alternative approaches as well. I think of Dr. Weil when the term osteopath comes to mind. He is not an osteon though it is just his approach. There is a large school in Pomona, California for Osteopaths and they have a URL. Sorry I don’t have it handy but it is easy to find. Is this more than you ever wanted to know?
So I’m sitting there spotting my 15 year old brother who is squatting 155 lbs for 10 reps with perfect form in my local gym when our friendly neighborhood chiropractor walks up. “You know, you really need to get a weight belt on him, especially if he’s going to go so heavy that young. He could slip a disc and have back problems for the rest of his life. I see it all the time.”
