Dear Editor:
As a student at Palmer West, I always look forward to my new issue of DC. I recently received the August 23, 1999 issue and was a bit disturbed by many of the outlandish claims put forth in some of the ads.
The first bit of unfortunate literature I read was an insert titled "The New 5-Star Technique." Dr. Robert Boyd, a DO from the U.K., claims to have pioneered a new technique, the biocranial technique (BCT), that will eliminate 90% of all lesions!
According to Dr. Boyd, it addresses visceral as well as musculoskeletal disorders. Some of the visceral conditions BCT will address are CFS, lupus, colitis, psoriasis, tachycardia, HBP, diabetes, ADD, ADDH and dysmenorrhea. Musculoskeletal conditions include sciatica, disc herniation, fibromyalgia and meniscus problems.
It seems to me that making blatant assertions of specific techniques on various visceral and musculoskeletal conditions is not all that scientific. Does Dr. Boyd have any peer-reviewed literature to support his outlandish claims? If so, then Dr. Boyd might consider referencing his scientific work in his advertisements. If no such literature exists, maybe DC should consider other vendors for advertising in their pages.
Another disturbing bit of print I read was about the "cranial nerve technique," which claims to consistently improve hearing and vision. Are there some recent published studies in a peer-reviewed journal I'm unaware of that demonstrate the efficacy of this technique for these disorders?
The last bit of fodder to plague the pages of DC is an ad for "Neurolink." Again, a non-U.S. osteopath from New Zealand, not a medical doctor, makes more subtle claims of addressing CNS breakdown and spinal distortion as a result of viral and bacterial pathology. The headline reads, "Manipulation of the Brains." Need I say more?
I ran across a similar letter to the editor that Joseph Keating,PhD, wrote a few years ago. In his letter, he made a similar argument to the one I am making: quackery is alive and well in the pages of DC!
Will the chiropractic profession and the publishers of this news source continue to ignore the quackery and continue on as usual? Or will our profession and those that contribute to the informational needs of chiropractic doctors take responsibility and eliminate irrational advertising and unsubstantiated claims?
If chiropractic wants to be respected and fully achieve the ultimate in professionalism that one would expect in a health profession, we had better clean up our act.
Darrell Bruga
Intern, Palmer College
of Chiropractic West
Los Gatos, California
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"Vets Are Telling the Public They Can Do Chiropractic..."
Dear Editor:
The veterinarians are introducing new practices in each state throughout the country. They are making animal chiropractic the practice of veterinarian medicine. Currently they are trying to pass this in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Some states have already passed these acts.
Veterinarians are telling the public they can do chiropractic without any training. This has got to stop.
Margaret Dillon,DC
New Egypt, New Jersey
Microcurrent Stimulation
Dear Editor:
A well-written article on microcurrent stimulation (Bailey, Aug. 23, 1999 issue) proposed a possible theoretical manner in which ATP production might take place relative to intracellular mitochondria.
In 1998, following a similar article on this subject, a doctor in Portland, Oregon was removed from his office on an emergency basis following use, on himself, of a microcurrent unit. The doctor had subjected himself to excess production of ATP in the mitochondrial membrane interspace and had "blown" the muscle region he was attempting to treat.
There is possible potential harm involved in the use of any therapeutic device if not applied correctly.
R. Vincent Davis, DC, PT, PhD, DNBPM
Independence, Missouri