It began in the spring of 2005 with the appearance of a billboard in the parking lot of an Italian restaurant in a nondescript section of New Haven, Conn. In simple black and red letters, the billboard carried a disturbing message: "Warning: Chiropractic Adjustments Can Kill or Permanently Disable You," and referred passersby to a Web site, Neck911USA.com, run by an alleged "international" group of people concerned about manipulations of the neck performed by doctors of chiropractic.
Almost immediately after the billboard was posted, the chiropractic profession took action. A coalition of state and national chiropractic organizations, spearheaded by the Connecticut Chiropractic Council and the Connecticut Chiropractic Association, quickly contacted the billboard's owner, NextMedia, and succeeded in having the billboard removed only a few days after it had appeared.
Soon after reporting on the anti-chiropractic billboard (and its removal), Dynamic Chiropractic launched an investigation of Neck911USA.com and learned that the site was the brainchild of John W. Kinsinger, MD, an anesthesiologist in Edmond, Okla. In a July 2005 interview with DC, Kinsinger admitted that he created and owned the site, and that it was "not intended to give 'equal time' to whatever limited benefits might be derived from neck manipulation."
Just as it seemed things were re-turning to normal in Connecticut, however, a new movement against chiropractic began to take shape. A few months after the Neck911 billboard was taken down, an organization calling itself the Chiropractic Stroke Victims Awareness Group launched a similar type of smear campaign against the chiropractic profession. On Dec. 1, 2005, an advertisement from the organization appeared in the Hartford Courant which stated, among other things, that the group's members constituted proof that chiropractic adjustments are not safe.
Around the same time the print ad appeared, another anti-chiropractic billboard was posted, this time in downtown Hartford, close to one of Connecticut's busiest highways. Both the print ad and the billboard were paid for by the awareness group, and included telephone numbers and e-mail addresses for people to contact the organization.
Apparently no longer happy with merely posting anti-chiropractic messages in a fixed location, the Chiropractic Stroke Victims Awareness Group now has taken its campaign against chiropractic to a new level. Rather than placing ads on a static billboard, as of this May, the group has placed its latest advertisements on a pair of public buses running through 12 Connecticut cities (including Bridgeport, home to the University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic), where they can be seen by hundreds of thousands of people each day.
"The information is a little misleading," said Dr. Frank Zolli, the college's dean. "It gives the perception that a chiropractic procedure can lead to a stroke. That is not accurate."
The current ads span the entire length of each bus and feature a "doctor" in a white lab coat, preparing to administer an adjustment to a patient's neck. Next to the image, in large stencil-type letters are the words, "Injured By A Chiropractor? Call 860-529-8826," followed by the Neck911USA Web address. Underneath the address are the words, "Chiropractic Stroke Victims Awareness Group." A similar message is on the back of the bus.
According to a May 11, 2006 article in the Connecticut Post, one bus displaying the ad is operated by the Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority, which provides public bus service in Bridgeport, Trumbull, Fairfield and Stratford. The other bus is operated by the Greater Waterbury Transit District, which provides service in the towns of Cheshire, Middlebury, Naugatuck, Prospect, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown and Wolcott. These cities have a combined population of more than 510,000, based on the latest statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau.
As of press time, both transit agencies have refused to remove the ads from either bus. Ronald Kilcoyne, the GBTA's chief executive officer, told the Post that while the authority is reviewing the matter, he believes the banners are subject to free speech protections that would limit the chiropractic profession's efforts to have them removed.
"I've been getting calls from all over the country. But this is an issue of free speech, and when can we reject an ad or not." Kilcoyne stated. "I understand their concerns, but I'm not sure it's different from ads from attorneys who specialize in malpractice suits."
The Connecticut Chiropractic Association (CCA) and the Connecticut Chiropractic Council (CCC) appear to be taking different approaches to defeating the latest anti-chiropractic campaign. Kristin Kasabucki, the CCA's executive director, does not believe the profession can force the GBTA to have the ad removed.
"It's been on billboards and in newspapers," Kasabucki told the Post. "Our attorney has looked at it. We believe the bus company has every right to run the ad. There is nothing libelous in it. Our biggest concern is it might drive patients away from seeking help."
To help counter the awareness group's negative message, the CCA has launched a new Web site (www.ctchiro.com), containing information for chiropractors, patients as well as the general public on health, wellness and the benefits of chiropractic care.
CCC President Luigi DiRubba, DC, believes the GBTA should pull the ad. In an open letter quoted in the Post, DiRubba has asked the authority to "please stop displaying this slanderous and false advertising from sources who only wish to promote their personal vendetta and have a personal agenda."
The CCA and CCC have also sent a joint e-mail to all chiropractors practicing in the state of Connecticut, asking DCs, staff and family members to contact the GBTA and voice their complaints about the anti-chiropractic campaign. In particular, the organizations have identified three people to whom messages should be sent:
- Ronald Kilcoyne (203-366-7070, ext. 106;
) - Alan Watson (203-366-7070, ext. 113;
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- Lucia Monk (203-366-7070, ext. 103;
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The exact relationship between Neck911USA.com and the Chiropractic Stroke Victims Awareness Group remains unclear. Neck911USA claims to be "a volunteer group of individuals who provide consultations on complications due to neck manipulation." Whether the Chiropractic Stroke Victims Awareness Group and the "volunteer group of individuals" that comprise Neck911USA are one and the same has yet to be established. However, the bus campaign launched in May marks the first time the awareness group and Neck 911USA are mentioned together in the same advertisement.
According to Kasabucki, the ChiroStroke group is based in Cheshire and is not registered as a nonprofit agency in the state of Connecticut. Sources who have spoken to Dynamic Chiropractic on the condition of anonymity believe the person behind the group is a woman in her mid-20s who may have suffered some type of neurological trauma resulting from chiropractic manipulation, but this information has yet to be confirmed independently.
An online search of the phone number listed in the ad indicates it belongs to an individual in Rocky Hill, Conn. Calls placed to the phone number were transferred directly to voice mail; messages left at the number were not returned as this article went to press.
Regardless of what link may exist between Neck911USA and ChiroStroke, one thing is abundantly clear: Chiropractic is still under attack in Connecticut, and the profession must do all it can to help defeat the actions of these and other organizations bent on damaging chiropractic's reputation.
References
- Cummings B. chiropractic group claims ad twists the truth. Connecticut Post, May 11, 2006.
- Devitt M. Chiropractic comes under attack in Connecticut. Dynamic Chiropractic, July 16, 2005. www.chiroweb.com/archives/23/15/05.html.
- Another anti-chiropractic campaign in Connecticut. Dynamic Chiropractic, Jan. 29, 2006. www.chiroweb.com/archives/24/03/17.html.
- Chiropractic enemy #1? Dynamic Chiropractic, Aug. 14, 2005. www.chiroweb.com/archives/23/17/05.html.
- Chiropractic group demands removal of anti-chiropractic ads from Bridgeport buses. PR Newswire, May 8, 2006.
- E-mail from Chad Rohlfsen, DC, to Dynamic Chiropractic, May 8, 2006.
- Our apologies to Connecticut Chiropractic Council members. Dynamic Chiropractic, July 30, 2005. www.chiroweb.com/archives/23/16/17.html.