Surveys Show Chiropractic Quackery Still Widespread
Surveys by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners indicate that the majority of chiropractors are providing services that are unsubstantiated and lack a scientifically plausible rationale. The published reports are based on responses from nationwide samples of chiropractors who stated that they were in full-time practice. The surveys included questions about the conditions treated and the extent to which the responders used various procedures. The table below indicates the responses to the first five surveys that I believe were significant [1-5]. Survey year 1991 1998 2003 2009 2014 Number who responded 4,835 3,177 2,574 2,371 1,379 Approaches that use unsubstantiated diagnostic methods to check for “subluxations”: Activator methods 51.2% 62.8% 69.9% — — Cranial technique 27.2% 37.3% 38.0% — — …
Continue Reading >A Close Look at the NutriMost Fat Loss System
In April 2017, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced that the marketers of the NutriMost Ultimate Fat Loss System had agreed to settle FTC concerns that their program had been marketed deceptively. NutriMost has greatly modified its program and business practices, but it may be instructive to look at what happened before the FTC became involved. Background History The NutriMost Ultimate Fat Loss System was developed by Ray Wisniewski, D.C., a chiropractor who practices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [1]. He began franchising it in 2014 and, by January 2016, the program was available through more than 160 clinics, most of which were operated by chiropractors. For at least two years, the NutriMost Web site claimed that the Ultimate Fat Loss program was “designed to help keep …
Continue Reading >Silly Claims for “Spine-Align” (A Dietary Supplement)
In the early 1990s, Vita-Herbs, of St. Louis, Missouri, marketed “Spine Align,” which the label described as a “biologically active concentrate of freeze-dried raw whole spinal column.” Literature for the product claimed that contained “organ-specific cellular components ” that could “help repair, regenerate, correct, and normalize the specific cellular complexes they were derived from.” The product was also claimed to “activate the body’s own Innate.” (This referred to “Innate Intelligence,” the metaphysical term used by fundamentalist chiropractors to describe the body’s self-healing capacity.) Vita-Herbs, Inc., was registered in Missouri as a for-profit corporation in 1966, by Ralph W. Rector and Harold Black. An article I found in a spiritualist magazine described Rector this way: By trade, Rev. Rector is a pharmacist, specializing in homeopathy. He’s …
Continue Reading >“Functional Neurologist” Reprimanded for Unprofessional Conduct
The College of Chiropractors of British Columbia (CCBC) has disciplined Daniel Sullins, D.C., for conduct associated with his practice of “functional neurology.” [1] Sullins, who had operated North Shore Brain Balancing in North Vancouver, for several years, had described himself as a “board-certified functional neurologist” and had claimed that his “brain balancing” could help people with a long list of common symptoms. A 2011 graduate of Texas-Based Parker College of Chiropractic, he had done business as the Applied Neurology Health Canter in Dallas, Texas, before moving to Canada in 2017. In 2016, that clinic’s Web site stated: A doctor practicing functional neurology is highly trained in brain based care and the nervous system on a postdoctorate level. This is important to you, the patient, because the brain controls and regulates every …
Continue Reading >Live Blood Cell Analysis
Live blood cell analysis is carried out by placing a drop of blood from the patient’s fingertip on a microscope slide under a glass cover slip to keep it from drying out. The slide is then viewed at high magnification with a dark-field microscope that forwards the image to a television monitor. Both practitioner and patient can then see the blood cells, which appear as dark bodies outlined in white. The practitioner may take polaroid photographs of the television picture or may videotape the procedure for himself and/or the patient. The results are then used as a basis for prescribing supplements. The procedure is also called live cell analysis, dark-field video analysis, nutritional blood analysis, libe blood analysis, and several other names. Most of its …
Continue Reading >Biological Terrain Asessment
Biological Terrain Assessment (BTA) is a computerized analysis of blood, urine and saliva specimens used to recommend nutritional programs, vitamin and mineral supplements, homeopathic products, and/or herbs. Proponents claim that BTA gives evidence of disease at cellular level which enables one to detect and correct any imbalance before a condition becomes pathological and requires more invasive medical procedures. The Grieshaber Group, of Schiltach, Germany, which markets the BTA system, states that it is useful for diagnosing immune-system diseases; allergies and auto-immune diseases; metabolic diseases; environmental/toxicological diseases; heart/circulatory diseases; nervous-system diseases (CFS, MS); chronic diseases and chronic/toxic diseases of the digestive organs; degenerative diseases of the skeletal system; and viral and bacterial infectious inflammatory diseases. Proponents attribute BTA’s present status to Robert Greenberg, D.C., of Payson, …
Continue Reading >Applied Kinesiology: ICAK Response
International College of Applied Kinesiology- U.S.A. 6405 Metcalf Ave., Suite 503 Shawnee Mission, KS 66202 (913) 384-5336 November 11, 1998 Stephen Barrett, M.D. Consumer Advocate P.O. Box 1747 Allentown, PA 18105 Dr. Barrett, You are herewith informed of the facts about applied kinesiology research. The details are as follows: 1. For the record, we would like to state that while there are numerous methods which employ manual muscle testing procedures, most are not in keeping with the standards of the International College of Applied Kinesiology (ICAK). Specifically, be advised that 1. testing of substances by any method other than the stimulation of gustatory receptors on the tongue or olfactory receptors in the nose is specifically outside the realm of applied kinesiology, 2. using a straight …
Continue Reading >A Critical Look at the Use of Thermography by Chiropractors
Thermographic devices portray heat emission from body surfaces as images that the practitioner interprets. The images may be in color or in black and white, and may be accompanied by displays of various calculations. Each color or shade represents a specific temperature level. One type of device converts the radiated heat (infrared energy) into electronic signals that are amplified and transmitted to a monitor and/or videotape. Liquid crystal display devices exist but are not as popular. Some devices produce a printout that can be shown to the patient. An infrared thermographic examination typically costs hundreds of dollars. Promotional Claims Chiropractors who use thermography typically claim that it can detect nerve impingements or “nerve irritation” and is useful for monitoring the effect of chiropractic adjustments on subluxations …
Continue Reading >The Toftness Radiation Detector Is a Bogus Device
The Toftness Radiation Detector is a hand-held instrument claimed to detect low levels of electromagnetic radiation from the human body and focus it so that a chiropractor could detect conditions requiring treatment. The device, patented in 1971 [1] and 1984 [2], consists of a plastic cylinder containing a series of plastic lenses. Its inventor, chiropractor Irwing N. Toftness (1909-1990), claimed that energy with a frequency of 69.5 gigahertz emanates from compressed spinal nerves. According to an article in Dynamic Chiropractic, Toftness was a disciple of Albert Abrams, M.D. [a man whom the AMA considered the “dean of gadget quacks”]. In 1936, Toftness began developing a version of an Abrams’ “radionics” device for the chiropractic profession. He started with a plate similar to a drum head …
Continue Reading >Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique (NAET) and Its Variants
NAET is a bizarre system of diagnosis and treatment based on the notion that allergies are caused by “energy blockage” that can be diagnosed with muscle-testing and permanently cured with acupressure and/or acupuncture treatments. Its developer, Devi S. Nambudripad, DC, LAc, RN, PhD, is described on her Web site as an acupuncturist, chiropractor, kinesiologist, and registered nurse who practices in Buena Park, California. In October 2002, the site’s “Doctor Locator” database listed 803 NAET practitioners in the United States and 51 in Canada, most of whom are chiropractors or acupuncturists. (In 1999, the list contained 776 names for the United States). Nambudripad also runs Nambutripad’s Allergy Research Foundation (N.A.R.F), which sends members a bimonthly newsletter for an annual subscription fee of $36. Dubious History In …
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