RE: Promises, Poppycock and Placebo: Pseudoscience in Action!
People fall for this again and again. People want your money and are willing to do anything to get it. Promising that a concoction of herbs and whatever will heal you is so much easier than doing something that actually works.
According to magnetic healer Daniel D. Palmer, the founder of chiropractic, "vertebral subluxation" was the sole cause of all diseases and manipulation was the cure for all diseases of the human race.[3] A 2003 profession-wide survey found "most chiropractors (whether 'straights' or 'mixers') still hold views of Innate Intelligence and of the cause and cure of disease (not just back pain) consistent with those of the Palmers."
This should alarm any thinking person, but for some reason this is actually a popular modality. Why? In part because it's non-invasive and people don't like to go to doctors for a variety of reasons. Some valid reasons might be the fear of finding out what might be ailing them is very serious. Perhaps they had a painful experience at the hospital before and they don't want to experience it again. People want the easy, inexpensive and comfortable alternative and chiropractic offers that. You get a massage and actually human contact, while at your typical hospital you get to wait in line, pay a LOT of money, possibly get bad news, and are barely listened to because the doctor is forced to get you in and out as fast as possible.
The holistic approach is perfectly reasonable, because a typical hospital experience is at times a very cold and serious experience. People go to hospitals to die, some feel. And in a way that is true. It's all so uncomfortable and humans are repelled by discomfort.
I get it, I really do. Modern medicine is imperfect and people are looking for an alternative. Once they get on the internet they can find like-minded people and feel comfortable that what they are trying is validated by someone else. Unfortunately most people are not to be trusted and are trying to get your money with the least effort.
Do yourself and your family a favor and read this over real quick.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiropractic_controversy_and_criticism#Ethics_and_claims
Take care
@doctorstrange I like you a lot :D
Thank you for the indepth comments! I think there is another post inside me explaining Pseduoscience isn't innocent. That's it's quite malicious and preys upon the suffering and desperation in a lot of sick people. Your comment that alternative 'treatment' is comfortable and inexpensive is a great point and certainly part of the allure!
It's also popular because it works.
While some of the early claims of Chiropractic had no merit much of what Chiropractors have done is cure people beyond just back pain. I don't like when Chiropractors make claims they shouldn't (and neither do the Chiropractors in my family) but it can do a world of good for ones body and that can, at times, fix problems that go beyond back pain.
It's popular for a variety of reasons, and one reason is that it appears to work.
So you freely admit this, yet still want to believe that it works? Aren't you being intellectually dishonest here? Cognitive dissonance preventing you from just giving up on chiropractic being a real healing modality?
Those chiropractors that make no outlandish claims and that don't charge incredible fees for what is basically massage are doing no harm and I can't fault them. However, they are benefiting from piggy-backing off of being thought of as a respectable medical professional. For those chiropractors that are staying within their scope of practice, once again, I'm all for that. But they aren't really healing anything unless it's related to placebo, adjunct therapies, such as massage or exercise, or known effective medical practice. The spine manipulation is a temporary buzz that people similarly get from cracking their knuckles. It doesn't heal anything.
Care to tell me what problems are fixed by chiropractic that wouldn't heal on their own?