Quote:
Originally Posted by peter12
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The problems in medical research (and it would be silly to pretend they don't exist) are not really relevant to the question of whether chiropractic is quackery. The issue is that while medical science relies on an imperfect system that attempts to ground treatments in empirical data, chiropractic relies on no such methodology at all, preferring to ground their treatments on a theory of disease that was invented in 1895 and has since then failed to collect a shred of proof that it actually works in the way that its inventor claimed that it would. Don't forget: this is in the era of snake oil and carbolic smoke balls. Chiropractic is just more commercially successful, but that doesn't make the basic "subluxation theory" in which it is grounded any more valid. In scientific terms, it remains unproven. In
rational terms, it's nonsense, which at best will cost you money and at worst will cause you physical harm.
I actually don't doubt that chiropractors can offer temporary pain relief on occasion; I've experienced it myself. It's when chiropractors start claiming that they can cure acid reflux, carpal tunnel syndrome and diabetes that I start hoping they'll get carted away by the dudes in the white coats.