Interesting little debate. I'll weigh in because I am a chiropractor.
People should know chiropractic detractors offer the same arguments time and time again. Their arguments hold little validity and are often associated with secondary agendas.
1) Scientific.
The truth is very, very few "medical treatments" are scientifically validated using the same standards as our "friends of science" here would use to discredit chiropractic.
There is an unacceptable double standard at play.
Why should one profession have to carry the full burden of science while every other profession is held to lesser account?
Still, make no mistake, chiropractors are very proud of the scientific research in their field, especially the research that supports the safety and effectiveness of our procedures, and which is often done in conjunction with medical doctors, physiotherapists and assorted PhD's. Yes we work with everyone. Imagine that!
http://www.chiropracticcanada.ca/ecm...trokeStudy.pdf
Could chiropractic research be better? Of course. Could physiotherapy research be better? Yes. Could medical research? Absolutely.
Should all research in every discipline continue to improve? Of course. Why? Because it benefits the public.
Yet please don't be snowballed by some of these gentlemen into for one second, thinking that they have all the scientific research and we have none. That they are pure science and we, less so. They don't really believe that themselves. Many hide behind the curtain of science when it suits their purposes and disregard scientific principals when it does not.
They shouldn't throw scientific stones at our glass house lest their glass house is damaged as well.
2) Once you go you always have to go is another common myth.
Can any physio fix 20 years of the negative and ever accumulating biomechanical effects of being behind a desk? Really? Be honest. You can't. You know you can't. You piece people together, their lifestyle breaks them down. You start over. Same as every healthcare worker.
Sure, does exercise, nutrition, good ergonomics help mitigate the stress on a body? Absolutely. Does it counteract 5 days a week, 9 hour plus days, with over 330 days a year of sitting? No. People need assistance to deal with their lifestyles, chosen by them or forced upon them by circumstance. Does a physio who treats high performance athletes provide one course of treatment and than never again sees those athletes? Ridiculous. It's chiro, physio, acupuncture, massage or big pharma. Pick, and live with the consequences of your decisions.
Which ever course of care a patient chooses, it is the patients' lifestyle that determines visit frequency, not the practitioner.
Are their chiros who over treat? Of course. Physios? Yup. Medical doctors? Of course.
Anyone who will stand up and say their profession does not have bad apples, healthcare or other, is a bold faced liar.
When I eat at a bad restaurant, do I go back? No. Do I say all restaurants are bad and never eat out again? Ridiculous. Yet it is logical to say your uncle's, aunt's, cousin had a bad experience at a chiropractor's office, so I'll never go see one?
Why hold chiropractors to a higher standard than you, yourself, hold your medical doctor to? Have to keep taking your blood pressure meds? Have to keep taking your cholesterol meds? Even when you're helping yourself out by exercising and dieting? Than what is so illogical about ongoing chiropractic care? Why is ongoing medical care logical because of the results of a blood test but ongoing chiropractic care to combat the negative effects of a 21st century job, bad? People, look after your nervous system and joints, or high cholesterol with be the very least of your worries, I promise. Wanna spend less on your MD, chiro, physio, massage? Look after yourselves better. Consider career or other lifestyle changes.
Pretty basic stuff.
You know, it's really not physios vs. chiro as some would have you believe. We have more in common than we disagree upon.
If healthcare wanted to save money and increase space for real "medical emergencies'", people would start being billed for hospital visits that turned out to be musculoskeletal in origin. Think about it. If you have musculoskeletal issues, you pay to see a chiro, you pay to see a physio, you pay to see a massage therapist. Why shouldn't you pay to see your MD for musculoskeletal pain??
A level playing field would help both chiros and physios. More importantly, it would help the healthcare system by unburdening it under the weight of non-medical emergency visits. Most importantly it would help the patient who was suffering. Because lets face it. If big pharma had all the answers, I think both chiros and physios would be out of work.