Beware the Sanitized Spinal Trap

I agree with Orac on this one. Thus, I am reprinting the relevant parts of the non-sanitized version of Simon Singh’s infamous chiropractic article (the entirety can be seen via the link to Orac’s site or here — the cached original version). However, I live in Canada so this might get sketchy, but I’ll give it a try for now anyway. I’ll also make clear, even though Orac mentions it, that the sanitized sentences are on the BCA’s own website, so it’s not like people can’t go somewhere to see them anyway.

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Legal disclaimer: I did not write the following. This is not my article. So if anyone is thinking of suing me, please just ask me to take it down instead — and I will repost the sanitized lawyer version instead. For more information consult these resources: Canadian Law Site (under Fair Comment) and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms section 2b. These are Simon Singh’s opinions, not mine, and I am reprinting them here to illustrate the larger issue of freedom of speech.

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Beware the spinal trap
Some practitioners claim it is a cure-all but research suggests chiropractic therapy can be lethal

Simon Singh
The Guardian, Saturday April 19 2008

Paragraph 1 should start This is Chiropractic Awareness Week. So let’s be aware. How about some awareness that may prevent harm and help you make truly informed choices? First, end of paragraph 1

paragraph 2

You might think that modern chiropractors restrict themselves to treating back problems, but in fact they still possess some quite wacky ideas. The fundamentalists argue that they can cure anything. And even the more moderate chiropractors have ideas above their station. The British Chiropractic Association claims that their members can help treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying, even though there is not a jot of evidence. This organisation is the respectable face of the chiropractic profession and yet it happily promotes bogus treatments.

I can confidently label these treatments as bogus [changed to “utter nonsense” in the scrubbed version] …the rest.

· Simon Singh is the co-author of Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial

www.simonsingh.net