Chiropractic Awareness Week

Simon Singh wades into chiropractors today in the Groan, arguing that the practice is dangerous and half of patients suffer side effects – possibly fatal ones.

But what about chiropractic in the context of treating back problems? Manipulating the spine can cure some problems, but results are mixed. To be fair, conventional approaches, such as physiotherapy, also struggle to treat back problems with any consistency. Nevertheless, conventional therapy is still preferable because of the serious dangers associated with chiropractic.

I can’t comment on his assertion that chiropractors claim to cure ailments unrelated to back pain as I do not have the relevant knowledge, so I’ll take his comment at face value. However, I can comment on chiropractic from the point of view as a patient.

Back in 1998, I was suffering from significant lower back and neck pain. I was also getting a migraine at least once every six to eight weeks or so. I suffer from a slight congenital curvature of the spine; inherited from my mother’s side of the family. My line manager at the time recommended that I see a chiropractor as he felt that it would benefit me.

Now, I am the world’s biggest sceptic on just about everything from God to global warming and everything in between. That said, I am open minded enough to check out the evidence. The chiropractor I saw was a McTimony practitioner. They are an offshoot of the main theme, using a more gentle method of manipulation.

Despite warnings that I would suffer the side effects that Simon Singh mentions:

In 2001, a systematic review of five studies revealed that roughly half of all chiropractic patients experience temporary adverse effects, such as pain, numbness, stiffness, dizziness and headaches. These are relatively minor effects, but the frequency is very high, and this has to be weighed against the limited benefit offered by chiropractors.

I suffered no such discomfort. The chiropractor warned me that there may be some initial stiffness, but, no, nothing. Within a few weeks and three or four visits, my posture had noticeably improved and my lower back was no longer making me constantly aware of its presence. The neck pain eased, too. The neck manipulation had another side effect; migraine frequency dropped from one every few weeks to one or two a year.

More recently, I went to my GP with a painful knee. The GP could find nothing wrong, whereas the chiropractor noticed that my pelvis was slightly out of alignment. It was the chiropractor who cured my knee, not the GP.

So, on balance, I’ll stick with chiropractic. Unlike homoeopathy, there is evidence that it works. Like Singh, I don’t buy the “curing asthma” that he quotes in his article, but it has certainly eased my aches and pains. Sure, there’s a risk. There is a risk with any branch of medicine. You pays your money and you takes your chance. I suspect that Singh is overstating the risks somewhat.