October 2003

WCA, ACA admonish WNBC

In their letters, each organization pointed out to Dr. David Marks, the health reporter at WNBC, that no evidence exists to show the superiority of osteopathic manipulation over chiropractic adjustment.

Dr. Terry Rondberg, president of the WCA, said, “The news segment was … filled with unsubstantiated claims about osteopathy’s superiority to chiropractic, saying that osteopathic manipulation was ‘gentler’ than chiropractic adjustments. There is simply no basis for such a subjective statement. The two techniques are different, but not because one is gentler than the other…”

Dr. Donald J. Krippendorf, president of the ACA, wrote: “While the study you mention did focus on ‘osteopathic’ manipulation, there is absolutely no evidence that chiropractic manipulation is any less effective or any less gentle than that provided by osteopaths. In fact, a great deal of research supports chiropractic manipulation as an effective treatment for children with otitis media.”

Krippendorf cited research conducted by Dr. Joan Fallon that showed chiropractic adjustment aided nearly 80 percent of children treated for ear infections, and a 1996 study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutic showed a 93 percent rate of improvement following chiropractic care.

Rondberg also provided a number of citations to research and articles published on the subject of chiropractic and childhood otitis.

WNBC was admonished for poor journalism by both organizations. Krippendorf stated: “The ACA believes you owe it to your viewers to set the record straight on chiropractic care. A multitude of other newsworthy studies exists that could serve as the focus of future healthcare stories — including a recent study in the medical journal Spine that found that manual manipulation offers better short-term relief of chronic back pain than medication.”

Rondberg said: “The failure to provide complete, unbiased and accurate information on important health issues jeopardizes the already diminishing credibility of the news media.”

Sources: World Chiropractic Association, American Chiropractic Association

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