ACA responds to Medscape’s distribution of flawed Ernst paper

September 17, 2010 — The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) has prepared a response to Medscape, a Web-based information resource for healthcare professionals, which recently reprinted a paper by Edzard Ernst in two of its electronic newsletters. Ernst’s paper makes flawed and sensational claims regarding the safety of chiropractic spinal manipulation.

In the response, ACA expresses its concern and disappointment over Medscape’s choice to reprint the Ernst paper, which asserts that the risks of cervical manipulation by doctors of chiropractic outweigh the benefits.

In addition to highlighting the many deficiencies of the Ernst paper, ACA’s letter points to the numerous studies that support the efficacy and safety of chiropractic care and clarifies that DCs are not the only health professionals that perform cervical manipulation.

Source: American Chiropractic Association, www.acatoday.org