The Daytona Beach News-Journal recently ran a “Letter to the Editor” featuring negative comments towards General Becky Halstead and the chiropractic profession. The article, authored by Remigio Lacsamana, M.D., slanders the profession for its proclaimed, “lack of scientific based evidence.”
Highlights
• “I begin to wonder whether Gen. Halstead, in this age of science, really believes in what she is advocating. The fact is, a significant number of chiropractors have distanced themselves from D.D. Palmer’s antiquated notion of subluxation, giving rise to the “mixers,” as opposed to the “straights” who still embrace the chiropractic founder’s philosophy”
• “A chiropractic student’s statement that “all forms of health care are important” and that there is no right or wrong way, just a different approach, ignores the reality that a lot of pseudo-science is being peddled to the public.”
• “I find regrettable that Gen. Halstead, in advocating for chiropractic, has not given us any compelling reasons why this would add any value to conventional, mainstream and science-based medicine. As a physician, I reject her stand on chiropractic as shortsighted and unacceptable.”
The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress took the initiative to reply to Dr. Lacsamana and properly educate him on a number of studies and reports that not only show the efficacy of chiropractic care but also the economic value.
• “As the son of a chiropractor, I am all too familiar with these types of remarks, and it is apparent that Dr. Lacsamana is not familiar with the many evidence-based studies regarding the efficacy of chiropractic care. These studies have been published by medical doctors and other industry leaders in high-profile journals and publications.”
• “…findings, published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics in May 2007, suggest that the regular utilization of chiropractic can reduce the need for hospitalization, pharmaceutical usage, and overall global health care costs by almost 50 percent.”
• “Scott Haldeman, D.C., M.D., Ph.D, chaired the World Health Organization’s Bone and Joint Decade 20002010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders, which published in the Feb. 2008 edition of Spine the most comprehensive evaluation of all neck pain therapies to date. The panel’s report on noninvasive interventions concluded that because chiropractors consistently include exercise advice and share relevant self-care educational materials with patients as part of overall care, chiropractic management of neck pain substantially embodies a full range of noninvasive therapeutic approaches recommended by the Bone and Joint Decade Task Force.”
View the Foundation’s reply: Chiropractic has faced rigorous testing
