Science Based Medicine

[porphyry]

From the blog Science Based Medicine.

Propagnada meant to indoctrinate medical students into chiropractic as CAM (Complimentery and Alternative medicine):

For people with chronic pain or with other refractory conditions, the chiropractic visit itself can be a source of comfort even without the addition of a demonstrable scientific component. Treatment by a chiropractor can generate a sense of understanding and meaning, an experience of comfort, an expectation of change, and a feeling of empowerment. Chiropractic’s combination of vitalist “innate intelligence” and simple mechanical explanation can give rich vocabulary for just those illnesses conventional medicine remains poorly equipped to address. Research indicates that for many of the illnesses chiropractic treats, precise diagnosis, assurance of recovery, and physician-patient agreement about the nature of a problem hasten recovery.

Chiropractic finds its voice exactly where biomedicine becomes inarticulate. Too often, biomedicine fails to affirm a patient’s chronic pain. Patients think their experience is brushed aside by a physician who treats it as unjustified, unfounded, or annoying, attitudes that heighten a patient’s anguish and intensify suffering. Chiropractors never have to put a patient’s pain in the category of the “mind.” They never fail to find a problem. By rooting pain in a clear physical cause, chiropractic validates the patient’s experience.

For people with chronic pain or with other refractory conditions, just thinking the chiropractor might help should be enough. If the chiropractor makes soothing, flattering noises at you, you’re supposed to feel better, and even a temporary and superficial psychological “lift” ought to leave you satisfied. Nothing empowers a patient like being treated like a child come to mommy.

If they throw around a bunch of religious, “spiritual” language and images, you will be totally charmed and disarmed, because you’re not supposed to question faith or expect any real scientific evidence for it. Even so, it’s nice to find a ‘science-y’ confirmation that God exists and the universe is on your side. If it sounds like religion, then the best test is deciding if it feels true in your heart. You want to be that kind of person.

Research indicates that for many of the illnesses chiropractic treats, nothing substantial related to your body’s health actually has to change at all. Being told you are better will make you think you are better, because you fall for it. Being told you are as sick as you think you are will make you feel so validated that you’ll never notice or care that you’re being mislead.

Chiropractic is able to lie in ways which biomedicine can’t, because it isn’t hampered by either honesty or real respect for the patient, as an adult. As long as they tell you what they think you want to hear, you’ll enjoy your visit and be none the wiser.

Comments

[petrusplancius.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I always like my doctor to empower me by validating my experience and affirming my pain.

wow...what a lie

[(Anonymous)]

I don't know what about chiropractic is a lie? If anything it is true and scientific in it's nature and what it says about the human body. Propaganda by big pharma might suggest to you that drugs are scientific but everyone can see that, that kind of science is manipulated by money (corporate science)and is a chief monopoly in America set up by Rockefeller in the 1930's. Drugs are not scientific and are not healthy and do not give health to a person. In fact, drugs make sick people worse later in life and are cumulative poisons to the human body.

Re: wow...what a lie

[malkhos.livejournal.com]

Then why is the average life span twice what it waw as recently as 1895 when chiropractic was fabricated?

[karinmollberg.livejournal.com]

...Off topic, I am afraid.

I just wanted to say "hello" officially to you two, and pronounce how happy I was to see you had friended me, and how I was equally glad to recipocrate at once. The thought of friending you, had crossed my own mind several times, on seeing you both here and there, only not over here, so far;)
(I really hate those: things ;):), but have unfortunately learnt I must use them, to avoid too severe misunderstandings, hm)

Will now start reading in here on your page and commenting now and then. Please do feel very welcome to my own Pirate Jenny-ship (my alter ego on wordpress) , which is a bit of a ghost barge at the moment, overloaded with pretty strange cargo, but otherwise is mostly a happy vessel for the most interesting passengers of all sorts, trying to decipher the sails which are full of hieroglyphs and graffitti as is the ship itself.

[malkhos.livejournal.com]

Hello!

I don't much like these things, either: :) :( etc. but I agree one must use them now and again to ensure readers understand the proper tone. That's the downside of all this; you can't see or hear the other person's expression, body language, tone of voice to accurately read the message. So I use them when I must but I feel a little foolish sometimes.

[karinmollberg.livejournal.com]

Quite agree.
Have been feeling exceptionally foolish, though, when I didn´t use them, and someone I liked seemed to actually get my meaning wrong, which is entirely my own silly fault.
With me it is the problem of my usually wildly, rather than mildly, ironic tone. It is very swedish "bait". Almost all of my old SF-, fantasy- and other literate ones; comic-fans etc. use that sort of irony over there, assuming their intelligent friends "get it", which is normally the case. Unfortunately I can´t stay serious for too long, for fear of "boredom". But it does happen;) Seriousness on my side. Heh. As in my next post. Fine getting to know you, this way, am very pleased about it!

Re: wow...what a lie

[malkhos.livejournal.com]

That is, becuase of the development of vaccines and anti-biotics, or because of the statistically insgingicnat number of people hwo have undergone chiropractic tratment?

Re: wow...what a lie

[malkhos.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on this one. I generally believe the body will heal itself if it can, and if I must take something, I would rather take something backed by science rather than pseudoscience or lack of science at all.