Alternative medicines 'may be dangerous'

Alternative treatments may appear safer then they actually are, because studies fail to report adverse effects, according to the UK's only professor of complementary medicine.
Professor Edzard Ernst, from Exeter University, said too often the results from medical trials on therapies such as chiropractic manipulation and acupuncture were not reported correctly. He said this was because they were often run by 'enthusiastic amateurs' more concerned about promoting their treatments rather than testing hypotheses. Chiropractors use their hands to manipulate the spine to treat a range of musculoskeletal problems. The alternative therapy has been approved by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence as a treatment for lower back pain. However, Professor Ernst estimated as many as half of patients experience at least mild adverse effects, such as pain in the area of manipulation.
He added there are around 700 case studies where severe complications had been reported. Yet he told The Guardian: 'When you read the literature, you see proclamations that spinal manipulation, according to chiropractors, is 100 per cent safe.'

Source  - Daily Mail