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
