If Simon Singh is not allowed to express his opinions in the UK, chiropractic is finished, in fact it would never have started.

Think tank: Costly libel suits are stifling science Simon Singhs article in the Sunday Times 14/6/09:

Last year I published an article in The Guardian about chiropractors who claim to treat childhood conditions such as asthma, colic and ear infection. My views on that treatment clashed with those of the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) and it threatened to sue me for libel.

Although The Guardian offered a right of reply, the dispute was not resolved and the BCA served proceedings. At this point, I could have backed down, apologised and paid a relatively small amount of damages. However, I believe that my article is important and covers a matter of public interest, so I have decided to fight the libel action.

So far, standing by my article and fighting the case has taken up a year of my life and has cost £100,000; the battle could continue for another year, and final costs could exceed £500,000.

It seems ridiculous that I should have to pay such vast amounts of money to defend an article about an important health issue. I am not alone: libel suits against scientists and science journalists are increasingly common. …………….Rest of article.

 

I have met Simon Singh he seems like a nice bloke, he wrote an article he genuinely believes in. If Simon is prevented from expressing his opinions, what of chiropractic?

Chiropractors would only be allowed say things everyone agrees with; If DD Palmer had been prevented from expressing his views about medicine there would be no chiropractic. Is the UK chiropractic profession about to accept the sceptics conclusions that chiropractic has nothing to offer people beyond treating back pain. Are we to share the painful backs with physiotherapists and Osteopaths giving politicians and the pharmaceutical industry exclusive rights over health policy.  I say BOLLOX to that.

I may be the village idiot, I may be the only person in the UK prepared to stand up and say I have no doubt that symmetrical movement in spinal joints (correcting a subluxation) is a prerequisite for good health (including clean water, good nutrition, exercise, etc etc) I  have no doubt I help people achieve better health every day in my practice and  I have never been accused of misleading or ripping anybody off.

The leaders of the chiropractic profession scurry around changing their websites trying not to offend sceptics which makes one wonder about the integrity of these “leaders”. Were they making claims they did not believe in, just to have more members in their associations. Disgusting! Were the GCC happy to let these digressions of the code of practice pass, giving the ASA time to do what the GCC the regulatory body was unable to do. No matter how you look at it the GCC is not fit for purpose.

What did these chiropractors see in their practice, if they never saw someone with asthma benefit from a healthy spine. Perhaps these chiropractors were not very good at providing spinal care, these must be the chiropractors Professor Ernst usually meets. Ernst made a presentation at the GCC in August 2006 and the 10 chiropractors on council were like rabbits caught in the headlights did not challenge him on any of his views.

There was an Interferential machine and Ultrasound in the AECC clinic for students who could not adjust. The recent NICE guidelines showed these interventions to be ineffective for Back pain, its fair to assume these chiropractors were not very successful in practice, so what do they do? They go back to the institutions as teachers of the next generation of chiropractors or become politicians.   If you can’t do, become a politician and now the profession is reaping this harvest.

Richard Lanigan
Richard Lanigan

Richard Lanigan DC.BSc (Chiro) MSc( Health Promotion) was born in North London 1957 of Irish Parents and was educated in Ireland. Originally trained as a PE teacher, he moved to Denmark 1979, where a serious knee injury got him interested in rehabilitation and training methods. Richard founded Denmarks premier fitness centre "Sweat Shop" in 1982 and travelled all over the world to find how best to prepare athletes for competition. In 1984 he became fitness and rehab consultant to the Danish national badminton teams, handball teams and many football club sides. This approach to optimal performance is normal in 2010, however back in the early 80s it was very revolutionary, when stretching was limited to putting on your socks and knee injuries were immobilised for months in plaster.
Richard developed rehabilitation and fitness programmes for many of Denmark’s top athletes including Kirsten Larsten and Ib Frederickson, all England singles badminton champions in late 80s. "Team Denmark" hired him and his facilities to help prepare many of Denmarks athletes for the LA and Seoul Olympics. In 1990 he worked with Anya Anderson, Olympic gold medallist and voted worlds best female handball player at the Atlanta Olympics.
Richard advised Copenhagen’s main teaching (Rigs) Hospital on starting their rehab facility in 1984. In the same year he started working with Denmarks leading chiropractor; Ole Wessung DC, who demonstrated the effectiveness of Chiropractic in improving athletic performance, so impressed was Richard that in 1990 he moved back to England to study chiropractic at Anglo European College of Chiropractic and was student president for two years between 1993-1995.

Richard was awarded a fellowship by the College of Chiropractors in 2008, however in January 2009 Richard chose to stop using the title chiropractor in the UK because the British regulatory body for chiropractic (The GCC) had not maintained international standards of chiropractic education in the UK and including prescribing medicines in the chiropractic scope of practice, a fig leaf for incompetent UK chiropractors to hide behind. Richard has another clinic in Dublin and is a member of the Chiropractic Association of Ireland and the European Chiropractic Union.
Richard has four children Eloise aged 3, Molly and Isabelle aged five and the eldest Frederik aged twenty one is pursuing a career as a professional tennis player and has represented Norway in the Davis Cup in 2006 & 2007. None of Richards children have ever taken any medicine, www.vaccination.co.uk they eat healthy food, take lots of exercise and have their spines checked every month, www.familychiropractic.co.uk
Richard has had much experience working in the Cuban health service where Doctors are keen to incorporate drug free interventions (acupuncture and chiropractic) and prevention in their health care programmes www.henryreevebrigade.org

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