The scientific evidence supports the use of exercise rehabilitation, where you become an active participant in the treatment. Passive therapies like massage won’t help in the long run.
Many cases of lower back pain are best managed through education, exercise and manual treatment.
(Shutterstock)
The over-medicalization of back pain is a global concern. New research in Canada shows that people with lower income as well as rural and remote dwellers are less likely to access physiotherapy care.
Most people with low back pain aren’t getting the most effective treatment.
from shutterstock.com
A recent series on low back pain by the global medical journal The Lancet shows doctors often overlook recommended treatments, such as advice to stay active and to exercise.
A paper was published and much discussed online recently, which demonstrates all the problems that I - and other critics - have with the way research is done and interpreted in the world of chiropractic…
All dentists should be practising evidence-based dentistry for the sake of their patients.
John Dill/Flickr
Holistic dentistry claims to promote overall wellness rather than simply treating disease. But the lack of evidence for the alternative therapies underpinning it are cause for concern.
Most people see chiropractors for spine pain or other musculoskeletal conditions.
Michael Dorausch
PANACEA OR PLACEBO – A weekly series assessing the evidence behind complementary and alternative medicines. Chiropractors use manual therapy to address musculoskeletal-related conditions (joints, ligaments…
There is a soft evidence base for spinal manipulations being useful for musculoskeletal problems.
Michael Dorausch
A New South Wales general practitioner, who was de-registered by the NSW Medical Tribunal for claiming he could treat any number of serious conditions by “spinal manipulation”, has lost his appeal to the…
Chinese herbal treatments, among other complementary medicines, have come under scrutiny.
Flickr/Tricia Wang
Cutting complementary medicine courses from universities would dilute the quality of the education available and threaten safe practice but have no impact on demand for it, according to academics writing…
The Conversation’s health coverage: policy, chiropractic, obesity and medicine.
AAP, Planetc1.com, Puuiki Beach, LJA Kliche
In The Conversation’s first editorial meeting editor Andrew Jaspan explained what he wanted to achieve with the site: a more informed level of debate, based on evidence, research and expert opinion. It…
Science writer Simon Singh and Observer journalist Nick Cohen, at the Royal Courts of Justice, 23rd February 2010.
Robert Sharp/English PEN
Marcello Costa is a co-founder of “Friends of Science in Medicine”, an organisation established to campaign against university health-care courses that are not adequately supported by scientific evidence…
Opposition to chiropractic is not new, no bones about it.
jenni from the block
Recently there was an excellent, and much read, article on The Conversation entitled There’s no place for pseudo-scientific chiropractic in Australian universities which made the case against chiropractic…
All health-care providers should give patients evidence-based information – this includes chiropractors.
Planetc
Chiropractic has copped some criticism this week, with a group of prominent Australian doctors and scientists urging Central Queensland University to reverse its decision to offer a chiropractic degree…
Central Queensland University should reconsider its plans to offer a chiropractic degree.
Aidan Jones
It’s difficult enough to counter the massive amount of misleading information provided to consumers through the media and online. But the task becomes much harder when tertiary institutes give an undeserved…
Chiropractors may be good at what they do but immunisation is not their field.
Planetc1/Flickr
The publication by Australian Doctor of a controversial public lecture given earlier this year by Sydney chiropractor, Nimrod Weiner, has created a flurry of criticism about the lecture, particularly regarding…