In one of the most thorough reviews and refutations of the Subluxation Deniers' false claims regarding the existence and clinical meaningfulness of vertebral subluxation in the history of the chiropractic profession, well known chiropractic scholar Peter Rome DC provides a line item critique of what he refers to as their "false and bizarre" claims.
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According to Matthew McCoy DC, MPH, chiropractor, public health researcher and editor of the journal that published the study: "Rome's paper comes at a time when several notable chiropractic researchers and scholars have also published papers systematically deconstructing the nonsense that has spewed from the mouths and pens of an organized group of what can only be compared to Flat Earthers."
For decades now elements within the chiropractic profession have worked diligently to move chiropractic into the medical model, add drugs and injections to the scope and marginalize the practice of managing vertebral subluxation in an effort to relegate it to the history books. Indeed they even claim it is just an "historical concept".
These elements within the profession have come to be known as the "Chiropractic Cartel". A moniker given to them by the United States Department of Education because of their absolute monopolistic control over the educational, licensing and regulatory functions of the entire chiropractic profession globally.
So bizarre and ignorant are their claims regarding vertebral subluxation that the individuals pushing this agenda have become known as "Subluxation Deniers" similar to the Flat Earthers who deny the Earth is round.
The Deniers, working through and with the assistance of the Cartel, have not only seized control of the educational, licensing and regulatory functions of the profession but have also seized control of the research and publishing aspects of the profession engaging in what Rome refers to in his paper as "lexicon cleansing".
"You have to hand it to them" stated McCoy, "They now control everything soup to nuts and that is why we see these consistent restrictions being placed on the practice of chiropractic in a vitalistic, salutogenic subluxation model as we have seen spread from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and now the United States. They are so unquestioned that they have re-defined Evidence Based Practice so that the only evidence accepted are randomized controlled clinical trials."
Other chiropractic researchers and scholars such as Christopher Kent DC, JD, Simon Senzon DC, MA, Phillip Ebrall DC, Donald McDowall DC and Deed Harrison DC have also been working to expose the outright lies being perpetuated by the Deniers and put into so called "research journals" that they control. Rome's work adds some gasoline to that fire.
Rome & Waterhouses' paper spans 23 pages, includes 227 references and four Appendices providing an extremely thorough and detailed account of what the Deniers claim and shows - as Rome & Waterhouse state - that ". . . there is far more evidence in support of a vertebral subluxation hypothesis but a paucity of contrary evidence". After dissecting the Deniers' anti-intellectual contentions, Rome dismisses them - referring to their claims as "unsubstantiated opinion" and "unscholarly".
"This paper, along with the work of Kent, Senzon, Ebrall, McDowall and Harrison, among several others, presents a body of work that completely refutes and exposes the Deniers and the scam they have perpetuated" remarked McCoy. He added "There is no point in even engaging with these people from crazy town anymore - the Emperor has no clothes. You'd be better off teaching pigs to sing."
Chiropractic scholars have noted that factually there is plenty of research to support the management of vertebral subluxaton in a vitalistic, salutogenic model and that while further research is always needed - these are political and marketing problems that those managing subluxation face, not problems due to a lack of research or evidence.
"Chiropractors who want to manage subluxation now and in the future need to wake up and pay attention to who they are supporting in terms of their gurus, practice management groups, chiropractic political organizations, trade associations and chiropractic schools as it is going to take several generations to undo what the Deniers have done even if we got started today. And unfortunately there doesn't appear to be any organized, coordinated political effort to support what these scholars are doing to accomplish that" stated McCoy.
