Portrays Subluxation Based Chiropractors as Religious Zealots
In the latest episode of Subluxation Deniers Caught on Tape we have a presentation by Øystein Ogre the President of the European Chiropractic Union, during a panel discussion held at the World Federation of Chiropractic's recent education conference in Perth Australia.
Debating the existence of vertebral subluxation, Ogre equates any effort at such debate as:
"...similarities between the drawings of Mohammed, the burning of the Koran, the burning of the flag . . ."
Besides portraying those who have a conservative, traditional view of the profession centered on subluxation as being religious zealots and fundamentalists he also casts them as emotional wrecks who get the vapors whenever the topic comes up.
Ogre starts by stating that the "only way this profession will move forward is to demonstrate the ability to integrate into the main healthcare system." He seems to suggest that this is the reason graduates are struggling. Then it gets very interesting and revealing because Ogre (a Palmer Graduate) says that in order to have a meaningful debate that we need "complete honesty" and that he has a hard time speaking freely about the topic of subluxation. It soon becomes clear that he should have a hard time speaking freely since he exposes the fact that he is ignorant on some very basic issues relative to the evidence supporting the subluxation construct.
Bear in mind that he is the President of the European Chiropractic Union.
Ogre suggests that the profession should not be based on subluxation and a "belief" in its existence. This he suggests makes us a "...cult or a political movement hanging on to mysticism." My 4 year old has a "belief" in Santa Claus - is this the same type of belief Ogre is referring to?
Referring to the subluxation concept as part of "old dogmas" Ogre says we can shake ourselves free from such "belief systems." He references the World Federation of Chiropractic as evidence that this is possible and asserts that the subluxation is not what makes us unique. Ogre goes on to explain that the integration of chiropractic into the National Health Service in Europe occurred because the term subluxation was never used in efforts toward academic and professional recognition.
Ogre, The PRESIDENT of the European Chiropractic Union sums it up:
"If one had chosen to hold on to outdated theories, old explanatory models and terminology, - progress, acceptance and recognition, in the countries which I have already mentioned, would not be possible."
If you think subluxation based chiropractic is the only thing Ogre believes is outdated and based on dogma - think again. He goes on to suggest that CAM and the entire CAM Industry is also unscientific and that if we don't heed his advice we will end up like the "foot reflexologists, auriculotherapists, and homeopaths."
Ogre brags that in his 30 years of practice, as well as in all his political activities, he has never once used the word subluxation.
Did I mention that he is the PRESIDENT of the European Chiropractic Union?
So, why is it that the President of the European Chiropractic Union, a Palmer graduate in practice for 30 years has never used the term subluxation?
Fasten your seat belts. Ogre claims:
1. The subluxation has never been scientifically defined, tested or validated.
2. There is no valid or reliable test to determine the presence or absence of a subluxation.
3. There is no valid test how to find a subluxation.
4. Chiropractors have never agreed upon a testable definition of what a subluxation is.
5. Other healthcare personnel don't understand what it is, and the public don't really care.
6. No one knows, except chiropractors, what a subluxation is.
Before we go any further I trust all you subluxation fixers out there realize the fraud you are engaged in according to Ogre - the President of the European Chiropractic Union.
Let's be clear about a couple of fundamental things that Ogre got completely and irrefutably WRONG. And this is no small thing because what he got wrong forms the BASIS for his arguments.
Common to every model of vertebral subluxation are two components: BIOMECHANICAL and NEUROLOGICAL.
Both of these components can be objectively MEASURED using VALID and RELIABLE means. This FACT and this EVIDENCE that Ogre contends does not exist is spelled out in explicit detail in Standards of Care Documents accepted by the National Guideline Clearinghouse of the United States Federal Government for example.
The detailed refutation of every single untrue statement he made above can be found in those documents. See for yourself:
You see, one has to actually read the evidence supporting the scientific and clinical management of vertebral subluxation in order to know how terribly wrong Ogre is. The problem is not that there isn't a clear definition of subluxation or that we can't measure it using valid and reliable means. The problem is that chiropractors like Ogre want to continue to ignore FACTS, live in denial and then convince other chiropractors that they are right. In this case he stresses how we need to tell students the truth.
In some ways I feel sorry for him. To watch him publicly assert his ignorance - even of very common terms such as validity, reliability and Evidence Based Healthcare - is like watching a car accident in slow motion. The only salvation he might have is that he simply parrots what the subluxation deniers he has surrounded himself with tell him.
No matter how we feel about someone like Ogre in a position of authority making unfounded and untrue statements, even worse is that the rest of us let him get away with spewing this nonsense. Its akin to suggesting dental caries do not exist and very embarrasing for everyone.
