polarization commencing.

There are so many controversial topics that could be brought up now-a-days that will cause an almost instantaneous uproar. For some reason, there is one topic in particular that every single person seem to be passionate about and I honestly have no idea why. To me it doesn't seem like something that people should get really up in arms about, but as I casually bring it up to family, friends and co-workers there is some very strong opinions on both sides of the fence.
That topic is, most obviously, chiropractors. WHAT??
I really have no clue why this touches such a nerve with some people. If you don't "buy" it, don't go. If you DO go and it helps, spectacular.
So, why do I bring it up?
I realized I am strongly on one side of the fence about chiropractors. I have never had a lot of confidence or trust in the process of spinal manipulation. Nothing personal to the practice, it was always just "not my thing."
As I was trying to come up ideas for a new entry here, I started kind of polling people about there thoughts on the matter. I was amazed at how polarizing this topic was. Some people swear by them and others think they are frauds...both phrases I actually heard.
It was odd to me to hear just how against this practice some people were considering it "is the third largest health profession, behind medicine and dentistry." Thanks, Wikipedia.
Now, because I like to pretend to be professional journalist I decided to dig a little deeper. The more research I did, the more my previous opinion of this practice was magnified. This stuff is creepy.

First off, in several writings I found chiropractic care referred to as pseudoscience or "fake" science. This sounded a little harsh even for someone like me who was already on the "boo" side of this chiropractic fence. So, I did what any reasonable profession arguer would do and I looked up definitions.

Pseudoscience - a claim, belief, or practice posing as science, but which does not constitute or adhere to an appropriate scientific methodology, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, or otherwise lacks scientific status.
Yep, sounds pretty harsh. And now....
Chiropractic - a health care discipline and profession that emphasizes diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially the spine, under the hypothesis that these disorders affect general health via the nervous system.
A medical practice based purely on a hypothesis? Well, here's a story for ya.

In 1973, Stephen Barrett, M.D., sent a healthy four-year-old girl to five chiropractors for a "check up." The first said the child's shoulder blades were "out of place" and found "pinched nerves to her stomach and gall bladder." The second said the child's pelvis was "twisted." The third said one hip was "elevated" and that spinal misalignments could cause "headaches, nervousness, equilibrium or digestive problems" in the future. The fourth predicted "bad periods and rough childbirth" if her "shorter left leg" were not treated. The fifth not only found hip and neck problems, but also "adjusted" them without bothering to ask permission.

Yes, I know it's not right to just throw a story on here and say, "SEE?? I told you!" I also understand it is very possible there is such thing as a bad chiropractor and this story is a needle in a haystack of an otherwise solid medical practice. Well, I have multiple personal experiences that formed my original opinion.
We have had several patients come into the eye clinic over the years saying their chiropractor had told them he/she has fixed their various eye problems from glaucoma to cataracts. Cataracts. An age related problem that has/will happened in 100% of human beings fixed by an adjustment in the spinal cord. You can still be a dummy and understand that don't make no sense.
Now the story that tugged me to the side of the fence I reside on today. My own trip to the chiropractor. When I was 20, I began having significant lower back pain. Bad enough that when I would brush my teeth in the morning I would essentially have to get into push up position on the sink and lower myself down to drink water out of the faucet. My boss at the time recommended I take a trip to her chiropractor who she, shocker, swears by.
On my first visit, a scan revealed my spine was completely out of alignment and he was surprised I wasn't having more health problems because of how bad it was. He had me coming back three times a week for a month. It would have continued beyond that but my insurance said they were going to stop covering it because he couldn't explain why these visits needed to be so frequent. Once they approached with me with a payment plan so I could continue my treatment, I decided that was enough.
My pain had slightly declined over that month but I was still getting in my toothbrush workout every morning.
The pain, you ask? Yeah, I bought a new bed. Problem solved instantly.

I still understood I didn't really have any quotes/comments directly from a chiropractor to validate this practice as pseudoscience. Most things I read were almost entirely opinion based, so I didn't really feel comfortable about attacking something without any actual facts to support it. Then I read this, a statement issued by the General Chiropractic Council of the UK in May of this year:

The chiropractic vertebral subluxation complex is an historical concept but it remains a theoretical model. It is not supported by any clinical research evidence that would allow claims to be made that it is the cause of disease or health concerns.


That was enough for me. I'm really not saying chiropractic care is fake. What I am saying is be careful and do your research. If you have a back problem, sure, I can see how a couple cracks may help out (except in my case). Just be wary of a chiropractor promising things that sound impossible, because there is a chance they just might be.