Dangers of chiropractic treatments under-reported, study finds
Improper reporting of adverse effects of treatment has allowed chiropractors to create falsely positive picture, says professorChiropractic treatments might appear safer than they actually are because their adverse effects are under-reported in medical trials, a study has found.Improper reporting of the adverse effects of a medical intervention was unethical, said Edzard Ernst, professor of complementary medicine at the Peninsula medical school, University of Exeter, who led the latest analysis. This had allowed chiropractors to create a falsely positive picture about the safety of their treatments, he said.Chiropractors use spinal manipulation to treat ailments of the muscles and joints. Some practitioners claim the treatments can be used to treat more general health problems such as colic, asthma and prolonged crying in babies.In his latest analysis, Ernst's team collated data from 60 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of chiropractic carried out from January 2000 to July 2011. They found that 29 of the...
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