Glasgow Chiropractic

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

I saw an advert for these guys in the paper yesterday.

http://www.glasgowchiropractic.com/

The advert was worded in such a way that you would have thought Chiropractic cured a number of ailments. However ultimately they were just claiming it may help. There was also a blurb about how chiropractic would align the spine which would help the body heal itself.

The website is somewhat similar,




Back Pain? Neck Pain? Headaches? Sciatica? Leg or shoulder pain? Suffering those niggling pains you have been told to just live with? Do you want to get more out of your life and health? You may have fitness regimes but are you truly healthy? Do you think your spine is important to your health? When was the last time you had your spine checked by your Chiropractor?


The Glasgow Chiropractic Clinics have a wide range of services on offer to the Glasgow and Scotland population that could help you back onto your road to health and to lead the wellness lifestyle you deserve.


Chiropractors Glasgow symptoms

Your chiropractors at Glasgow Chiropractic may also be able to help you with a wide range of symptoms - apart from the usual symptoms associated with Chiropractic care.


Glasgow Chiropractors may help your back pain.

Back Pain ~ The recommendations from a recent national report to investigate the increasing problem of back pain and how it was treated were that back pain sufferers should have treatment, not bed rest and pain killers. Chiropractic was one of the preferred treatments.


Pain & Symptoms

Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may also be able to help Shoulder pain.
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may also be able to help Neck pain
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may also be able to help Dizziness
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may also be able to help Hip pain
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may also be able to help Menstrual pain
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may also be able to help Colic
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may also be able to help Scoliosis
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may also be able to help Arm pain
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may also be able to help Foot pain
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may also be able to help Knee pain
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may also be able to help Leg pain
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may also be able to help Stress
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may also be able to help Asthma and allergies
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may also be able to help Energy levels
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may also be able to help Sleep disorders
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may also be able to help Sciatica
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may assist with an easier pregnancy
Glasgow Chiropractors in the UK may assist with sports related injuries


Enjoy our website . . .we do!



Enter the main site, and instead of the word may, they start to use can.



Glasgow Chiropractic and it’s team of Chiropractors look to assist people with their back pain, neck pain, headaches and other general pain ailments, but we also aim to do a whole lot more.


As we are all living longer into the future, we will need to take better care of ourselves and this is where we as your Chiropractors in Glasgow can assist you. People in their 60’s are now running marathons, 70 year olds are climbing mountains . . . . old age is getting further away for many which means that you need to maintain your health for longer.


Your body’s strength, endurance, power, and flexibility can be trained and improved with Chiropractic care and by your Chiropractor. Your heart, lungs, liver, etc. will perform better and last longer if you take care of them. Your bones, joints, muscles, and ligaments need care and attention too. All of which Chiropractic care and your Chiropractor may be able to assist with.


Your neurology can also be trained to function more efficiently and more effectively with Chiropractic care.


Your thinking skills, mental agility and flexibilty can be trained with chiropractic care to give you more options and new freedoms.


There are claims about pregnancy:


Chiropractic and Pregnancy

Chiropractic care is possible throughout all stages of pregnancy. It is gentle and safe. The health benefits have been demonstrated in many clinical studies.


In one of the studies, conducted by Irvin Hendryso M.D., a member of the American Medical Association board of trustees, it was shown that women who received chiropractic adjustments in their third trimester of pregnancy were able to carry and deliver children with greater comfort. Also well-known orthopedist Per Freitag M.D., conducted a hospital study that incorporated chiropractic adjustments during the patients pregnancy. He found that the need for painkillers during delivery was reduced by half.


At Glasgow Chiropractic we pride ourselves in having numbers of families under care and in particular Mums-to-be. A woman’s body goes through a great many changes during pregnancy and can be put through many different stresses. Chiropractic care has been shown to help make the pregnancy an even more enjoyable and smoother process for women by helping them to restore the balance to their pelvic muscles and ligaments. This then leads to safer and easier deliveries for both mother and baby, with less stress for everyone involved.


Free pregnancy workshops

For those interested in finding out more Glasgow Chiropractic have a number of Chiropractor’s that specialise in pediatrics, and they are now hosting a series of workshops to offer you more information about the benefits of Chiropractic during pregnancy and following the birth.


Learn more about your pelvis, uterus, uterine ligaments and the primitive reflexes your baby naturally possesses and how all these things working together make for a comfortable pregnancy and an easier delivery.


They'll even sell you some complimentary therapies, although the 'products' page is still under construction. I assume these services aren't free...


Copmlimentary Therapies

We find that people have a greater chance of achieving optimal health when they combine a number of complimentary therapies with their Chiropractic care. For this reason we may refer you to practitioners on NLP (http://www.glasgowchiropractic.com/pages/nlp-glasgow.html) (Neuro Linguistic programing), Nutrition (http://www.glasgowchiropractic.com/pages/nutrition.html), Massage (http://www.glasgowchiropractic.com/pages/massage.html), Acupuncture (http://www.glasgowchiropractic.com/pages/acupuncture.html), Pilates (http://www.glasgowchiropractic.com/pages/pilates.html), and products (http://www.glasgowchiropractic.com/pages/products.html).

[Mojo]

I saw an advert for these guys in the paper yesterday.

http://www.glasgowchiropractic.com/

The advert was worded in such a way that you would have thought Chiropractic cured a number of ailments. However ultimately they were just claiming it may help. There was also a blurb about how chiropractic would align the spine which would help the body heal itself.

The website is somewhat similar,



Enter the main site, and instead of the word may, they start to use can.


I think the ASA might consider claims that a treatment "can be used to treat" or "may help with" a condition as claims that the treatment can be used successfully to treat the condition. The new consumer protection regulations are also supposed to be broadly interpreted, apparently.

[Blue Wode]

I saw an advert for these guys in the paper yesterday.

http://www.glasgowchiropractic.com/

The advert was worded in such a way that you would have thought Chiropractic cured a number of ailments. However ultimately they were just claiming it may help. There was also a blurb about how chiropractic would align the spine which would help the body heal itself.

That clinic had a stand at the Royal Highland Show in June 2007. There was a deep crowd of people round it when I came across it, and a queue had formed at a machine that seemed to be being used for practice building purposes. It was similar to the highly dubious Spinal Analysis Machine (S.A.M.). See here:
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Tests/sam.html (http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Tests/sam.html)

Anyway, I managed to reach through the throng and get hold of three free hand-outs which I have dug out and now have beside me. Each hand-out is headed up with “Optimal Health University ™ Presented by Glasgow Chiropractic”. A spot of Googling reveals that ‘Optimal Health University’ is a service of PreventiCare Publishing – see under ‘Our Products and Services here’:
http://www.preventicare.com/ (http://www.preventicare.com/)

The text of each hand-out covers two sides of an A4 sheet, so I’m only able to summarise what each says:

What to Expect From Your First Chiropractic Visit


Whether you first seek chiropractic for wellness care or for swift relief of pain symptoms, a visit to your doctor at Glasgow Chiropractic will open your eyes to a novel way of achieving optimal health.

-snip-

Philosophy at a Doctor’s Office? – Many first-time chiropractic patients are surprised to hear their doctors discuss philosophy. However, philosophy is an integral aspect of the chiropractic experience. It is one of the many things that distinguishes chiropractors from other healthcare professionals.

Doctors of chiropractic base their practices on a holistic, wellness-oriented philosophy of health. Chiropractors focus on prevention, rather than masking pain with medication. This revolutionary approach is the secret behind the success of chiropractic.

-snip-

You may be offered three levels of care plans and asked to choose one right for you. Specifically, care plan options fall into three categories:

Level One: Pain relief – This phase of care involves intensive intervention aimed at halting symptoms (This phase is bypassed for those pain-free individual seeking chiropractic wellness care.)

Level Two: Corrective Care – This phase of care is aimed at correcting the underlying spinal dysfunctions that triggered your pain episode. It also involves identifying any problems that may cause future maladies and correcting those before the onset of symptoms.

Level Three: Prevention and Welless Care – This phase of care involves less frequent visits aimed at creating optimal wellness.

-snip-

If the doctor detected any vertebral subluxations during your evaluation, you will receive your first chiropractic adjustment.

Chiropractic and Your Nervous System


The Chiropractic Connection

Although it is a masterpiece of technology, the nervous system is far from fool proof. The interaction of the nervous system’s key divisions may be disturbed and the flow of nervous impulses interrupted. One such roadblock is referred to as a vertebral subluxation.

-snip-

It has long been hypothesized that vertebral subluxations generate altered patterns of nerve input.

-snip-

Osteopathic experimental studies have documented that certain vertebral subluxations in animals markedly affect circulation in several important glands and organs, causing associated pathologies and degenerative abnormalities. [The Chiropractic Theories 1980; Mid-South Scientific Publishers: 157-8]. These experiments also showed that subluxations cause circulatory changes that prompt alterations in gastric acid, blood chemistry, and heart function. Such reflexes set into motion a wide variety of abnormal processes leading to asthma, bronchitis, muscular atrophy and degeneration. Gastrointestinal complaints, heart disease and pain referred to literally any portion of the body are also reported (The Chiropractic Theories 1980; Mid-South Scientific Publishers: 163).

Another study found a connection between vertebral subluxation and vision. The analysis included 15 subjects who were monitored for changes in pupil diameter after chiropractic adjustment. Some had vertebral subluxations, while others didn’t. The results indicated that:

Subjects without subluxations had no change in their pupil’s diameter.

Those with subluxation had different sized pupils before adjustment and experienced significant changes in their pupils in response to adjustment.

The above data suggests that that subluxation may influence brain input to the pupil of the eye (J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1989;11:181-9)

Avoid Short Circuits

Don’t risk short-circuiting your nervous system. Make an appointment for a chiropractic exam today. The sooner you do, the sooner your doctor can eliminate potential kinks in your internal wiring, putting your on the fast-track to optimal health!

A Pain in The Neck May Cause a Pain in The Head


Suffering from a nagging headache? The source of your pain could be your neck, warns your doctor at Glasgow Chiropractic

Headaches often stem from spinal misalignment in the neck. These misalignments restrict movement in the bones of the neck (vertebrae), a condition referred to as vertebral subluxation.

-snip-

Your doctor at Glasgow Chiropractic alleviates vertebral subluxation and improves neck function with general maneuvers called chiropractic adjustments. Research shows that chiropractic dramatically reduces the incidence of cervicogenic headaches.
IMO, the clinic’s widespread use of weasel wording seems contravene the requirements set out by the UK chiropractic regulatory body, the General Chiropractic Council (GCC):

“…all chiropractors must ensure that all the information they provide, or authorise others to provide on their behalf is factual and verifiable, is not misleading or inaccurate in any way, does not abuse the trust of members of the public in any way, nor exploit their lack of experience or knowledge about either health or chiropractic matters”

and

“does not put pressure on people to use chiropractic, for example by arousing ill-founded fear for their future health or suggesting that chiropractic can cure serious disease.”

See page 7 here…
http://www.gcc-uk.org/files/page_file/FITNESS_TO_PRACTISE_REPORT_2007_FINAL_FOR_WEBSITE. pdf (http://www.gcc-uk.org/files/page_file/FITNESS_TO_PRACTISE_REPORT_2007_FINAL_FOR_WEBSITE. pdf)



Of course, the GCC doesn’t help matters with (1) it’s failure to make clear on its website - and elsewhere - the essential differences between scientific manual therapy and chiropractic subluxation-based philosophy, and (2) its failure to specify the common chiropractic techniques and practices which it does not consider legitimate:
http://www.gcc-uk.org/page.cfm?page_id=6 (http://www.gcc-uk.org/page.cfm?page_id=6)

Perhaps what is really needed is what Simon Singh and Professor Edzard propose on p.285 of their book Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial that all chiropractors be compelled by law to disclose to their patients prior to treatment:

“WARNING: This treatment carries the risk of stroke or death if spinal manipulation is applied to the neck. Elsewhere on the spine, chiropractic therapy is relatively safe. It has shown some evidence of benefit in the treatment of back pain, but conventional treatments are usually equally effective and much cheaper. In the treatment of all other conditions, chiropractic therapy is ineffective except that it might act as a placebo.”

Not that it’s ever likely to happen, since such a revelation would undoubtedly deter many patients from proceeding with treatment, and could even herald the demise of chiropractic.

The situation is probably best summed up by the son of the founder of chiropractic:

Question:

What are the principal functions of the spine?

Answer:

To support the head

To support the ribs

To support the chiropractor


B. J. Palmer, Answers (1952)
http://www.chirobase.org/05RB/AYOR/02.html (http://www.chirobase.org/05RB/AYOR/02.html)

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

Thanks, that was a very interesting follow-up.

One of the guys in my rugby team has back problems and told me he is going to a chiropractor. I just do not know anyone in the general population who actually thinks that chiropractors are for anything other than back pain. Of course, many of them think chiropractors are miracle workers with back pain, and once they get into the clinics they are potentially going to be exposed to all these other health claims.

It's interesting that they are starting to try to push these claims out into the wider world, to be honest I think that is something new for them (as an observer who hasn't paid them too much attention in the past) and they possibly see a huge market. They have the advantage over many normal alternative medicine practitioners in that they already have a good reputation for back pain, so by association they may find it easier to hook people into additional treatments.

[w_nightshade]

My wife got one of these fliers at the Thistles Centre in Stirling (she snagged one so we could fume together that evening). They had a large kiosk outside Boots (no connection, just a prominent kiosk area, though the irony is delicious) and were using a WiiFit to check people's back alignment. It was a genius piece of marketing - the queues were massive.

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

My wife got one of these fliers at the Thistles Centre in Stirling (she snagged one so we could fume together that evening). They had a large kiosk outside Boots (no connection, just a prominent kiosk area, though the irony is delicious) and were using a WiiFit to check people's back alignment. It was a genius piece of marketing - the queues were massive.

Are they still there? I might go in and tell them I was the one who complained to ASA about them. I work in Stirling and used to live in the town.

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

The results of my complaint to the ASA. I'd be interested to see their leaflets to see if they are repeating any of the claims they said they would stop making.




The Advertiser has given us their written assurance that they will not publish further advertising listing symptoms without first consulting our sister organisation, the Code Of Advertising Practice, and their Copy Advice team who will be able to tell them what claims are and are not likely to be acceptable for chiropratic under the Advertising Codes. They have also told us that they will ensure they hold appropriate scientific clinical evidence for their claims in future as appropriate (in consultation with Copy Advice).

On the basis that the advertiser had co-operated fully and swiftly with us, we have decided to close this case without the need for a full report to be sent to ASA Council.

...

Please note that the advertiser has let us know they already have an ad similar to the one under investigation in the current edition of the Yellow Pages. We accept that Yellow Pages ads cannot be altered until a new edition is brought out and wanted to make you aware of this.

Thanks for bringing this matter to our attention.

[zeno]

I see the GCC has scheduled hearings (http://www.gcc-uk.org/hearings.cfm) for complaints against three chiros belonging to Glasgow Chiropractic (Falkirk). Unfortunately, the allegations are not about making claims they couldn't substantiate, but that they didn't look after patients' records properly. The hearing is on 1 to 4 February.

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

Ah Falkirk, that is rather close to me.

Not familiar with any names though we have had a Chiro doing his routine at work a couple of times over the last few months. A friend who went along to see what it was about was told his posture was bad and if he went along for maybe 4 or 5 appointments, he could get it sorted. ::)

[passerby]

having watched them from the street in falkirk treating patients surely every patient is different but the treatment seemed to be the same for every patient , did anyone know they now offer holistic therapies in this clinic

[Drop Bear]

I think the ASA might consider claims that a treatment "can be used to treat" or "may help with" a condition as claims that the treatment can be used successfully to treat the condition.

South Australia has some quite good consumer protection leglisation, as wells as "The Therapeutic Goods Administration" which examines therapeutic claims. EG a huge cosmetic company was recently fined heavily for making false claims about its 'anti aging cream'

However, companies of all kinds get away with all sorts of misleading stuff by using weasel words,such as 'may' and 'can'.

I need to keep reminding myself that in business many make no distinction between 'legal' and 'moral'. I try never to trust the claims of an advertisment implicitly. A rule of thumb ; the better it sounds, the less likely it is to be true.




Weasel words is an informal term (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informal_language)[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word#cite_note-0) for words and phrases that, while communicating a vague or ambiguous claim, create an impression that something specific and meaningful has been said. Weasel words manage to vaguely imply meaning far beyond the claim actually made.[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word#cite_note-1) For example, advertisements (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertisement) use weasel phrases such as "up to 50% off": this is misleading because readers are invited to imagine many reduced items and many of them reduced by as much as the proclaimed 50%, but the words taken literally allow for much less. Some weasel words may also have the effect of softening the force of a potentially loaded or otherwise controversial statement through some form of understatement, for example using detensifiers such as "somewhat" or "in most respects".[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word#cite_note-2)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word

There seems to be a link to 'words of estimative probability'. In big business,there is nothing accidental or casual in their advertising.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Words_of_Estimative_Probability