Spin Doctors: The Chiropractic Industry Under Examination [Paperback]

Paul Benedetti (Author), Wayne MacPhail (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 155002406X | ISBN-13: 978-1550024067 | Publication Date: February 1, 2003

Canadians visit chiropractors about 30 million times a year, and surveys show that patients are generally satisfied with their treatment. But studies also show that as many as two hundred Canadians a year suffer strokes brought on by neck manipulation. Spin Doctors takes a hard, dramatic, and spine-chilling look into the world of chiropractic medicine. You will be surprised to learn what chiropractors treat and why and how much it costs you as a taxpayer. Most importantly, you'll learn how to protect yourself and your family from dangerous adjustments, practice-building tactics, bogus treatments, and misleading information.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

A spine-chilling look into the chiropractic industry. Learn how to protect yourself from practice-building tactics and bogus treatments.

About the Author

Paul Benedetti is an award-winning journalist who, for more than a decade, has written investigative stories about alternative medicine and health fraud. He is currently the executive producer of C-Health at Canoe, Canada's leading Internet network.

Wayne MacPhail is an experienced journalist and editor. In 1991 he founded and directed Southam InfoLab, a future news products research and development lab. He co-authored Manipulating Children, an online investigation of pediatric chiropractic that appeared on Canoe.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Dundurn (February 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155002406X
• ISBN-13: 978-1550024067
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #394,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Smoke and Mirrors, April 1, 2011

By 

kbisapt - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Spin Doctors: The Chiropractic Industry Under Examination (Paperback)

Finally a book that takes you through the smoke and mirrors of a false profession. The book is a good intellectual read for those that want to know the truth about chiropractic dogma and unsubstantiated, if not completely irrefutable, theories. The fact that most chiropractors hold to more of a religious belief system on how the human body works versus embracing evidenced-based care susbstantiates the fact that their profession should be dissolved. Remember, evidenced-based spinal manipulative therapy for musculoskeletal conditions does have some emperical evidence but the chiropratic theory that adjusting the spine to resolve nerve interference which thus prevents pathogensis for such conditions such as ear infections, asthma, diabetes, and bed wetting is nonsense and completely unsubstantiated. Also, there are many specialized physical therapists and some orthopedic physicians that perform spinal manipulative therapy for the sole purspose of treating musculoskeletal conditions but not all physicians and therapists do this type of work as their professions have a much wider scope of total practice. The chiropractic establishment argues that they are trying to move to a more evidenced-based approach to care but the problem is that this part of the medical arena is already occupied by the physical therapist and the other problem is that most chiropractors have not and continue not to embrace a scientific approach to treatment. This is a disservice to their patients and the tax and insurance industries that pay their claims.

8 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Concern over Chiropractors, December 13, 2007

By 

Kenneth P. Stack "Ken Stack, MS,PT,CSCS" (Raleigh,NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spin Doctors: The Chiropractic Industry Under Examination (Paperback)

Spin Doctors serves as a nice introduction to the criticisms of the chiropractic profession. The beginning history of chiropractors from the late 1800s is laid out very completely. Within the first two chapters an unscientific profession searching for an indentity is planted with the reader. The origins of chiropractic care can be traced to Canada and throughout the book cases and experiences in the provinces are frequently cited.
Following the historical background major criticism areas with the industry are discussed in a very readible manner: the subluxation theory, stroke occurence and neck manipulation, the gimmicky nature of the profession, and chiropractic care on children.
There is some very slow reading on canadian legislative and political issues related to chiropractics as the book progresses. The reader may not find these portions of the book engaging in presentation or relevant regardless of the their country of origin. The book remains valuable despite these monotonous passages and the reward for completing this publication will be an informed opinion of chiropractors that can be translated into intelligent dialogue with any individual in or out of the health care arena.

28 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An awful read, but at least they know how to "manipulate", February 18, 2003

By 

"syncmaster751" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spin Doctors: The Chiropractic Industry Under Examination (Paperback)

What caught my eye as a potentially interesting book regarding an "expose" into chiropractic turned out to be nothing more than a witch hunt based on biases and misrepresentation. As I read through the chapters, I started to get an impression that these authors were willing to base gargantuous claims on little or partial pieces of evidence simply to make the book more tantalizing.

Spin Doctors is a written form of Jerry Springer if I have ever seen one, but at least Jerry doesn't come across with the supposition of being credible. While his show doesn't disguise the fact that it is not to be taken seriously, I get the distinct impression that Benedetti and Macphail wrote this book with the express purpose of discrediting a profession. Personally, I did not appreciate their attempts at taking advantage of a reader's trust or trying to make money from unjustly attacking others.

Unless you are interested in seeing true "manipulation" at it's best, I'd stay away from this book.