Chiropractic Books

My asthma indications were progressing steadily each year limiting the quality of life and I was scared for my future. I have great respect for my family physician and my allergist. However, in this instance, albuterol, steroids, antihistamines and allergy shots did not effectively treat my symptoms and certainly were not getting to the root cause. I have been treated successfully through acupunture, nutrition, chiropractic and massage therapy. I really do not care which therapy did the most good. I can breath! I gladly pay out of pocket for care that does not include unnecessary powerful drugs and works.

It never ceases to amaze me. Medical care, by their own statistics, is at least the 3rd, and possibly the second or first leading cause of death in this country ("Is US Health Really the Best in the World"; Barbara Starfield, MD, MPH; JAMA, July 26, 2000--Vol 284, No. 4), and calls Chiropractic dangerous and unproven? People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find where the funding for such "propaganda" as this comes from. Amazon needs to add a review rating of zero stars, as one is too many for this book.

I'm not quite sure what people are saying when they say that chiropractic has no scientific basis. Have any of these people tried to do a literature review? Ever heard of JMPT (index medicus has)? Spine, the top medical journal involving neuromusculoskeletal issues of the axial skeleton frequently prints articles written by and about chiropractic. I don't care if people don't like chiropractic, but to say that it has no scientific basis is ignorant.

There is plenty of research out there to back up chiropractic and the benefits people receive from such. All people have to do is get off there lazy buts and read it. over 300 people a day die from adverse drug reactions and we hardly hear about that. One incident occurs in the media about chiropractic and that streamlines. MD's are SCARED of chiropractors because we offer a way to correct problems instead of covering up symptoms that can only make people worse. This author wanted to make a few bucks and just bad mouth chiropractic.

I will begin by saying I am biased against the chiropractic industry generally due to my position as a physical therapist. I have experience interacting with chiropractors and have treated patients with both positive and negative exepriences receiving chiropractic care.

I purchased Chiropractic: The Greatest Hoax of the Century? with great interest hoping to confirm my suscipions of the chiropractic industry. The author himself is a long practicing physician which enhances his credibility in this endeavour. The book is based more on isolated experiences and informal 'interviews' with chiropractors rather than drwaing on eveidence based research or other more quantitative means of exposing shortcomings in this profession. The author comes off as unprofessional as some of the very unethical chiropractors he has been exposed to with his opinion based,fact lacking rants on the topic.

Within the text there is some good content on the origins of chiropractic care with hisory and government agency and political organization lobbying and results. That sort of information is redeeming as is data on cervical spine injuries through chiropractic care which I personally have concern with over the high thrust spine manipulations used in treatment. In chapter 16 the author attempts to answer the very question I have pondered: why people go to chiropractors? The success of that chapter will be determined by each reader but I come away still asking that question to some degree.

A two star rating is given for the valuable information that is included, entertainment value, and thought provoking nature of the content. Overall the book comes off very biased and opinion based focusing on the worst practioners of a profession which always yields negative and concerning content for the public.

i'm a second-year D.O. student right now, and we were required to purchase this (very overpriced) book for our OMT class.

it's nice to have a full-color atlas of techniques, but the pros of this book stop there.

in nearly every lab, we are told about another omission or typographical error. not all of the techniques that we are required to learn are in the book. to make it even more confusing, the techniques are organized by type instead of region. this makes no sense since the labs are taught by region. it's much easier to understand the progression from a muscle energy technique to an HVLA technique if you don't have to flip 60-some pages and try to find the next technique. also, some of the explanations of the techniques are a bit confusing.

finally, there is no explanation for how the techniques work. there is a little blurb at the beginning of each chapter to explain some basic principles of the type of technique (e.g. for muscle energy, PIR vs reciprocal inhibition), but it would be much more helpful to explain with each technique exactly HOW it is improving the dysfunction (i.e., which m muscles or joints are being engaged)

this book has the potential to be good, but it needs to go through a few revisions first.

This product is disappointing. It is limited in words when compared to Stedman's books. This book combines several specialties and although in theory a good idea to cut down on cost, in reality not very practical if the words are not part of the text. Different books on the dfferent areas of practice are better.

As I contemplate going to a chiropractor I first want to do research. I came here to find books both positive and negative and all I find is that peope are using the review section to argue. I agree that people have bad expirences at all types of doctors. Why insult somone that had a bad expirence? Do I believe that Chiropractic medicie is the end all? No. I hate all doctors, they all have the exact objective. They want to poke and prod you and get paid for it without taking you to dinner first. I think it is a good thing to hear negative things about a profession, it helps to make an informed decision. I recently went for a consult with a chiropractor and the terminology he used makes me suspicious of his motives. To me when a professional uses language like " That is horrible" in refrence to my health it makes me wonder what he is trying to achieve. I know that I have aches and pains and not they are not supposed to be there; however I am not on my death bed and I will not keel over if I am not seen by a chiropractor. This book has done something and that is cause a fight. That is brilliant, because then there is more money to be made from people who are curious as to what the fighting is all about.

It is sad that medicine to this day use lies to defame its competition. Look up the Wilks vs. AMA case. The US Supreme court knows this. Chiropractic is so effective that it is cause for concern for the medical profession since they can't make money if people stop taking their drugs and don't need their surgery. Books like this is trying to scare the public with lies. I don't know who this Magner guy is and how much he gets paid for writing trash, but I do know who Stephen Barrett, the editor, is. He just lost a lawsuit, proven in court of his lies about his medical career and was even quoted saying that "the nervous system does not control and coordinate all functions of the body". Haha... I suppose not in his body!

I've heard first hand from many people that have regained their health with the help of chiropractors. Including one in wheel chair after an auto-accident, and another who woke up blind one day. They both recovered fully, and are inspired to become Doctor of Chiropractic, so they can help others like they've been helped, when all other 'medicine' failed them.

As for this book, I will never buy such trash, this book should be taken off the market and burned. People have been lied to long enough.

THE VICTIM'S PERSPECTIVE by George Magner haunted me as I read it. For some time during the reading and after the reading, I experienced discomfort that could not be defined. My logic persisted. One might carry persistent logic and troubling thought unconsciously while one drinks a cup of coffee or tea, looks for a four leaf clover, or studies the beauty of the sky. So suddenly, A VICTIM'S PERSPECTIVE came to my reader's mind full blown and fully defined. Fully formed was the problem for which I sought clear definition: this book possesses a basic flaw: it is fallacious. Simply explained, as each of us knows, if one becomes a VICTIM of another, if another has harmed one with residual infirmities as the author states, there is legal recourse for those victims which brings justice, if harm be proved, to those claimants. Unless Magner has sued the particular chiropractor and won the case placed before the scrutiny of experts for or against chiropractic, before the tried and true twelve jurors, then he has not proved his case. If he has won such a case, then I stand corrected. If not, I find this book trite. If Magner's case against chiropractic is true, it should be proved to be so under scrutiny not requiring an organization such as he has formed. There is a fallacy herein that needs to be addressed and judged if one reads THE VICTIM'S PERSPECTIVE, by George Magner.

This so called expose on chiropractic was funded by the AMA. Why doesn't Amazon give reviewers the option of awarding zero stars? I used to get a star in Kindergarden for being good. This is the worst trash ever written. And poorly written at that. Did the author study grammer in school? I think not.

Hello. I haven't read this book yet, and though I might as an interesting perspective, I have a comment or two on the last review(er).

A statement was made about the vertebrae not being intended "to slide back and forth," or something similar. This is vastly incorrect. If the spine were immobile, you would not be able to move as you do. It's truly sad that you've had such poor experiences with chiropractic, but this can happen in any profession of course.

No, it is not all about money. Again it is sad that this is your experience thus far, but if you want to compare MDs to DCs (or DOs who like to do a little of both, something I disagree with), there's obviously a lot more money in medicine. And chiropractic is not "medicine" at all. Someone who has so much passion for all things naturopathic, as you obviously do based upon your other reviews, should know this. Not all MDs make more money than DCs, but theirs is a profession bombarded by propaganda, at least for now.

There are far more people helped than hurt by chiropractic. Many of these individuals have done their level research, and are natural-focused individuals. All health professions have financial goals, methodologies, scripts and procedures. Some are more transparent than others. I suggest that you, and others, do some more looking around.

From what I've read about this book on the Web so far, the negative reviews far outweigh the good, primarily for its intended purpose. Some works make themselves blatantly obvious in matters of intention. Seems like this guy might be one of them! There's nothing wrong with making money if it's centered around helping people -- something I don't see as a goal of this book, from what I've heard so far, and will likely read soon.

OK -- while checking Amazon for the availability of various trade paperbacks featuring my work (Batman Adventures, Johnny Dynamite, etc.) I stumble upon THIS listing! "Backman" was a give-away comic book I drew in the mid 1970s when I was just out of high school -- a promotional item for chiropractors. Though the person who put the project in motion promised me the moon -- I never saw a dime from the thing! Crude amateur early work that even my most devoted fans shouldn't bother seeking out. Buy a copy of JOHNNY DYNAMITE instead!

Terry Beatty

This book is too basic to be of much use for long. Just get it out of the library or make notes in your technique class! A couple of good chapters, but not worth sitting on you're shelf unopened - as it will after about month two of a chiropractic course. You would be much better off spending you're money on Chiropractic Technique : Principles and Procedures by Thomas F. Bergmann, David H. Peterson, Dana J. Lawrence Sorry...but there are better books out there.

While a sophomore in life and at Fresno State and a biology student aspiring to be a forest ranger, I was seized literally and figuratively by my girlfriend's uncle's chiropractor, then president of the state chiropractic association, and offered assistance if I would attend chiropractic school. Under some duress from the woman whose stated determination was to marry a moneyed professional, I sent for materials from the founder's school in Davenport, Iowa.

I read of Daniel David Palmer's man's recovery of his hearing coincidental to an accident involving his back and the birth at that moment of the science of chiropractic. From their reading list, I ordered several textbooks including the instant title. In short order, I came to agree with Mencken that chiropractic was so much buncombe*. This high-sounding title was central to my continuing disenchantment with quackeries generally. And alas, though I enjoyed her enthusiasm and attention, she was superstitous, unfaithful, and eventually tilted toward Erhard Seminars Training (E.S.T.), where she met and married a dentist whom she wrote enjoyed buggery (I have the letter somewhere). She went on to get her Psy.D. degree apparently to practice counseling psychology.

*H.L. Mencken, Baltimore Evening Sun, December 8, 1924

I am very sorry to have to write this as I hate to slam another Chiropractor's work, but Wise Cracks and Funny Bones is just awful. I bought the book to put out in my waiting room but after reading it over I decided against it. The book is poorly written and unfunny. In fact, there is nothing funny at all in the book. Here is an example of what you will find. The following is an actual example taken from the book itself;

"A patient having difficulty with her co-ordination said, `Doctor, I have all this trouble. I just keep getting all mixed up between my arms and legs. What can I do?' "

That's it, no other back story or information is given, that's the entire entry. The entire book is just like this. Don't waste your money on this one. My apologies to Donald McDowall. I hate to slam your book, but I feel like it wasn't worth the money I paid for it.