Ralph Nader recently sent a pointed letter to President Bush. The letter concerned a annual national tragedy of 58,000 of needless workplace deaths. Here is an excerpt (from Common Dreams): Dear President Bush: I was listening to your address before the self-described Conservative Political Action Committee gathering in Washington, D.C.…
I learned of the issue of "downer cows" by reading a report on Common Dreams: You wouldn’t think you could “spin” a video that shows slaughterhouse workers electric shocking downer cows, “water boarding” them, jabbing their eyes with herding paddles and ramming them with forklift blades while they squeal in…
Michael Lewis recounts his harrowing personal medical journey in Slate. It was difficult for me to read this account without cringing. Then again (without getting too revealing), I know someone very close to me who had a vasectomy and it wasn't as unnerving as the one Lewis describes. Perhaps it was because,…
I have long been suspicious of chiropractors. Why? One reason is that the practice has a wobbly foundation. In 1895, D.D. Palmer declared that “95% of all diseases are caused by displaced vertebrate, the remainder by luck stations of other joints.” His conclusion is that most diseases could be cured by adjusting vertebrae that interfere with nerve vibrations flowing from the brain through the vertebrae. Recent studies have shown that while spinal manipulation can be helpful to treating some back pain, “there appears to be little evidence to support the value of spinal manipulation for non-musculoskeletal conditions.” (Shekelle, P.G. “What role for chiropractic and healthcare?” New England Journal of Medicine 339:1074-1075.)
Another reason for my skepticism regarding chiropractors is that I’ve heard too many tales of highly suspicious sounding chiropractors. I’ve heard, for instance, about the “need” to be treated two to three times per week for years on end for nebulous sounding conditions.
I’ve never before been to a chiropractor. Five weeks ago I would’ve assure you that I would not likely ever go to a chiropractor. That was before my pain got bad, however. For the past five weeks, I’ve been suffering from a pain on the left side of my upper back. It comes and goes during the day, ranging from a dull ache to a severe stabbing pain that makes it hard for me to concentrate anything else. The pain sometimes borders on disabling. Sometimes, lying down is the only thing that settles down the intense …
Back in the 1970s, when I was an undergrad student at the University of Missouri, I took a psychology course that required me to interview someone who worked in the mental health field. A nurse working at the Missouri State Mental Hospital (on Arsenal Street in the City of St.…