• Hero Banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Buying or Selling a Practice
Hospital Design
Leadership & Personal Growth
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Technology
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Live Conferences
Conference News
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Letter to the Editor (October 2017)

October 22, 2017
Deborah Cottrell, DVM
American Veterinarian, October 2017, Volume 2, Issue 3

A letter from one reader regarding a previous article on veterinary chiropractic care.

Dear Editor:

I am very concerned that you are helping to spread bad medical information in the veterinary community through your recent article, “The Benefits of Chiropractic Care” (August 2017). Chiropractic for animals is one of the ways pseudo-medicine is making its way into veterinary school curricula. The author attempts to explain the history of chiropractic while avoiding the reality: The entire theory of chiropractic is based on the idea that all disease is based on “vertebral subluxation.” The problem is that vertebral subluxation is not a real diagnosis; in over 100 years of existence, the “science” of chiropractic has never been able to demonstrate it. Multiple chiropractors examining the same patient can’t even agree on which part of the spine the “subluxation” lies. The belief that it exists leads to the idea that it affects an entire range of medical conditions that have nothing at all to do with vertebrae or spinal nerves.

Many veterinary chiropractors claim to treat a huge range of medical conditions while at the same time denying the efficacy of vaccinations and pharmaceuticals. They promote homeopathy, in which a substance is diluted to the point that not even one molecule of it is detectable, but the water “retains the memory” of the active ingredient. This is also pseudoscience and has been called out as such by many medical and veterinary associations around the world. Even Dr. Peyton’s use of Chinese herbs should be viewed critically, since the production of those herbs is entirely unregulated and has been demonstrated to be rife with fake ingredients and outright lies. With the cost of a veterinary education increasing by leaps and bounds, we should not be spending money teaching unproven and unregulated therapies to veterinary students.

As is typical of articles that glowingly describe chiropractic, this one is full of anecdotes and light on evidence. The latest Cochrane review of chiropractic clearly demonstrates that chiropractic shows no benefit at all for anything other than back pain, and even those results can be achieved by a good physical therapist or massage therapist.1 Just because pet owners ask for it, and it’s gaining in popularity, does not mean it has any medical validity.

Deborah Cottrell, DVM

West End Animal Hospital

Advertisement

Newberry, FL

Reference:

  • Rubinstein SM, Terwee CB, Assesdelft WJ, de Boer MR, van Tuider MW. Spinal manipulative therapy for acute back pain: an update of the Cochrane review. Spine. 2013;38(3):E158-177. doi: 10.1097/ BRS.0b013e31827dd89d.

Author Response:

Veterinary medicine has a long history of incorporating therapeutic modalities first developed for humans, and chiropractic is no different. Is chiropractic appropriate for all conditions? Of course not—no treatment is. But it does the profession a disservice to dismiss chiropractic out-of-hand. Anecdotal evidence and studies in humans show that chiropractic is effective for a variety of issues, and understandably more and more veterinarians are looking into it for their patients. Rather than ignoring chiropractic, veterinarians should demand greater study into its effectiveness on their patients. Only then can its usefulness be fully determined.

—Don Vaughan

download issueDownload Issue: October 2017

Related Content:

October 2017
website logo
Choosing Quality Over Quantity
website logo
Diagnosing and Treating Cancer
website logo
IVECCS 2017: Disclosing Medical Errors

Advertisement

Latest News

News wrap-up: This week’s headlines, plus Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine presents Temple Grandin, PhD, MS, with an honorary degree

Can our Pride panel answer these LGBTQ+ trivia questions?

Creating inclusive spaces for the LGBTQ+ community in vet med

Happy Pride Month, Hill's launches Prescription Diet ONC Care, and more

View More Latest News
Advertisement