Baseball Musings: Quacks for Hamels

February 15, 2008

Quacks for Hamels

The Phillies are giving in to Cole Hamels:

Perhaps responding to Cole Hamels' public pleas last season, the club is making arrangements for its players to have access to chiropractors both at home and on the road.
Though plans have not been finalized, Phillies assistant general manager Ruben Amaro confirmed that the team is looking to hire a chiropractor to work with players at home. In addition, it is attempting to set up a network of chiropractors for players to use on the road.

Maybe the Phillies should stick to real medicine. Watch this video, the relevant section starting at the six minute mark.

Posted by David Pinto at 08:19 AM | Pitchers | TrackBack (0)

Comments

A friend of mine was actually contacted by the Phillies a few months ago to be the chiropractor...

Posted by: Tom G, ballssticksstuff.com at February 15, 2008 10:23 AM

David, you might bring the wrath down upon yourself. In my experience Chiros are like Scientologists, Prius owners, and Mac lovers. They practice the craft with cultist devotion.

Posted by: abe at February 15, 2008 10:54 AM

I am not into chiropractic medicine, or anything, but given Penn and Teller's comparison of chiropractic to massage, I can't help but wonder if the Phillies feel like the're giving their injury-riddled ace a personal massage therapist, while appeasing his on-going desire for a quack.

Posted by: TC at February 15, 2008 11:11 AM

I just got adjusted the other night after feeling like I couldn't turn my head for 5 days (and I tried heat, hot tub, massage and pain relievers). No pain whatsoever now. The same person fixed my wife's tailbone after it was broken and was healing incorrectly, sending pain down her leg. The hospital just wanted to give her more medication, while the chiro FIXED THE PROBLEM.

Posted by: Nate at February 15, 2008 12:06 PM

"In my experience Chiros are like Scientologists, Prius owners, and Mac lovers. They practice the craft with cultist devotion."

...and like most occupations there are quacks and there are those who do good work. I've been lucky enough to find a chiropractor who dismisses all the b.s. about chiropractic being able to cure cancer and help the Royals become a World Champion, and just fixes the specific problem I have.

It's easy to dismiss a whole group of practitioners because shows like Penn & Teller--which I like a lot--ALWAYS pick the biggest Kook to represent the whole...that is just not reality.

Posted by: glennraucher at February 15, 2008 12:24 PM

Dave makes a good point. I don't know why anyone would ever go to a Chiropractor because MDs have a 100% success rate with all illness and injury. There is no biochemical or physiological knowledge that is not known to Doctors and thus, NO reason to go elsewhere. If your aching back does not respond to the treatment of your MD - it is probably your fault.

Posted by: Phil at February 15, 2008 12:56 PM

I live in Davenport, IA - home to Palmer's original college and more chiropractors than you can shake a stick at. I'm not saying it's a cure-all, silver bullet, etc. But for people who have back and neck pains, it really, really does seem to work.

Posted by: Colin Wyers at February 15, 2008 02:29 PM

The big shock is that the Phillies are spending a little coin to keep players happy.

If you pay attention to the Penn and Teller bit, they say that chiro can do good. It's the extremists that give the science a bad name.

Before my chiropractic experience, I could hardly walk or sit. Now, 4 marathons later, I am changed and embrace the science.

Like many things, there are people who take a good thing too far.

Posted by: Joe in Philly at February 15, 2008 02:47 PM

Quacks, huh? I'm not a chiropractor, but I have many friends who have been helped by them. Maybe your readers would best be served to stick to "real journalism," jackass.

Posted by: Professor I at February 15, 2008 03:02 PM

...and maybe he can post whatever he wants, regardless of his opinion, because it's HIS BLOG.

I do find it funny that insulting a profession that has no ties to a reader prompted an insult, though. Maybe the readers would best be served to stick to "real commentary".

Posted by: scaught at February 15, 2008 04:16 PM

isn't there a joke about internet fights and the special olympics?

Posted by: Tim at February 15, 2008 04:24 PM

There are plenty of quacks from prestigious med schools, too.

Posted by: Harry Pavlidis at February 15, 2008 04:38 PM

I try to keep an open mind about these things; I've never been, but my wife loves her chiropractor, and is fortunate enough to have found a good one. She's licensed by the state and recognized as a medical practitioner qualified to treat musculo-skeletal issues.

Particularly now that she's pregnant, being able to get relief from the pain of loosening ligaments (one of the things that I didn't know but should have about pregnancy is that the hormones cause all the pelvic ligaments to loosen and stretch, in preparation for squeezing a new human out of the birth canal. Yet another reason why pregnant women are prone to back/hip/nerve pain!) without drugs is a godsend.

Experts in muscular-skeletal problems can be quacks like any others. How many people do you know who have had a bad doctor experience? a lousy management experience? etc.

However, the profession as a whole is a commonly accepted medical practice (they're regulated by the state, doctors can issue referrals to chiropractors, and health insurance covers chiropractic care). The notion of chiropractors-as-quacks is outdated and unsupported by the evidence - not a notion befitting the proponent of PMR and greater objective analysis in other fields :

Posted by: Subrata Sircar at February 15, 2008 07:59 PM

Curiously, no subluxation is known to treat gullibility.

Posted by: Tor at February 15, 2008 08:50 PM

Given that the anti-chiropractic source cited is a snarky magician, I don't think much of a case has been presented.

Posted by: Steve H at February 16, 2008 12:27 AM

Due to my job, I had severe lower back pain. I started going to a chiropractor, and continue to have regular adjustments each month, and I recommend it. It does help.

Posted by: Mike S. at February 16, 2008 09:42 AM

As the Penn & Teller video shows, not all chiropractors are the same. There are actually three different types. The types connect to the 3 major schools: Palmer, National, and Logan.

I won't go into the specifics of the differences other than to say not all chiropractors view themselves as alternatives to medicine. It is the Palmer school that the "life force" stuff. The Palmer school is influenced by Eastern thought (some Palmer doctors do acupuncture for example). This is not true of all chiropractors. The National school, for example, sees itself not contradicting the medical profession but supplementing it (and not in some mystical way but with mundane things like a focus on disease prevention through nutrition and exercise).

It would be interesting to know what type of chiropractor the Phillies hire.

Posted by: thatteamfromcle at February 17, 2008 10:53 AM

Consistent with your blogging about baseball now you're branching out to alternative treatments - which you also apparently know nothing about

Posted by: Bandit at February 18, 2008 12:30 PM

I am a chiropractor, but not a quack. Unfortunately, there are a lot of quacks in my professions. I've found that most of them come from schools like Palmer and Life. They're the ones who claim they can "fix" or "cure" everything. I only treat neuro-muscular-skeletal problems, and that's it. Chiropractic philosophy doesn't mean squat to me. Subluxation is a misalignment of two bones at a joint up to 50%. More than 50% is a dislocation. I totally discredit it as being the cause for all disease or dis-ease. Of all the chiro schools in the US, New York Chiro College and National are the better schools where they are also focused on modern medicine. I work with several MDs in my area, and they are quite pleased with my education, and they will not work with chiropractors from other schools. Also, keep in mind that Life had their accreditation revoked a few years back. I wonder why that is..... Anyways, I think it's good that the Phillies hire a chiropractor, but should hire one that can travel with the team. It would keep a lot of guys of the DL

Posted by: Brian at March 15, 2008 12:12 AM

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