ArticleArchives of physiotherapy2019
The "subluxation" issue: an analysis of chiropractic clinic websites.
Article in Archives of physiotherapy, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Mechanisms of manipulation: a systematic review of the literature on immediate anatomical structural or positional changes in response to manually delivered high-velocity, low-amplitude spinal manipulation.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2024Pooled it
- A new role for spinal manual therapy and for chiropractic? Part I: weaknesses and threats.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2024Article
- Alternative cancer clinics' use of Google listings and reviews to mislead potential patients.BJC reports · 2024Article
- Incomplete reporting of manual therapy interventions and a lack of clinician and setting diversity in clinical trials for neck pain limits replication and real-world translation. A scoping review.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2023Article
- Digging deeper: exploring chiropractors online claims about non-musculoskeletal disorders.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2021Article
- "Chiropractic is manual therapy, not talk therapy": a qualitative analysis exploring perceived barriers to remote consultations by chiropractors.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2021Article
- The Hypothesis of Biotensegrity and D. D. Palmer's Hypothesis on Tone: A Discussion of Their Alignment.Journal of chiropractic humanities · 2020Article
- Chiropractic students call for action against unsubstantiated claims.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2020Article
- Words matter: the prevalence of chiropractic-specific terminology on Australian chiropractors' websites.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2020Article
- A cross-sectional study of website claims related to diagnoses and treatment of non-musculoskeletal conditions.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2020Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVertebral subluxation theories are controversial in chiropractic. Divisions are evident in the chiropractic community among those who align their practices to subluxation theories and those who do not. This study investigated how many clinics offering chiropractic in the Canadian province of Alberta promote a theory of subluxation, which health ailments or improvements were linked to subluxation, and whether the subluxation discourse was used to promote chiropractic for particular demographics.
methodsUsing the search engine on the Canadian Chiropractic Associations' website, we made a list of all clinics in Alberta. We then used Google searches to obtain a URL for each clinic with a website, totalling 324 URLs for 369 clinics. We then searched on each website for "subluxation" and performed content analysis on the related content.
resultsOne hundred twenty-one clinics' websites (33%) presented a theory of vertebral subluxation. The health ailments and improvements discussed in relation to subluxation were wide-ranging. An observed trend was the marketing of chiropractic for children, which was observed on 29 clinic websites (8%).
conclusionsBased on the controversy surrounding vertebral subluxation, the substantial number of clinic websites aligning their practice with vertebral subluxation should cause concern for regulatory bodies.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.