Anti-chiropractic groups spreading ‘stroke’ lies online

The Internet has been a powerful tool for telling the chiropractic story to the public. Yet, it’s also been used to attack chiropractic and spread lies and rumors about the safety of chiropractic care.

The recent “Injured by a Chiropractor” campaign waged by anti-chiropractic forces under the banner of the “Chiropractic Stroke Victims Awareness Group” has taken on a new and dangerous dimension that could reach millions of people every day.

When the ads were first spotted on billboards, public buses and local newspapers, many DCs dismissed them as simply “local problems” that couldn’t affect them or their practices.

The spread of those ads to the Internet -- and the absurd but frightening message they contain -- has transformed the issue into a global one.  

Already, there are several websites supposedly run by chiropractic “victims” who maintain they’ve suffered strokes due to chiropractic care. One, neck911.com, claims to be run by “a volunteer group of individuals who provide consultations on complications due to neck manipulation.” It contains a statement from “Canadian Neurologists” about stroke, as well as “case studies” and a video titled “Is a headache worth dying for?”

A similar site published from the UK called “Action for Victims of Chiropractic” (AVC), while claiming it isn’t anti-chiropractic and that it receives no funding from any other group, lists an e-mail address of neck999uk@aol.com (999 is the British emergency number, the counterpart to 911 in the US). Ironically, it repeatedly disavows any responsibility for the information on its site, noting, “All statements and advice cannot be relied on and AVC cannot be held responsible for any content.” Still, it continues to make allegations that chiropractic is linked to stroke and other negative side effects.

Exposure to these and similar sites have been greatly increased by references and links to them from other anti-chiropractic sites, most notably Stephen Barrett’s “Quackbuster” sites, including Chirobase and Quackwatch. Articles such as “ Chiropractic’s Dirty Secret: Neck Manipulation and Strokes” and “Chiropractors Angry about Bus Ad” invariably include links to the neck911 website as well as other “evidence” of the dangers of chiropractic.

Since Internet content is largely unregulated, it’s been difficult to take legal action against these websites. However, the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) has retained the services of one of the few attorneys in the country who has successfully battled Barrett in court -- and won.

Carlos Negrete is the noted California-based lawyer who last year grilled Barrett on the stand in the case of Stephen Barrett, MD vs. Tedd Koren, DC and Koren Publications, Inc. During that trial, Negrete’s cross examination of the self-proclaimed Quackbuster revealed that Barrett was not a Medical Board Certified psychiatrist because he had failed the certification exam and had ties to the American Medical Association. Negrete’s questioning also revealed that Barrett had filed defamation lawsuits against nearly 40 people across the country -- and had failed to win a single one at trial.

Negrete has pledged to pursue all possible avenues to stop various “stroke victim” groups from using lies and scare tactics to defame chiropractic.

In addition, the WCA has initiated its own counter-campaign, designed to flood the media and the Internet with the truth about chiropractic’s safety, along with actual research evidence to reassure the public that the chance of suffering a stroke due to a chiropractic adjustment is so small as to be non-existent. A Google search for the key words “chiropractic” and “stroke” produces several references to WCA sites as well as to media outlets carrying WCA press releases.

“This is definitely a battle for the minds of all people who could benefit from chiropractic,” stated WCA President Terry A. Rondberg, DC. “We have to shout down these critics who want to scare people away from chiropractors. We have to make sure the truth is heard over the noise created by lies and rumors.”

To accomplish its goals, the WCA created the Chiropractic Anti-Defamation Fund and asks all DCs to contribute generously.

Go to www.neck911.com, http://www.chirovictims.org.uk/, or www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chirostroke.html. Read what they say about chiropractic. Then decide how much you’re willing to donate to help make sure their distorted picture of chiropractic isn’t the  image that stays in people’s minds! (NOTE: we realize that going to these sites increase their "hit" count and make them seem even more popular than they are. However, we feel it is so important for you to see what you're up against that it's worth the risk of boosting their site traffic for a short time.)

To make a contribution to the World Chiropractic Alliance Chiropractic Anti-Defamation Fund, use our secure, online form