Opinion The University Daily Kansan
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MONDAY,SEPTEMBER 27,2010
WWW.KANSAN.COM
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--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
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YAY Jayhawks! BOOO allergies!
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
- dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
You can't be half a gangster. Not anymore.
I don't care if I am 20 years old and in college, I am going to see Harry Potter 7 at midnight.
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
Who thinks i should make my girlfriend eat a double down sandwich?
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
It's not impossible. I used to bullsey wamprats in my T-16 back home and they're not much bigger than three motorbike.
Sometimes when I can't sleep, I watch The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross, online at night.
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
How would you like to be my new wingman?
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
Sometimes I sit on Facebook waiting for a new status that I can like.
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
I don't care if you have the same car as me! Don't yell at me from across the intersection.
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
I just got iTunes for the first time. Ever.
editor's note: Welcome to 1999.
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
Today I failed...It feels weird getting a B on an exam.
Dear neighbors, sorry you can hear my bad guitar playing through the walls. Eventually it will be good guitar playing for you to enjoy
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
I just lost the game.
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
First night at the Hawk Success.
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
Man, girls sure are trashy these days
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
I literally just pooped all over myself in lab. Sorry everyone.
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
"You ate an entire wheel of cheese? I'm not even mad, that impressive."
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
Make me be good God, but not yet
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
Rikini shopping is so fun.
Surprise trips downtown make my life. IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
--dozen different notions about how the spine should be corrected dividing chiropractors.
SKEPTICISM
Chiropractors break the back of honest science
In 1895, a grocer and "magnet therapist" in Davenport, Iowa was approached by a deaf man with a strange lump on his spine.
The grocer, named Daniel David Palmer, felt the lump and asked the man for permission to "rack his bone back into position".
The man agreed, and after a few manipulations of the bump, Palmer heard a pop, restoring his patient's hearing.
With that first "adjustment", the practice of chiropractic was born.
Palmer theorized that the man's deafness was due to a misalignment of the spine—known to chiropractors as a subluxation—that blocked nerves related to hearing and concluded that all ailments, from the flu to mental illness, were related to subluxations and could be cured by spinal manipulation.
While few modern chiropractors adhere closely to Palmer's impossible view, the theory of subluxations continues to play a major role in the practice of most, despite the fact that only a vague and highly tractable definition has been agreed upon by the profession as to what exactly a subluxation is, let alone how to go about treating one.
Stephen Barrett, MD,
webmaster of quackwatch.com and
frequent critic of chiropractics,
states that some chiropractors
change the qualification for
what a subluxation is to adapt
to particular cases, while one
of his collaborators, William T.
Jarvis, co-author of The Health
Robbers, writes that treatments for
subluxations vary almost as much
as the definition with "at least a
Good Science, Bad Science
BY ANDREW HOLTZEN
aholtzan@kansas.com
Without a firm definition of subluxations—the corner stone of most chiropractic—it's not surprising that the efficacy of the practice is non-existent for most conditions.
A 2008 critical review in the Journal of Pain and System Management found that the results of several studies "fail to demonstrate that spinal manipulation is effective."
The article concluded that "Chiropractors' belief in...subluxation, or spinal manipulation is not rational."
The only instance where chiropractic has been proven to be as effective as more conventional methods is in the treatment of lower back pain.
In the book "Trick or Treatment", the authors' research finds that "Chiropractors...might compete with physiotherapists in terms of treating some back problems, but all their other claims are beyond belief and can carry a range of significant risks."
What exactly are these risks? A systematic review summarized data and found that up to November 2001 there had been
around 700 serious complications and 50 deaths attributed to chiropractic, with many due to stroke.
As with much of alternative medicine, adherents of chiropractic claim that conventional healthcare is flawed due to a financial incentive shared by doctors, hospitals, and—most ominously—"big pharma" that often causes providers to overlook a patient's needs in pursuit of a quick buck.
But, consider this: according to Business Wire, in 2006 U.S. chiropractic was a $7 billion business and consisted of 30,000 firms.
While this doesn't begin to compare with the trillion dollar U.S. healthcare industry, it's still very profitable and leads to many of the same problems of conventional medicine.
In fact, in 1983 chiropractic manipulation came in as the ninth most frequently billed procedure on Medicare Part B, which begs the question, "How many of those were necessary?" And, popularity of the profession has only grown since then.
Although the mainstream healthcare industry is by no means flawless (far from it), the solution certainly doesn't lie in turning one's back on effective techniques and placing faith in the unsubstantiated—and mostly disproven—claims of alternative medicine like chiropractic.
Holtzen is a junior from Fayetteville, Ark., in chemistry and Spanish.
CARTOON
MARIAM SAIFAN
Chatterbox
Responses to the news of the week on
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Kansan.com
— "Beech27" in response to "Cutting organic confusion worth time" on Sept. 22.
"There's a very easy way to avoid any concerns about what a given animal may have consumed or been treated with: Don't eat them. I'm not saying everyone (or even anyone) should go full on vegan. However, it is a lot cheaper than buying all organic meats. It's also worth noting that, if you're concerned about animal welfare, organic doesn't really mean a damn thing. But again, I don't want to turn this into a vegan advocacy piece. The point is, if you're concerned about the quality of your diet (and you should be), there are many factors you ought to weigh more heavily than if a given food item is organic."
Words have power, and'rape should not be in Free for All
Rape is rape. It is not losing in fantasy football or miserably failing a science exam. It is not beating your fraternity brothers in a video game or tripping on the sidewalk. Rape is the crime of forcing another person to commit a sexual act. Rape is a real fear for probably every female on this campus. It is not a topic to be taken lightly. That is why it appalls me to open up the Free For All and find the comment, "I'm getting raped in fantasy football this week."
Ask a survivor how it felt to be raped, and I doubt she will respond with, "You know when you don't know any of the answers on the chemistry exam...?" Rape is a painful, traumatic experience with real, lifelong consequences. Survivors are faced with countless psychological afflictions, not to mention the everyday fear and anxiety of living in a world you no longer trust. It is an ordeal that takes years of therapy to overcome.
Unless you were literally assaulted by your fellow groupies, you were not raped in fantasy football this week. Perhaps you lost hideously, but you were not raped. And no, you were not raped by that chemistry exam. Perhaps you should study more next time, but you were not raped. You lost. You failed. But you were not by any means raped.
- Jacqueline Hieber is a senior from Bridgewater, Virginia, in psychology
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dean's accomplishments should be the main focus
I would like to provide my views on the article in the UDK on Wednesday, Sept. 22 titled "Business School dean announces June resignation." I am the Audit Partner in charge of the Deloitte Missouri Audit practice and am an alumnus of KU. I am currently on the KUEA Board of Trustees, the KU Alumni Association National Board and Executive Committee, the Business School Board of Advisors including Executive Committee and Past Chair, the AIS Area Board Council including Executive Committee and Past Chair, and a member of the KU Organizing Committee for our next capital campaign. I also served as a member of the Business School Differential Tuition Committee.
I strongly disagree with the assertions made by certain MBA students in the article. As a member of the differential tuition committee, our intention was to combine scholarship funds with work study programs which we believed were critical to student success. It should be noted that the funding provided for students through scholarships and work opportunities has increased at a higher rate than differential tuition. It would also be useful for students to understand that differential tuition added five majors to the school, allowed tenured faculty to grow by 30 percent and has resulted in student enrollment growth of 20 percent. While it was the differential tuition committee's
view that there was to be student oversight of the use of funds, and I understand that the committee needs to be functioning again. I feel it grossly unfair to characterize Dean Bill Fuerst's tenure as dean as lacking transparency. As a member of the Board of Advisors and executive committee and chair, we have had nothing other than very transparent and open communication with the Dean about the school's activities and progress. Dean Bill Fuerst has accomplished a tremendous amount for the School of Business and will leave some big shoes to fill. We owe Dean Fuerst our gratitude for launching this Business School into competitiveness with other top business schools in the country and for helping make it a school from which we can recruit top students who effectively compete against any business school in the country. Dean Fuerst has not only positioned every student in the business school for future success, but has enhanced the value of every KU business degree granted. I support the Chancellor's remarks in the article, and hope that all KU Business School students share my sense of enthusiasm and pride in the accomplishments of this business school. It's a shame that the efforts of a few are trying to cloud the tremendous accomplishments of many.
Howard Cohen is a School of Business alumnus.
GUEST COLUMN
New health law provisions begin making care better
Six months ago this week, Congress passed the federal health reform law, the Affordable Care Act. But with all the political wrangling, it was sometimes hard to tell what the law actually does.
Last Thursday, we began to experience what is really in this bill, as the first set of key reforms took effect, delivering consumers real protections in the health insurance marketplace.
Despite the varied rhetoric coming from Washington, D.C., both for and against reform, Hoosiers can begin to breathe easier about their health coverage. For many, affordable coverage is finally within reach.
Here's a rundown of what started Thursday:
First of all, young people are now eligible to stay on their parents' health insurance plans until the age of 26.
Given that young people make up the largest demographic of the nation's uninsured population, this provision is a huge step toward expanding coverage and making it affordable for young people and their families.
Furthermore, insurance companies can no longer drop your coverage when you get seriously ill, and you have a right to appeal any decisions by your insurance company that could affect the availability of your coverage.
You can rest easy knowing your coverage will be there when you need it most. Starting today, patients won't have to pay out-of-pocket for preventive care on all new health insurance plans.
Now when you want to protect yourself with preventive measures like a physical or a flu shot, you won't experience any co-pays or deductible costs on any new plan.
Small business owners will receive tax credits to help cover the cost of providing health insurance to their employees.
This is another new provision that will enable you to count on your insurance being there when you need it most.
From this day forward, no insurance company can deny coverage to a child because of a pre-existing condition. Any child younger than 19 will not suffer discrimination by insurance companies on the basis of an existing illness. And starting in 2014, the same will be true for all people.
After all the wrangling and rhetoric, national health care reform is beginning to deliver on its promise.
That's something we can all take a minute to celebrate.
From UWIRE. The Indiana Daily Student at Indiana University
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