WCA lashes out at media for misleading stroke stories

In the days following a study published in the journal Neurology, the news media throughout the world was filled with sensationalized stories claiming that chiropractic "caused" strokes. Reports were printed in numerous major newspapers, shown on CNN, BBC and other television news broadcasts, and splashed across the Internet.

Although the research involved retroactive interviews with just 51 people and its design of the research was widely criticized as being flawed, the publicity given to the report was massive. "The furor it generated was far out of proportion to any merit of the research alone," stated Terry A. Rondberg, D.C., WCA president. "It's obvious that there was something more going on."

In the past, the WCA has responded to such negative reports with lengthy examinations of the scientific evidence showing that chiropractic is extremely safe, particularly when compared to allopathic medicine. The WCA's position paper on chiropractic and strokes (www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/positions/stroke.htm) contains numerous references to various research studies indicating that the incidence of stroke following chiropractic care is so low as to be statistically insignificant.

This time, the WCA decided to address the underlying issues: the ongoing campaign of misinformation against chiropractic by the medical and pharmaceutical industries, and the anti‑chiropractic bias in the news media.

In a widely circulated press release, the WCA accused the media of being the pawn of the medical profession and challenged reporters to tell the true story about chiropractic.

Within hours, the release had appeared on major Internet news sites -- including CBS MarketWatch, DallasNews.com, Yahoo.com, Lycos.com, the National Hispanic Corporate Council, Finance Canada, Finanz Nachrichten, MedicalDevices.org, Morningstar.com, NBC6.com, and PR Newswire.

In addition, the release was distributed to all major wire services such as the Associated Press and Reuters; newspapers including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post and The Boston Herald; television network news departments; and hundreds of other top media outlets.

"Although it was expensive to submit the release to so many news outlets, it's important that the chiropractic side of the story be told around the world," said Dr. Rondberg.

On its website, the WCA also encouraged field doctors to submit the press release to their community newspapers, even if they needed to have it published as a paid advertisement.

"The people in your community need to know there is NO real link between proper chiropractic care and strokes," Rondberg told doctors. "They need to be told how the medical industry uses fear tactics to destroy chiropractic. They have to be made aware of why so many publications print this garbage in the first place."