The Truth, The Whole Truth and Reality

This article was recently forwarded to me by Dr. L. Rudnick, an experienced Laser Therapist and retired chiropractor in Tucson, Arizona. The article certainly provides food for thought and establishes a number of points that are in my opinion, meritorious.

The Truth, The Whole Truth and Reality

For decades, it has been stated that chiropractic and then light therapy were not science-based like mainstream medicine. According to physicians, medicines are termed an evidence-based scientific therapy.

During the course of taking care of patients, I most frequently found that they were taking prescribed medications to deal with their chronic pain. These include, among many, naproxen, methocarbamol and amitriptyline. Naproxen is described as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, methocarbamol is a muscle relaxant and amitriptyline is an antidepressant.

I am always interested in the possible side effects of all medications, therefore I checked my trusty Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR), which contains all information regarding pharmaceuticals from the companies producing these medications. More interesting than the side effects was a section that dealt with how the medications actually work. For naproxen it states “it isn’t known how this medication works to decrease pain, inflammation and fever. It may help reduce swelling by lowering levels of prostaglandin, a hormone-like substance”. For methocarbamol it states “the mechanism of action of methocarbamol in humans has not been established”. For amitriptyline it states “its mechanism of action in man is unknown”.

The fact is that the use of pharmaceuticals is more of a trial and error process than so called “science”.

“Take this several times a day for 10 days and let me know how you are feeling” can hardly be classified as scientific.

Evidence-based medicine that relies on medications for which there is no understanding of how they work is not science. In reality and truth if you will, healthcare and all of its many disciplines involves the art of applying scientific principles, not scientific facts, and all too often, little truth. It would appear that some doctors are simply more artistic than others.

 

Dr. L. Rudnick

 

References:

Physician’s Desk Reference, 69th Edition, 2015.

Medsave.govNZ

www.drugs.com