CAMophobia at the Southern Medical Journal

Although the definition is self-evident, CAMophobia is the unfortunate failure by otherwise reputable journals and other evidence-based media to uphold evidence-based standards regarding CAM.

Here is the latest example.

The Southern Medical Journal reports the case of a patient who had a stroke following cervical spine manipulation therapy (CSMT).

As part of an accompanying review, the sentence that caught my eye was this one. “Stroke following CSMT is more common than the literature reports.”

Excuse me, but if it’s not documented in a reputable source, how do the authors justify this conclusion? And why did the reviewers let it pass without challenge?

A spirited debate on the safety of spinal manipulation can be read here.

Another example of CAMophobia is here.

3/17/07 10:48 JR