Science and the scientific method.

This word 'Scientific' has been thrown at the chiropractic profession like a stone.  Chiropractic is not Scientific! Before I expound upon my view on this topic I think it is appropriate to clarify just what science is or more accurately what a 'scientific study' is.

  In order to have truly 'scientific' method you must first have a theory to prove. Once you have a theory we need a laboratory setting in which to go about proving our theory correct, thus making it scientific law.  In the lab we set up the experiment to prove our theory by removing variables from the equation by controlling the conditions of the experiment.  Having set the conditions we now conduct the experiment, multiple times.  In order for our theory to be proven we must repeat the experiment at least three times and have the same outcome each time 'consecutively'.  So in order to convert a scientific theory into scientific law we must have a repeatable, predictable out come 'every time'.

 So in order to have a truly scientific study we must first be able to control the variables 100% of the time.  Now we've all heard the pharmaceutical commercials state that this product or that product 'has been scientifically proven to do this or that.  More recently they've taken to saying 'Clinically Proven'. So lets pick that apart.  As mentioned above a scientific study has to control the variables, right?  Ok, so how do we duplicate the biochemical individuality of a single human being, where billions upon billions of chemical reactions take place each time we take a breath, eat or think?

Think?!!  When we generate a thought our biochemistry changes because thinking requires a plethora of chemical reactions to generate a neurological impulse which is transmitted to either an idea or a motor function which in turn utilizes another set of chemical reactions simply to move your hand to scratch an itch or pet your dog.  Generally actions we take for granted yet require millions of tiny instantaneous chemical reactions to take place in milliseconds. 

 So if we cannot duplicate human physiology how can a pharmaceutical company 'scientifically' prove their drug works?  This is done by setting the parameters of the study to fit their intended goal.  So if I wanted to prove that my drug  cures cancer or cures depression I have to prove it by duplicating that outcome.

An extreme example: I am a brand new pharmaceutical company trying to sell a new drug that will cure cancer, diabetes and depression 100% of the time, guaranteed.  In order to prove my drug works the way I say it does I have to get a panel of study subjects each suffering with this same combination of ailments. I then split them into two groups and give one group 'potassium cyanide' and the other group a sugar pill.

 Findings:  Every subject who took 'potassium cyanide' is no longer suffering from any of the diseases they entered the study with.  I have repeated the intended outcome. Potassium Cyanide cured all the diseases!  However, the side effect of using potassium cyanide is 'instantaneous death'.  Study group two had no ill effects from their sugar pills save one subject who went into diabetic coma. 

 "But they're all dead!! How can you say this drug is a success?" 

"I never said it was safe, the goal was to prove effectiveness against the disease and they are clearly not suffering from any diseases are they?"

"They're dead!!!"

"Hey don't bother me with details, I can't help the fact that they had a fatal reaction to the drug."

Ok, so it isn't likely that anyone could get away with something that insane.  Yet my example isn't so far off the mark of how a drug gets approved for market.  It only has to be shown to do something along the lines of what the manufacturer claims it will do.  "I believe that the study subjects won't all die...Maybe". 

 If you listen to the pharmaceutical commercials carefully you will hear the list of side effects that are often worse than what you are taking the drug for.  But it was scientifically or clinically proven to work against whatever it is they are trying to fix, the side effects are immaterial.

 So when someone says chiropractic is not scientific understand from which corner they are coming and understand that physiology cannot be duplicated in a laboratory setting therefore no health care profession can be truly scientific as a result.  Only drugs are so studied, which ties into my previous blogs about health care being more about marketing than actual scientific study. 

 Dr. B