Diane
29-03-2008, 03:23 PM
Ever since it came to my attention that this organization even existed, I've made it a bit of a hobby to check it out. Here is an interesting article written way back in 2002, called Why the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) Should Be Defunded (http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/nccam.html) by Wallace I. Sampson, M.D., which I found this morning by folowing links from Science Based Medicine.
How I learned about this funding agency was when Carol Davis mentioned it in her own defense when she was questioned about teaching CAM in U. of Miami to PT students. (See Jason Silvernail's thread series on EIM (http://blog.myphysicaltherapyspace.com/2008/03/myofascial-re-2.html), Part I of Myofascial Madness, Quackery at the University of Miami (http://blog.myphysicaltherapyspace.com/2008/02/myofascial-rele.html). It received over 80 responses.) Davis' reply was logged on Feb 20th 08, where she said, "..to ignore or dismiss the contribution of quantum physics to this discussion is to turn a blind eye to exciting and quite plausable hypotheses that accompany the facts of what we observe is happening at a celluar level. I say "observe" based on the work of outstanding scientists, at Harvard, Duke, Princeton and, yes, the NIH, NCCAM - National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine."
So, I decided to learn what I could about NCCAM along the way, just by keeping my eyes open. What I found today, the Wallace Sampson article dated 2002, tells me that lots of people have their eyes wide open about this, and that NCCAM does not have scientific credibility. Why did I not spot this before? Because I'm not a US PT, therefore it was off my radar. Here is a blogpost, more recent; The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM): Your tax dollars hard at work (http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=36) by David Gorski at Science Based Medicine (http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/).
Also, the paper brought here in the thread featuring a Langevin paper investigating fibroblasts (http://www.somasimple.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5335) that was funded by NCCAM also tells me that whatever it funds turns out to be a bit dubious, as there is a disclaimer under the page which indicates that the paper is classified as advertising. See post 5 (http://www.somasimple.com/forums/showpost.php?p=50450&postcount=5). This is the sort of stuff that has crept into PT, people. It deserves to be highlighted and denounced every time it's spotted. If each of us does not do this - learn to tell the difference between real theory and pseudo-theory, between real science base for our own treatment constructs and pseudo-science theory for treatment constructs, we will fail our profession. If we fall prey to the dopamemes, we lose our shot at turning PT into the first human primate social grooming profession ever, in existence, not based on quacky ideas.
This thread can be the place where anyone who finds any stuff out there on NCCAM can bring it to be deconstructed, decontaminated of dopa-memes and the danger they pose to our existence as a profession.
How I learned about this funding agency was when Carol Davis mentioned it in her own defense when she was questioned about teaching CAM in U. of Miami to PT students. (See Jason Silvernail's thread series on EIM (http://blog.myphysicaltherapyspace.com/2008/03/myofascial-re-2.html), Part I of Myofascial Madness, Quackery at the University of Miami (http://blog.myphysicaltherapyspace.com/2008/02/myofascial-rele.html). It received over 80 responses.) Davis' reply was logged on Feb 20th 08, where she said, "..to ignore or dismiss the contribution of quantum physics to this discussion is to turn a blind eye to exciting and quite plausable hypotheses that accompany the facts of what we observe is happening at a celluar level. I say "observe" based on the work of outstanding scientists, at Harvard, Duke, Princeton and, yes, the NIH, NCCAM - National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine."
So, I decided to learn what I could about NCCAM along the way, just by keeping my eyes open. What I found today, the Wallace Sampson article dated 2002, tells me that lots of people have their eyes wide open about this, and that NCCAM does not have scientific credibility. Why did I not spot this before? Because I'm not a US PT, therefore it was off my radar. Here is a blogpost, more recent; The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM): Your tax dollars hard at work (http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=36) by David Gorski at Science Based Medicine (http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/).
Also, the paper brought here in the thread featuring a Langevin paper investigating fibroblasts (http://www.somasimple.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5335) that was funded by NCCAM also tells me that whatever it funds turns out to be a bit dubious, as there is a disclaimer under the page which indicates that the paper is classified as advertising. See post 5 (http://www.somasimple.com/forums/showpost.php?p=50450&postcount=5). This is the sort of stuff that has crept into PT, people. It deserves to be highlighted and denounced every time it's spotted. If each of us does not do this - learn to tell the difference between real theory and pseudo-theory, between real science base for our own treatment constructs and pseudo-science theory for treatment constructs, we will fail our profession. If we fall prey to the dopamemes, we lose our shot at turning PT into the first human primate social grooming profession ever, in existence, not based on quacky ideas.
This thread can be the place where anyone who finds any stuff out there on NCCAM can bring it to be deconstructed, decontaminated of dopa-memes and the danger they pose to our existence as a profession.