Hacker News Reader

Comment by JumpCrisscross | Hacker News Reader

> for a while it worked better than "regular" medicine. At least it wouldn't kill you

Homeopathy was invented after the discovery of germ theory [1][2]. So not really. And homeopathy has always suffered from an adulteration problem.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germ_theory_of_disease

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy

View on HN

As an idea sure, but not in practice.

Homeopathy was created in 1796, and we still haven’t gotten rid of it.

Meanwhile 65 years later https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis

The maternal mortality rate dropped from 18% to less than 2%, and he published a book of his findings, Etiology, Concept and Prophylaxis of Childbed Fever, in 1861.

Chiropractory is another pseudoscience that started early and has been surprisingly resilient in spite of the lack of evidence. I was flabbergasted when I learned in my 30s that this was a made up medicine by an OG antivaxxer and magnetic medicine proponent due to the fact that insurance would still pay for it when I was a kid at least, and real doctors still recommended it on occasion.[1][2]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiropractic_controversy_and_c...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_David_Palmer

The problem with making claims about the chiropractic practices is that it spans such a huge range of "absolute bullshit" to "physically grounded adjustments". Joints and vertebrae (especially) really can be out of alignment, and you can absolutely see that on imaging. Muscles in constant tension can be self-reinforcing in ways that don't easily correct themselves without an external force. My wife has significant back issues as a result of various injuries -- one leading to an SI joint that frequently pops out of place, one due to an injury that fractured most of the spinal processes -- and you can absolutely feel the "pop" when an adjustment helps something slide back in place. This is validated by imaging and sports medicine, not just chiropractic quacks.

At the same, adjusting your back isn't going to cure your cancer, no matter what idiots with fake degrees say.

The challenge is that the latter is just as stupid as homeopathy, but whereas homeopathy really has no redeeming qualities beyond the placebo effect, at least chiropractic practices actually do sometimes have groundings in reality.

Your understanding of modern homeopathy is rooted in misconceptions. Many homeopathic products actually contain a sufficient amount of the active ingredient that they absolutely can conceivably have a significant biological effect.

> Many homeopathic products actually contain a sufficient amount of the active ingredient that they absolutely can conceivably have a significant biological effect

On the upside, "the risk of bioaccumulation of metals/metalloid from the homeopathic medicines seems to be rather low, due to small quantities of those products prescribed to be applied per day, as well as insignificant metal contamination of the majority of tested products" [1].

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20674842/

In my country in the EU it's illegal to market homeopathic remedies if they contain active ingredients in quantities that could have an effect. Otherwise they become regular medicine with different marketing requirements.

The issue with changing the alignment of bones with an “adjustment” is it’s your body keeping things in that position. Physical therapy is almost always a better long term fix because it can actually strengthen muscles and increase flexibility through stretching enabling someone to actually maintain proper alignment.

Physical manipulation can work, but the most useful techniques are in widespread use such as dealing with a dislocated shoulder. Which leaves chiropractic practices with almost nothing that’s both unique and particularly useful.

> The problem with making claims about the chiropractic practices is that it spans such a huge range of "absolute bullshit" to "physically grounded adjustments".

No it’s not a problem. When the founder claims he got the information from a ghost of a doctor 50 years ago, the whole thing is bullshit from the ground up. It’s pseudoscience.

Chiropractic “medicine” isn’t just claiming that they can make your joints feel better, the claim that it can cure cancer is at the core of it. It’s no better than a massage, but wants to claim the title of “medicine” or “doctor” for its practitioners when that’s as far from the truth as homeopathic “medicine”.

> Homeopathy was invented after the discovery of germ theory [1][2]. So not really.

Germ Theory was only finally accepted (after initially being rejected) due to the advent of evidence-based medicine, which homeopathy popularized.

> due to the advent of evidence-based medicine, which homeopathy popularized

Source?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com