Media Consultant

A couple of weeks ago, I was watching the CBS television show “Two and a Half Men” starring Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer because I had heard that Cryer’s character is a chiropractor. The show’s premise is about two brothers—one a swinging bachelor (Sheen) and the other a neurotic married-but-now-separated father (Cryer) with a young son (the “half” part of the show)—who had drifted apart but were now being forced to live together.

In this particular episode, one of the plot lines is that the son develops an ear infection. My initial reaction was positive, thinking that his father can adjust him. But Cryer’s reaction was: “Let’s go to the doctor for some antibiotics.” That brought my suspended state of disbelief to a screeching halt. No chiropractor I know would ever say that.

During that same week, I was watching the NBC show “Miss Match” starring Alicia Silverstone, whose character is a divorce lawyer and matchmaker. In this episode, Silverstone goes on a date with a chiropractor, whom she had met because of her neck pain. After her adjustment, which Silverstone enjoyed, the chiropractor asks her out on a date. After agreeing, Silverstone meets her best friend to talk about her hot date. The girlfriend’s response was: “Well, you know he’s not a real doctor.”

I then recalled that I had received emails from the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) and the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) about letters they had written in response to a segment on NBC’s “Today” show about chronic ear infections in children, which can sometime cause long-term hearing damage (www.wnbc.com/tiny/2505797/detail.html).   Three-year-old Alexander Whitman’s hearing was affected by repeated ear infections. Instead of antibiotics or ear tubes, his pediatrician recommended spinal manipulations. After comparing two groups of children, researchers found that the group receiving a combination of medical therapy and osteopathic manipulations needed less antibiotics.

What offended the WCA and ACA about the story most is this statement: “Osteopathic manipulation is gentler than chiropractic manipulation, focusing on the muscles and ligaments that connect the skull to the spine.” What is puzzling is that this statement is followed by advice from Dr Karen Ericson, who is a chiropractor! However, the news story never mentions this, only notes that she is a doctor.

The ACA’s letter mentions that Ben Kligler, MD, of Beth Israel Center for Health and Healing, the pediatrician interviewed for the story, said the most important aspect in choosing a practitioner is the experience in performing spinal manipulations on children. Kligler also pointed out that chiropractors have the most experience since “osteopaths very rarely perform spinal manipulation in their everyday practice” (ACA letter).

The “Today” show story was misleading and sloppy. Why interview a chiropractor yet recommend osteopathic spinal manipulations?

The attention that the chiropractic profession has received lately has not been completely negative—CBS has a lead character who is a DC in prime time, adjustments are shown to be effective for neck pain, and spinal manipulations are recommended for otitis media. But there definitely is misinformation on all of the above. How can this be answered?

As for the NBC story, the damage has been done. The ACA and WCA have written letters to inform the producers, and chiropractors can also write of protest. Will “Today” air a correction? Probably not. Should the profession offer chiropractic consulting services for future stories?

For movies and television shows, such as “ER,” all have professional consultants. Perhaps a chiropractor can be the chiropractic media consultant for films and shows that refer to chiropractic. This way, chiropractic is interpreted by a professional, rather than the Hollywood idea of the profession.

Miwon Seo
mseo@medpubs.com