Dr Lucy Vickers - colic miracle worker

Chiropractors who claim to treat colic used to be a dime a dozen.

These days they're an endangered species - at least in the UK - but a few brave souls continue to wave the flag for this quack therapy for which, in the case of colic, there still isn't a jot of evidence.

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The blurry photo above is Dr Lucy Vickers (or maybe Alison Vickers).

Lucy (or Alison) works out the Hale Clinic in London, from where she claims she can treat colic, whiplash and repetitive strain injury (among other things).

The Clinic advertises just about every quack therapy I've ever heard of, but if this complaint to the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) is successful, they might have to rethink their marketing a little.

"Dear Sir/Madam,

I write to make a formal complaint about Lucy Vickers, aka Alison Vickers, a GCC-registered Chiropractor (Reg. no. 01247) who is employed by the Hale Clinic in Marylebone, London.

The essence of my complaint is that two websites advertising the services of Ms Vickers may be in breach of the GCC's Code of Practice (2005) and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code.

1. Ms Vickers advertises her services on at least two websites. The first, www.halemusculoskeletal.com, forms a part of the Hale Clinic's own group of websites. This website gives Ms Vickers name as "Lucy Vickers"; I will proceed under the assumption this is the same person as Alison Vickers, who according to the GCC's register, is the only registered chiropractor working at the Hale Clinic.

2. The first website contains [1] the following text:

"Common ailments that chiropractic treatment can effectively treat are: Neck pain Back pain Frozen shoulder Hip problems Knee pain Tennis elbow Foot and ankle pain Painful periods Repetitive strain injury (RSI) Arm pain/pins and needles Headaches/Migraine Sciatica Infantile colic Sports injuries Whiplash"

3. The second website, www.chiropractorcentrallondon.co.uk, is registered [2] to Ms Vickers personally.

4. The second website contains [3] the following text:

"Do you suffer from: # Neck pain # Back pain # Frozen shoulder # Hip problems # Knee pain # Tennis elbow # Foot and ankle pain # Painful periods # Repetitive strain injury (RSI) # Arm pain/pins and needles # Headaches/Migraine # Sciatica # Sports injuries # Whiplash ... In fact pain anywhere is the bodys [sic] way of telling you there is something wrong. Most aches and pains are due to structural problems that can be helped....Chiropractic may well be the answer!"

5. The GCC's "Code of Practice (2005)", Section C1.6, states:

"[Chiropractors] may publicise their practices or permit another person to do so consistent with the law and the guidance issued by the Advertising Standards Authority. If chiropractors, or others on their behalf, do publicise, the information used must be factual and verifiable. The information must not be misleading or inaccurate in any way. It must not, in any way, abuse the trust of members of the public nor exploit their lack of experience or knowledge about either health or chiropractic matters..."

6. The ASA's CAP Code, Section 7.1, states:

"No marketing communication should mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise."

7. Section 6.1 states:

"Marketers should not exploit the credulity, lack of knowledge or inexperience of consumers."

8. Section 3.1 states:

"Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove all claims, whether direct or implied, that are capable of objective substantiation."

9. Section 50.1 states:

"Medical and scientific claims made about beauty and health-related products should be backed by evidence, where appropriate consisting of trials conducted on people... Substantiation will be assessed by the ASA on the basis of the available scientific knowledge."

10. CAP's Copy Advice website [4] lists a number of conditions to which it accepts chiropractors may refer. However, a number of conditions which Ms Vickers claims to treat are not on that list. Specifically, they are:

(i) Period pains
(ii) Repetitive strain injury
(iii) Headaches
(iv) Sciatica
(v) Infantile colic
(vi) Whiplash

12. The 2010 "Bronfort Report" [5], commissioned by the GCC to "provide a succinct but comprehensive summary of the scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of manual treatment for the management of a variety of musculoskeletal and non-musculoskeletal conditions", deals with the above conditions thus:

(i) Period pains: "Moderate quality evidence that spinal manipulation is no more effective than sham manipulation in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea [period pains]"
(ii) Repetitive strain injury: not mentioned
(iii) Headaches: "Inconclusive evidence in a favorable direction regarding mobilization for post-traumatic headache"
(iv) Sciatica: "Inconclusive evidence"
(v) Infantile colic "Moderate quality evidence that spinal manipulation is no more effective than sham spinal manipulation for the treatment of infantile colic"
(vi) Whiplash: "Moderate quality evidence that mobilization [physiotherapy] combined with exercise is effective for acute whiplash associated disorders", but spinal manipulation is only mentioned with regards to non-specific neck pain (a separate condition)


13. I complain that Ms Vickers may be in breach of the ASA's CAP Code, Sections 3.1, 6.1, 7.1 and 50.1, in that:

(i) given the ASA's Copy Advice website and the Bronfort Report, Ms Vickers is unlikely to hold sufficient documentary evidence to support her claim that she can treat period pains, repetitive strain injury, headaches, sciatica, infantile colic and whiplash with chiropractic (3.1 & 50.1),

(ii) Ms Vickers may be misleading consumers by claiming to treat period pains, repetitive strain injury, headaches, sciatica, infantile colic and whiplash with chiropractic (7.1),

(iii) Ms Vickers may be exploiting the "credulity, lack of knowledge or inexperience of consumers" by claiming to treat period pains, repetitive strain injury, headaches, sciatica, infantile colic and whiplash with chiropractic (6.1).

14. As a a consequence, I further complain that Ms Vickers may be in breach of the GCC's Code of Practice, Section C1.6.

15. If, in fact, Lucy Vickers and Alison Vickers are two different people, then my complaint of paragraphs 13 and 14 does not apply; instead I would complain that Lucy Vickers is performing chiropractic treatments on patients without being registered with the GCC.

16. Since I have never met Ms Vickers, I waive my right, under the Investigating Committee Rules (2000), to make a statement of evidence. I do not consider the additional costs the GCC would incur, were I to consult their solicitor, would contribute any evidence of value to my complaint.

Yours faithfully,

Footnotes:
[1] http://halemusculoskeletal.com/9/Chiropractic.html
[2] http://webwhois.nic.uk/cgi-bin/whois.cgi?query=chiropractorcentrallondon.co.uk&WHOIS+Submit.x=39&WHOIS+Submit.y=4
[3] http://www.chiropractorcentrallondon.co.uk/
[4] http://copyadvice.co.uk/Ad-Advice/Advice-Online-Database/Therapies-Chiropractic.aspx
[5] http://www.chiroandosteo.com/content/pdf/1746-1340-18-3.pdf
"

*Sylvie Hamilton (2) - can she "reduce" colic?

UPDATE: ASA: Complaint passed to compliance team; "we feel the [advert contains] clear breaches of the CAP code"

UPDATE, 11 Mar: Today's advert in the local paper has been substantially reworded. Perhaps Sylvie is having problems sleeping after being persuaded that her earlier claims were bullshit?

Sylvie Hamilton is a local "cranial osteopath" who has graced this blog before.

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Sylvie works for Glenn Lobo & Associates in Luton. Glenn is an osteopath, but his practice also offers acupuncture.

I was hoping Sylvie would feature in an advert sooner or later. This week my wish came true. (ASA complaint follows).

"I write to complain about an advert published in the Luton "Herald and Post" newspaper on February 4th, 2010.

The advert, for Glenn Lobo and Associates, is entitled "Is your baby giving you sleepless nights? Or restless days?"

I have submitted a scan of the advert. I can provide original copy of the advert by post, if required.

I believe the advert is in breach of several sections of the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (CAP) code.

1. The Luton "Herald and Post" is a weekly free newspaper distributed in the south of Bedfordshire.

2. In the February 4th issue, on page 37, an advert appeared for Glenn Lobo and Associates, a local medical practice specialising in osteopathy and acupuncture.

3. The practice also offers a treatment called "cranial osteopathy". (The treatment is sometimes known as "craniosacral therapy" or "cranial therapy".)

4. Cranial osteopathy is a treatment which purports to manipulate the plates of the skull, and should not be confused with "mainstream" osteopathy, which focuses on gentle manipulation of the body's musculoskeletal system.

5. Dr Steve Bratman, writing for the Complementary Medical Association[1], has summarised the current scientific understanding for the treatment, which I will risk quoting in full:

"Craniosacral therapy is a very specialised technique based on the scientifically unconfirmed belief that the tissues surrouding the brain and spinal cord undergo a rhythmic pulsation. This 'cranial rhythm' is supposed to cause subtle movements of the bones of the skull. A practicioner of craniosacral therapy gently manipulates these bones in time with the rhythm (as determined by the practicioner's awareness), in order to repair 'cranial lesions'. This therapy is said to be helpful for numerous conditions ranging from headaches and sinus allergies to multiple sclerosis and asthma. However, many researchers have serious doubts that the cranial rhythm even exists."

6. The CAP Code, Section 2.1, states "All marketing communications should be legal, decent, honest and truthful."

7. The CAP Code, Section 3.1, states "Before distributing or submitting a marketing communication for publication, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove all claims, whether direct or implied, that are capable of objective substantiation."

8. The CAP Code, Section 6.1, states "Marketers should not exploit the credulity, lack of knowledge or inexperience of consumers."

9. The CAP Code, Section 7.1, states "No marketing communication should mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise."

10. The CAP Code, Section 50.1, states "Medical and scientific claims made about beauty and health-related products should be backed by evidence, where appropriate consisting of trials conducted on people..."

11. I challenge whether any of the following claims are "truthful"; whether Glenn Lobo & Associates "hold documentary evidence to prove" them; whether they exploit the "credulity, lack of knowledge or inexperience of customers"; whether they "mislead, or be likely to mislead, by inaccuracy..."; and whether they are "backed by evidence, where appropriate consisting of trials conducted on people":

(i) The claim that when babies "cry, get colic, don't sleep and don't feed properly" Glenn Lobo & Associates "can... reduce [the baby's] discomfort" using the only treatment the advert mentions, cranial osteopathy,

(ii) cranial osteopathy "encourages the release of tensions and stresses",

(iii) cranial osteopathy "gently ease[s] the bodies [sic] ailments",

(iv) cranial therapy can assist in reducing the stress of a difficult birth, for either mother or baby,

(v) cranial therapy can reduce colic,

(vi) cranial therapy can reduce sleeplessness,

(vii) cranial therapy can reduce feeding problems,

(viii) cranial therapy can reduce restlessness,

(ix) cranial osteopathy has fantastic results on pain associated with arthritis,

(x) cranial osteopathy (not "mainstream" osteopathy) has fantastic results on back pain,

(xi) cranial osteopathy has fantastic results on pain associated with headaches,

(xii) cranial osteopathy has fantastic results on pain associated with migraines.

12. I confirm that I have no connections with the advertiser, with the Herald and Post newspaper, or with the publishing industry or the complimentary medicine industry in general. I confirm that I am not involved in legal proceedings with the advertiser or the newspaper.

13. I confirm that I am happy to be identified as the complainant.

Footnotes:

[1] "Complementary and Alternative Health: The Scientific Verdict on What Really Works", Collins 2007 (p682)"

*Sylvie Hamilton - qualified head-scratcher

The Luton and Dunstable Herald and Post newspaper runs a weekly column, "Question Time", in which its readers can get up close and personal with local personalities.

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October was the turn of Sylvie Hamilton, who is apparently a "cranial osteopath".

"Sylvie Hamilton has recently joined the well-established team at Glenn Lobo's Osteopathic & Acupuncture Practice in Stopsley, Luton.

Sylvie brings several therapies to the practice to help enhance your health. Having originally studied massage, she went on to learn Japanese facial massage, hot stone therapy, Indian head massage, aromatherapy and sports massage.

After completing her osteopathy training she then went on to do a cranial osteopathy course.

This type of treatment is very gentle and excellent for treating babies and small children with problems like colic, sleeplessness, feeding and restlessness. Cranial osteopathy can be especially helpful if the baby has had a difficult birth. Sylvie is available on Tuesdays and Fridays and can be contacted on 01582 721531 or www.thecaringosteopath.com"

The Herald and Post were good enough to print my response, entitled "No evidence this treatment can work". I'm especially proud of the second sentence.

"In your October 8 issue you made some odd claims about cranial osteopathy. Your readers deserve the opportunity to hear from someone actually qualified in evidence-based medicine.

Dr Steve Bateman writing for the Complementary Medical Association, notes 'there is little evidence...that osteopathy is helpful for the treatment of any medical condition.'

Cranial osteopathy, he adds, is based on a 'scientifically unconfirmed belief' in 'cranial lesions' and 'cranial rhythms', about which researchers 'have serious doubts (they) even exist'.

Apart from two antispasmodic drugs with dangerous side effects, there remains no known treatment for colic, osteopathic or otherwise."