British Chiropractic Association
Encyclopedia
The British Chiropractic Association was founded in 1925 and represents over 50% of UK chiropractors
. It is the largest and longest established association for chiropractors in the United Kingdom
. The BCA have implemented campaigns regarding awareness of many modern technologies and the injuries that can result from them, such as 'Repetitive Surf Injury', text messaging
, iPod
thumb and using a Wii
.
The Association began with fewer than 20 members but, despite this, an insurance scheme was set in place for its membership. In the ensuing years, the BCA gradually developed to take the form that it does today.
When the British Chiropractic Association announced the purchase of premises in Bournemouth for the establishment of a chiropractic college in 1964, the number of chiropractors practising in the UK was quite small.
The opening of the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic, in 1965, led to a steady increase in the numbers of chiropractors in the UK and, in 2010, there were more than 1,300 practicing members and over 600 student members. Today, members have practices spanning the whole of the United Kingdom and BCA members are graduates of 20 different internationally accredited chiropractic educational institutions.
The association only accepts into membership graduates of a Chiropractic degree course validated by a member of the Council of Chiropractic Education International (CCEI). Individual applicants must also ensure their course meets the requirements of the UK regulator, the General Chiropractic Council.
The association provides a wide range of services for members and as an information source for the public. The Association celebrated its 80th Anniversary in 2005.
Since then, the Association has remained prominently active within the ECU and has been key to the establishment and development of chiropractic education and the chiropractic profession in Europe. When the World Federation of Chiropractic was formed in 1988, the British Chiropractic Association was a founder member and important contributor in the federation’s development.
proceedings against Dr. Simon Singh
, who has specialised in writing about mathematical and scientific topics, for writing in The Guardian
newspaper and website that the association was promoting 'bogus treatments'. The BCA asked Singh to retract his allegations because they were "factually wrong, defamatory and damaging to the BCA’s reputation". After the BCA won a preliminary court ruling in May 2009, Dr Singh announced in June 2009 that he intended to appeal against the ruling, and on 14 October 2009 Singh was granted leave to appeal. On 29 October 2009, Times Higher Education reported that Singh had won the right to appeal against the preliminary ruling on "meaning" in the case. Singh responded to the judgement that it was the "best possible result" but warned that he would try not to get his hopes up. "We have only won leave to appeal. Now we must convince the Court of Appeal on the issue of meaning. There is a long battle ahead." In April 2010, Singh won his court appeal for the right to rely on the defence of fair comment.
An editorial in Nature
commented on the case, and stated that although the BCA has said that it believes in open discussions about the evidence base for chiropractic treatments and beliefs, it instead appears to many observers that the association is trying to use libel laws to suppress debate. Sense About Science
has been a major supporter of Singh during this case and editorials in BMJ
argued that the lawsuit highlights the chilling effects of English libel law on scientific discourse and free speech.
The backlash to the BCA's libel case has resulted in a lot of coverage in both skeptical and mainstream media, and as such is considered by some to be an example of the Streisand effect
.
The publicity produced by the BCA's libel action has led to formal complaints of false advertising being made against more than 500 individual chiropractors within one 24 hour period, prompting the McTimoney Chiropractic Association to write to its members advising them to remove leaflets that make claims about whiplash and colic from their practice, to be wary of new patients and telephone inquiries, and telling their members: "If you have a website, take it down NOW." and "Finally, we strongly suggest you do NOT discuss this with others, especially patients[.]"
On 15 April 2010, the BCA officially withdrew its lawsuit, ending the case. The BCA issued a statement the same day outlining their reasons for withdrawing.
Chiropractic
Chiropractic is a health care profession concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system and the effects of these disorders on general health. It is generally categorized as complementary and alternative medicine...
. It is the largest and longest established association for chiropractors in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The BCA have implemented campaigns regarding awareness of many modern technologies and the injuries that can result from them, such as 'Repetitive Surf Injury', text messaging
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
, iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
thumb and using a Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
.
History
Chiropractic first emerged in Britain in the years before World War I, but a formal association of chiropractors in the United Kingdom did not exist until 1922, when the Chiropractors’ Association of the British Isles held its first meeting in Belfast. This was a short-lived organisation but, in 1925, another association of chiropractors was formed; the British Chiropractors’ Association.The Association began with fewer than 20 members but, despite this, an insurance scheme was set in place for its membership. In the ensuing years, the BCA gradually developed to take the form that it does today.
When the British Chiropractic Association announced the purchase of premises in Bournemouth for the establishment of a chiropractic college in 1964, the number of chiropractors practising in the UK was quite small.
The opening of the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic, in 1965, led to a steady increase in the numbers of chiropractors in the UK and, in 2010, there were more than 1,300 practicing members and over 600 student members. Today, members have practices spanning the whole of the United Kingdom and BCA members are graduates of 20 different internationally accredited chiropractic educational institutions.
The association only accepts into membership graduates of a Chiropractic degree course validated by a member of the Council of Chiropractic Education International (CCEI). Individual applicants must also ensure their course meets the requirements of the UK regulator, the General Chiropractic Council.
The association provides a wide range of services for members and as an information source for the public. The Association celebrated its 80th Anniversary in 2005.
European Chiropractors Union / World Federation of Chiropractic
The BCA was a founder member of the European Chiropractors' Union (ECU) in 1932. The first President of the ECU was Charles Bannister, a British Chiropractor.Since then, the Association has remained prominently active within the ECU and has been key to the establishment and development of chiropractic education and the chiropractic profession in Europe. When the World Federation of Chiropractic was formed in 1988, the British Chiropractic Association was a founder member and important contributor in the federation’s development.
Libel case against Simon Singh
In July 2008, the BCA issued libelEnglish defamation law
Modern libel and slander laws, as implemented in many Commonwealth nations as well as in the United States and in the Republic of Ireland, are originally descended from English defamation law...
proceedings against Dr. Simon Singh
Simon Singh
Simon Lehna Singh, MBE is a British author who has specialised in writing about mathematical and scientific topics in an accessible manner....
, who has specialised in writing about mathematical and scientific topics, for writing in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper and website that the association was promoting 'bogus treatments'. The BCA asked Singh to retract his allegations because they were "factually wrong, defamatory and damaging to the BCA’s reputation". After the BCA won a preliminary court ruling in May 2009, Dr Singh announced in June 2009 that he intended to appeal against the ruling, and on 14 October 2009 Singh was granted leave to appeal. On 29 October 2009, Times Higher Education reported that Singh had won the right to appeal against the preliminary ruling on "meaning" in the case. Singh responded to the judgement that it was the "best possible result" but warned that he would try not to get his hopes up. "We have only won leave to appeal. Now we must convince the Court of Appeal on the issue of meaning. There is a long battle ahead." In April 2010, Singh won his court appeal for the right to rely on the defence of fair comment.
An editorial in Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
commented on the case, and stated that although the BCA has said that it believes in open discussions about the evidence base for chiropractic treatments and beliefs, it instead appears to many observers that the association is trying to use libel laws to suppress debate. Sense About Science
Sense About Science
Sense About Science is a British charity that promotes the public understanding of science. Sense About Science was conceived in 2002 by Lord Taverne, Bridget Ogilvie and others to promote respect for scientific evidence and good science. Sense About Science was established as a charitable trust in...
has been a major supporter of Singh during this case and editorials in BMJ
BMJ
BMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
argued that the lawsuit highlights the chilling effects of English libel law on scientific discourse and free speech.
The backlash to the BCA's libel case has resulted in a lot of coverage in both skeptical and mainstream media, and as such is considered by some to be an example of the Streisand effect
Streisand effect
The Streisand effect is a primarily online phenomenon in which an attempt to hide or remove a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely...
.
The publicity produced by the BCA's libel action has led to formal complaints of false advertising being made against more than 500 individual chiropractors within one 24 hour period, prompting the McTimoney Chiropractic Association to write to its members advising them to remove leaflets that make claims about whiplash and colic from their practice, to be wary of new patients and telephone inquiries, and telling their members: "If you have a website, take it down NOW." and "Finally, we strongly suggest you do NOT discuss this with others, especially patients[.]"
On 15 April 2010, the BCA officially withdrew its lawsuit, ending the case. The BCA issued a statement the same day outlining their reasons for withdrawing.