AG responds to chiropractor's claims

Published: 2009-03-26 11:27:12
Author: Dan Noyes, ABC 7 News, November 28, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A South Lake Tahoe chiropractor who claims to have discovered a quick fix for a painful, incurable condition is now facing the possible loss of his license. It comes after an I-Team investigation two weeks ago. Now, his attorney is unveiling the defense he plans to use.

Dr. Paul Whitcomb's attorney Ted Long was in San Francisco this week for a private meeting at the attorney general's office. He is defending Whitcomb's controversial chiropractic technique and trying to save his license.

"I've gone through the files and such and I can't quite understand what they're so upset about other than the fact that Paul is obviously involved in a controversial subject purporting to cure a disease that the medical profession says is incurable," Long said.

Whitcomb could not attend the meeting, Long said, because he is still busy at his clinic in South Lake Tahoe treating 30 patients who suffer from fibromyalgia -- a chronic pain syndrome with symptoms that include muscle aches, fatigue and depression.

He calls it the "Whitcomb method" -- a quick neck manipulation, three times a day, five times a week for at least two months, at a cost of $7,000 or more.

In an interview with ABC7 earlier this month, Whitcomb claimed a remarkable success rate.

ABC7: So you're saying 94 percent of the time, 95 percent of the time. It works for people.

Whitcomb: This is an estimate, but I think that's pretty accurate, it works for that many of the people."

But medical experts ABC7 talked to say there is no cure for fibromyalgia. Doctor Wallace Sampson has spent 30 years debunking alternative medical treatments -- he is critical of chiropractic in general, but especially of Whitcomb.

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