Interesting article. Some important questions are not asked.
Who is Dr Tenpenny?
Her website
says "She received her medical training at Kirksville College of Osteopathic
Medicine in Kirksville, Missouri." This really leads another question.
What is Osteopathic Medicine?
Osteopathic Medical doctors are similar to Medical Doctors but there are many things about this type of medicine that differ from standard medicine.
It was founded back in 1874 (before the Koch's important research on the Germ Theory of Disease was published) by Andrew Taylor Still, MD
(1828-1917). Still believed that diseases were caused by a kind of mechanical interference with nerves and/or blood supply and were curable by
manipulation of what he called "deranged, displaced bones, nerves, muscles—removing all obstructions—thereby setting the machinery of life
moving." In
his autobiography he claims to have been able to "shake a
child and stop scarlet fever, croup, diphtheria, and cure whooping cough in three days by a wring of its neck."
How shaking a child would cure anything is unclear. I also couldn't find any studies that seriously tested shaking children as a method for curing
anything. I doubt that any DO working today would use such a treatment, however the ideas underpinning this are what created osteopathic manipulative
treatment (OMT). OMT is, as its name implies, based on manipulating the body in order to treat conditions. Although this would be similar to how a
physical therapist treats pain OMT is not actually meant to treat much than simple pain. Still believed that OMT could treat almost any condition. The
exact mechanisms by which manipulation could treat something like the flu are unknown. Thankfully the number of DO's who use OMT as a treatment for
things other than back pain is falling.
Modern DO's are known for their use of Chelation Therapy and Cranial Therapy. Cranial Therapy
is a form of OMT. It is
essentially that manipulation of the skull bones can treat almost any condition, from pain to illness. The claim is that a rhythm exists in the flow
of fluid around the brain and spinal cord and that detecting aberrations in this rhythm can be used to diagnose diseases and that manipulating the
skull can correct these diseases.
Chelation Therapy is a valid medical treatment for heavy
metal poisoning. However it does not have an well evidenced use in treating conditions other than heavy metal poisoning. Studies of its use from
Autism to
heart disease do not show any benefit from chelation therapy.
Dr Tenpenny
claims as part of her credentials online to have taken a Chelation Training Seminar from
the American College of Advancement of Medicine. This is a group that promotes Chelation Therapy as a treatment for things like Autism, heart disease
and other conditions despite the lack of well performed research in its favour. In addition to this she claims to have attended many Cranial Therapy
courses and seems to consider them to be "advanced studies".
So far Dr Tenpenny does not seem like a very credible source. Her affiliations with such poorly evidence uses of Chelation Therapy and nonsensical
therapies like Cranial Therapy are huge red flags.