Brain gym invades GP practice

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Brain gym invades GP practice

I'm going to start posting more of these field reports i get on email, i think they're really interesting case studies.
Dear Dr Goldacre,
I'm a Medical student and today encountered a quite astounding piece of
Bad Science from a GP delivering one of our teaching sessions.
The GP was talking when out of the blue she stopped and announced that we
all looked tired and perhaps needed something to wake us up. I presumed a
coffee was lurking on the horizon only to be hit with the juggernaut of
suggesting we try some Brain Gym exercises to "connect the left and right
sides of our brain". Confused I asked whether the Corpus Callosum might do
that job already to which she simply replied "No".
With best wishes
- 21 October 2009
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over 2 years ago Gail O'Hara-Thomas liked this post.

over 2 years ago TheCavalry (Twitter) responded:

I used to work for the London Deanery - GPs there were "propped up" by nurses. The GPs used to have little diagrams pointing out which specialisation related to which body part. Sigh.

over 2 years ago Russell Morris responded:

A primary school teacher is doing the brain gym thing to my 5 year old before starting lessons

over 2 years ago Tideliar responded:

As shocking and depressing as this there are some hidden nuggets of truth in the BrainGym bag o'wankery. My girlfriend uses it with the autistic children she works with... I have spent *many* hours explaining the woo and helping her select things that help because, simply, alert children (and med students, I suppose) pay attention better.
Getting kids to move around and wake up fine. Explaining how you're helping "oxygenate" their neurons it not.

over 2 years ago Maureencc responded:

I work with Brain Gym every day and have been able to help both children and adults considerably with regard to reducing stress and mental blocks! I see the results and that's what is important!

over 2 years ago Tideliar responded:

Hi Maureencc, Although it can seem like the end-point is the best metric, often times it helps us to understand what we do, so as not to work in a vacuum or do harm-by-mistake. The "theory" and pseudoscience behind Brain Gym is, at best, nonsensical. There i no need for it, no need to teach/preach it to children, and it should certainly be kept away from Med Students! Would you have your doctor advocating "oxygenating your neurons" when to do so, literally, would be fatal?

over 2 years ago sean salvador responded:

Maureencc
Please don't tell the children you are helping to egt the right and left hand sides of the brain to communicate better, or that you are teaching them to oxygenate their neurons. It simply is not true
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Brain gym invades GP practice

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