What's your opinion of chiropractors, acupuncturists, naturopaths and other alternative medicine specialists?

Varies: Always see an M.D. Or an osteopath first if you suspect a problem. There is some data suggesting improvements from acupuncturists. Chiropractors and naturopaths have no scientific basis for their treatments and theories and in fact reject most science. They should be avoided for all but the most trivial conditions.

Good but it depends: Some practitioners in all fields of medicine are better at it than others. Some are too opinionated to get good answers, some more skilled than others, some curious to dig deep and have great instincts too. But generally speaking, I am delighted that more and more people are gaining access to real healthcare instead of getting hooked on pharmaceuticals and dealing with the side effects.

As A Pediatrician...: ... I am concerned that these folks give advice on treatment of kids with little or no educational foundation in pediatrics.Like me doing cardiac surgery. Yet they usually tell parents they may help, often with untested, unproven and potentially unsafe products.Stick to what you have been trained to do.If so, then sometimes it may help.

See below: They each have their place. The different healing arts can provide for people's differing needs. Many forms of complementary medicie mesh quite well with western medicine. Although there is some quakery out there (i.e. Phrenology), often a patchwork quilt of approches can have a superior outcome to only one treatment modality. Take care.

Proven vs unproven: By definition, "alternative" is different than modern western medicine. Generally any drug, herb, treatment, or procedure that stands up to rigorous scientific scrutiny is included in modern medicine. The problem is that many alternative practices, herbs etc do not stand up to scientific scrutiny and cannot be shown to work. They therefore remain "alternative". Be careful and watch your wallet.