Chiropractic Forum

Today I thought I would do something fun and exciting by attending my first chiropractic forum.  It consisted of 3 faculty members who posed questions to the audience in regards to various subjects which are controversial within the "profession".  I left pissed off and wishing I had opened my mouth in regards to where I think the profession should be heading.

It seems as if there are a lot of students who enter chiropractic who lack personal identity and enter the profession to find themselves.  It also seems like people go into this to simply adjust people.  What I can't understand is where the patient comes into place with this mindset.  The narrow minded approach that some advocate is in my opinion ludicrous.  There should be no room for simple, narrow-minded approaches to health care.  

How do we define health?  Nobody said a word about this in the forum.  It was all about whether we should be allowed to practice "techniques" that are scientifically backed or not.  The question is raised that says, "who on Earth would practice something not knowing what the real effects are?"  For example, if I chose to cook an egg by running it under hot water I would end up with an egg that spilled down the drain.  We know that there are ways to cook an egg that give good reproducible results - poaching, frying, scrambling etc.  I truly believe the "techniques" that plague the profession of chiropractic are used as selling points to get folks in the doors to chiropractic clinics.  It is unethical, invalid and wrong to sell something that does not have a valid reason for use regardless of the patients "desire" for the treatment.

We need to define chiropractic as the wellness approach to health.  Fill the gaps that medicine has historically left wide open.  There is a biological basis for health disparities and we mustn't forget this.  But, if we approach health care as medicine has by researching ways to approach visceral  problems with manual therapy then we are doing the public a great disservice.  It is no different to hand out a pill for a disease as it is to crack someone's back for the same ailment.  If there isn't any educational efforts made then we are no different than MD's (minus the additional education they undergo that is).  We should keep in mind the public lacks the skills and behaviors to live proactively.  The majority of the public instead lives reactively and uses our and other health care provider's services to treat their symptoms.  If we want to be different we must fill the gap of being the educator for the patient.  Help them take the steps toward a healthy active life which will decrease their chances of severe chronic health problems.  We must meet their immediate needs but always take steps to get them to the wellness end of the continuum of health.  If we follow suit with a medical approach then we are really playing doctor because MD's and DO's have a better ability to manage acute and chronic disease.  That being said, we must remember that musculoskeletal issues will arise with anyone who decides to live a proactive life.  Hence, our role as their health care provider.  

Thanks for reading.